Aan

Plot synopsis:
A royal Indian family consists of the Emperor Maharaj (Murad), his brother Shamsher Singh (Premnath) and sister Rajshree (Nadira). A local village leader named Jai Tilak (Dilip Kumar) enters a contest to tame Princess Rajshree's horse and after he is successful Shamsher challenges him to a game of fencing. Jai is declared the winner of the fight after much dispute and Shamsher is enraged at losing to a poor villager. Jai then falls in love with Rajshree and tries numerous times to woo her but the princess's arrogance prevents her from revealing her true feelings.
Shamsher becomes even more enraged when the Emperor Maharaj reveals that Shamsher is not the heir to his throne after his death and that he plans to free India from monarchy and turn to democracy.
Shamsher then plans to gain control of the kingdom by killing the Maharajah on the night before he is due to travel to England for a medical procedure. However he is unsuccessful after the Maharajah escapes an attempt on his life by Shamsher's henchmen and disguises himself as a servant in his own palace.
Shamsher then sets his eyes on Mangala (Nimmi) who is a village girl and childhood friend of Jai but her love is not reciprocated as he is only in love with princess Rajshree. After Mangala is kidnapped by Shamsher Singh who plans to keep her prisoner in his palace and molest her, Mangala takes a bottle of poison and dies. Jai kills Shamsher in revenge and provokes Princess Rajshree to launch an attack on his village to avenge her brother's death. Jai manages to kidnap Rajshree and sets out to gain her love by taking her into his village and forcing her to live as a peasant girl. Just when Rajshree begins to realise her feelings for Jai, Shamsher Singh who was presumed dead returns to get his revenge against Jai.

Tags: romantic

Review:
A film that sets new heights in Bollywood film industry.. Just checked out Aan & was expecting the usual song & dance that you would expect in an Hindi film. But got more than i expected as there is more than meets the eye with Aan. The story of a privileged princess who when confronted with love does not comprehend its meaning & the impact it will have on her life. So she discards it, rejecting it in a statement of denial to her true feelings. She allows her pride ('Aan') to blind her to something that will make her vulnerable but will set her free from the shackles that bind her. The principles from which she has been raised have taught her not to associate with the working class, the people who are there just to serve & carry out her orders. Yet these are the people that have built her kingdom through their own hardship & suffering who without would be no monarchy. So when a peasant emerges who has the key to her heart. She instantly despises him even pushing herself to the verge of killing the thing that she loves most. A deed which she would never forgive herself for. She eventually undergoes a transformation & embraces the feelings she has for man who is willing to sacrifice his life to be with her. So, in short Love conquers all even in the most cold hearted of princesses.... Exotic costumed spectacular from Bollywood.. AAN was a rarity in the 50's, a splashy Indian epic that through its sheer spectacle gained theatrical release in Europe, albeit cut down to some 129 minutes (The original Indian print ran out at 189 minutes with a brief intermission) Surprising no-one has seen fit to comment on it in all these years!Dilip Kumar was the flavor of the month in Indian movies during the early 50's and here he enacts a Tyrone Poweresque role as Prince Tilak who with his sister, are taught the wiser ways to gain power by a peasant and his girlfriend.AAN was a costumer that had it all - melodrama, swashbuckling action and romantic drama to please the masses. Western audiences found the film a tad extreme but no one could fault its pedigree.A remake is currently in production.. Movie has some fantastic Rafi songs. Though I am not a big fan of old Indian movies, but old songs. This movie have some fantastic songs mainly by Mohammad Rafi, 1- DIL MEIN CHUPA KE PYAR KA TOOFAN LE CHALE 2- MAAN MERA EHSAAN ARRE NADAAN 3- TAKRA GAYA HAI TUM SE DIL HI TAU HAI 4- MOHABBAT CHOOME JIN KE HATH I watched this movie only for these songs, and was not disappointed, because was listening these songs for long, but seeing them was a treat, all were beautifully choreographed and what to say of Rafi voice from the heavens.. A brilliant classic of the golden era of Bollywood. Aan is one of the most brilliant films that has ever been produced in the history of Indian cinema. It was a very unique film in the sense that it resembled the classic Hollywood costume adventure films of the 1940s such as Jungle Book (1940) and The Thief of Bhaghdad (1940) or the classic swashbuckling films of Errol Flynn. The producer and director Mehboob Khan had spent lavishly on this film and it shows in every frame of the film with its beautiful scenery, costumes,the re imagination of what India would have been like over 5 centuries ago with the Maharajas, the extraordinary palaces etc.The basic plot overview is; Dilip Kumar plays Jai Tilak, a village peasant. Nadira, a newcomer actress at the time is fantastic in the role of a arrogant Princess Rajshree whom Jai character falls in love with. At first sight Rajshree shows an instant disliking for Jai but Jai continuously tries to woo her. The chemistry between Kumar and Nadira is very electric and convincing. Nimmi plays a village belle Mangala who has loved Jai since childhood but her love has never been reciprocated. Premnath plays the villainous Shamsher Singh, stepbrother of Rajshree who wants to gain control of the Kingdom of the Maharajah played by Murad who is Rajshree's older brother.When Mangala is killed by Shamsher Singh, Jai kills him and then kidnaps Rajshree when she tries to avenge her brother's death. Jai kidnaps Princess Rajshree makes her live the life of poor villagers just so she can feel what it is like to live a life like a village peasant and not have all the luxuries of being a princess. Eventually Rajshree realises her feelings for Jai but her dead brother Shamsher Singh returns for revenge against Jai.Overall Aan is excellent in every way. It has romance, swashbuckling action, beautiful scenery, wonderful songs sung by Mohammed Rafi, memorable performances by the entire cast, lots of comedy moments provided by Mukri and a vivid capture and feel of the classic swashbuckling movies of Hollywood. Aan is truly one of its kind in Bollywood. This together with Mughal-E-Azam is one of the best films in Bollywood's golden era.