Wednesday 11 November 2020

50 Years of Johny Mera Naam

 


Released on 11th Nov 1970, Johny Mera Naam was the Biggest Hit of Dev Anand's career. The movie, a thriller all the way, had the stamp of quality from director Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand. He and Dev Anand had begun their association with “Nau Do Gyarah” in 1957 and went a long way to give Indian cinema classics like “Guide”, “Kala Bazaar” and “Tere Ghar Ke Samne”. 

With Johny Mera Naam began a Decade of Action cinema. Though Dev Anand was known for Romance his versatility lay in his desire to experiment. It was the first film of Hema Malini with Dev Anand It was also the first Superhit film of her career. Hema Malini is at her best when romancing with the hero especially in ‘Pal Bhar Ke Liye Koi Hame Pyaar Karle’, a song where the Dev Anand keeps popping up from countless windows in a rest house.

 Dev Anand and Pran play the roles of brothers separated in childhood. Years later, Sohan (Dev Anand) goes on to become a CID officer called Sohan Kumar who solves his cases taking up different guises. He takes the identity of Johny, a petty thief and gets himself in jail, befriends Heera (Jeevan), solves a case wooing Rekha (Hema Malini) and finds the criminal.

Despite being fifty years old, the film does not look outdated, thanks to Vijay Anand. This is also testimony to his skills that despite a run time of around 2 hours 45 minutes, unusually long for a thriller but a norm for Indian movies, you never feel the length

Johny Mera Naam marked some of the best music composed by the duo Kalyanji Anandji.

#SongSinger(s)Picturized OnDuration
1Title Music (Johny Mera Naam)InstrumentalCredit Title Sequence01:59
2"Vaada Toh Nibhaaya"Kishore KumarAsha BhosleDev Anand and Hema Malini05:05
3"Pal Bhar Ke Liye"Kishore Kumar, Usha KhannaDev Anand and Hema Malini05:05
4"Mose Mora Shyam Rootha"Lata MangeshkarHema Malini05:38
5"Babul Pyare"Lata MangeshkarHema Malini06:19
6"Nafrat Karne Walon Ke"Kishore KumarDev Anand and Hema Malini03:55
7"Husn Ke Lakhon Rang"Asha BhoslePremnath and Padma Khanna05:19
8Music InstrumentalInstrumental02:00

Song of Johny Mera Naam 1970

Song of Johny Mera Naam 1970
Song of Johny Mera Naam 1970






2 comments:

  1. The film is shown to film students of FTII as a perfect example of a Master Class in film making...it is a complete text book in creative film writing... song picturizations...film editing and of course the only one of a kind climax ever shot where the audience is on the edge of the seats throughout...and all of this achieved by the Master Director Vijay Anand....

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  2. actually Johny mera naam is a school for screenplay writer.. Best entertaining twists keep happening.. Brilliant performance by all the actors because goldie Saab used to take very long shots where camera moves actors move so the timing and placement of characters was very important.. One of best background score by kalyanji anandji.. Wholesome entertainer.. Timeless movie..

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