This movie starring Dev Anand and Mala Sinha is quite like the black and white classic ASLI NAQLI starring Sadhana and also Dev Anand which had the classic Rafi song EK BOOTH BANAUNGA AUR POOJA KAROONGA. The story revolves around Dev Anand who is a very rich man and gets disappointed by his wealth and goes to live in a poor neighboorhood masquerading as a poor man. Here he meets a poor girl (Mala Sinha instead of Sadhana) and they fall in love. Though this movie has some great songs like Zindagi hai Kya Sun Meri Jaan, Koi Sone Ki Dil Wala and Jaa Re Udhja Re Panchhi the other movie ASLI NAQLI was 10 times better probably because the movie was directed by the maestro HRISHIKESH MUKHERJEE the maker f classics like Anand, Namak Halaal (the only 2 movies starring Amitabh and Rajesh Khanna), Abhimaan, Milli, Musafir, Bawarchi, Bemisaal and many many more. Still worth a watch. watch out for a very very young Amjad Khan in the end of the movie (he was barely 12 years old in a scene with his real life father Jayant.
5 Reviews
Wonderful movie, an all-time classic
shoummojitkreative9 January 2017
I finished watching this 1961 movie today, and was blown over by the acting, direction, songs and sequences of the film. The story has been done to death over the years, but was quite okay back then. But the film is not about rich boy meets poor girl, falls in love and fights with the world to unite. It is more about how a very rich boy tries to mix with the downtrodden in a slum and wants to live life like a poor guy and experience what it is like not to be blessed with wealth, after a tragedy in the life of his friend and the betrayals of his pals make him wake up to the fact that parties and riches are not what life is all about.
So he goes to live life in a slum and falls in love with a girl, much to the anger of a murderous local ruffian who loves her too. So will he be able to make others overcome the illusion of class differences and win his girl, or die with her in an attempt to unite with her? You have to see the movie to know about it.
A weak point with the movie, as with many other Hindi movies, is the addition of too many songs. But two or three tracks from Salil Chowdhury are excellent and amplify the mood and situation. Koi Sone Ka Dilwala, Tasveer Tere Dil Ki and Ja Re Ud Ja Re Panchi are these three tracks which alone are enough reasons for you to watch the flick.
And then there are the actors. I guess Dev Anand acted the best here after Guide and is mind blowing in almost every scene. Complementing him ably is Mala Sinha, a wonderful actress who times her expressions accurately. Lalita Pawar, Jayant etc support them really well, and you really hate Jayant for his villainous turn.
A special mention about the direction. The songs apart, the direction is crisp and wonderful. D.D Kashyap really knew what he had set out to do and did it. Very powerful and capable direction that holds you right until the end.
If you are in the mood for old-fashioned but evergreen romance and see how true love overcomes all obstacles, this is just the movie that you would love. My rating? 9 out of 10. Minus one for too many songs, which I guess was necessary back then. Anyway, a wonderful watch. Highly Recommended! If you like this, Teen Devian and Hum Dono are other movies to watch.
So he goes to live life in a slum and falls in love with a girl, much to the anger of a murderous local ruffian who loves her too. So will he be able to make others overcome the illusion of class differences and win his girl, or die with her in an attempt to unite with her? You have to see the movie to know about it.
A weak point with the movie, as with many other Hindi movies, is the addition of too many songs. But two or three tracks from Salil Chowdhury are excellent and amplify the mood and situation. Koi Sone Ka Dilwala, Tasveer Tere Dil Ki and Ja Re Ud Ja Re Panchi are these three tracks which alone are enough reasons for you to watch the flick.
And then there are the actors. I guess Dev Anand acted the best here after Guide and is mind blowing in almost every scene. Complementing him ably is Mala Sinha, a wonderful actress who times her expressions accurately. Lalita Pawar, Jayant etc support them really well, and you really hate Jayant for his villainous turn.
A special mention about the direction. The songs apart, the direction is crisp and wonderful. D.D Kashyap really knew what he had set out to do and did it. Very powerful and capable direction that holds you right until the end.
If you are in the mood for old-fashioned but evergreen romance and see how true love overcomes all obstacles, this is just the movie that you would love. My rating? 9 out of 10. Minus one for too many songs, which I guess was necessary back then. Anyway, a wonderful watch. Highly Recommended! If you like this, Teen Devian and Hum Dono are other movies to watch.
Maya = Illusion in the world of the rich
SushilKBirla23 October 2022
Dev Anand, Mala Sinha, and Lalita Pawar performed their respective roles very well. Although I had seen Dev Anand in more popular movies, his performance in Maya was much better. Although I had seen Lalita Pawar in many other movies, those roles were stereotypical - her role in Maya was more significant and brought out more of her skills. I had not seen a Mala Sinha movie in decades. Her performance in Maya (and the sense of responsibility as the only surviving elder in the family) seemed very natural.
Maya had a good social theme. The behavior of the gang-leader and the behavior of the landlord were well portrayed, reflecting real life well. So was the posture of Dev Anand's super-rich father.
Trivial complaints: Even after he started living among the poor, Dev Anand was smoking. On the one hand, he is portrayed to have the courage and will to experience life in poverty. On the other hand, he is smoking away money that he could have used for the poor.
The intended comic reliefs were not effective - typical of Bollywood movies of that era.
Although the romantic songs were good, their fit in the story seemed forced.
Good episodes: The household staff partying in the absence of the owners was hilarious.
The fake behaviors of the rich at Dev Anand's birthday party reflected real life well. His disillusionment with that lifestyle also felt genuine and credible - leading him to taste life in poverty.
The vignettes of the various families in the Chaal and the behavior of the landlord mirrored real-life well.
Maya had a good social theme. The behavior of the gang-leader and the behavior of the landlord were well portrayed, reflecting real life well. So was the posture of Dev Anand's super-rich father.
Trivial complaints: Even after he started living among the poor, Dev Anand was smoking. On the one hand, he is portrayed to have the courage and will to experience life in poverty. On the other hand, he is smoking away money that he could have used for the poor.
The intended comic reliefs were not effective - typical of Bollywood movies of that era.
Although the romantic songs were good, their fit in the story seemed forced.
Good episodes: The household staff partying in the absence of the owners was hilarious.
The fake behaviors of the rich at Dev Anand's birthday party reflected real life well. His disillusionment with that lifestyle also felt genuine and credible - leading him to taste life in poverty.
The vignettes of the various families in the Chaal and the behavior of the landlord mirrored real-life well.
Maya = Asli Naqli
ravisinger8620 March 2014
Maya Was Directed As Well As Written By D Kashyap ...The Story Is About Rich & Poor With Their Difficulties & Connectivity ...Script Is Well Written & Performed But A Year Later Released Asli Naqli Starring Dev Anand Was The Pretty Much Similar ...Every Thing In The Movie Is Similar ...Except The Climax Here We Have A Particular Villain In This Movie ...Which Makes It Different From Asli Naqli By Hrishikesh Mukherjee...
In The Acting Department We Have Dev Anand The Rich Fellow Falling For Poor Girl Mala Sinha Just Like Sadhana In Asli Naqli...Mala Sinha Was A Better Actor So No Comparison With New Comer Sadhana...Both Were Good ..Dev Anand Was As Usual In Both The Movies...
The Music Of The Movie Is Composed By Salil Chawdhary ...Few Numbers Are Good Especially Rafi & Lata's Duet "Tasveer Teri Dil Mein" ...Music Of Asli Naqli Was Given By The Very Best Shankar Jaikishan ..It Had Classic Songs Like Tera Mera Pyar Amar & Tujhe Jeevan Ki Dor Se..So Comparatively Asli Naqli Had Better Songs...
But Not To Forget Maya Was Released First Ya It Was Not That Successful Like Asli Naqli But It Was A Great Attempt By The Director.. Overall A Fine Movie...If You Have Seen Asli Naqli You Can Skip ..Watch If You Wanna Know The Difference Between Both The Movies...:)
In The Acting Department We Have Dev Anand The Rich Fellow Falling For Poor Girl Mala Sinha Just Like Sadhana In Asli Naqli...Mala Sinha Was A Better Actor So No Comparison With New Comer Sadhana...Both Were Good ..Dev Anand Was As Usual In Both The Movies...
The Music Of The Movie Is Composed By Salil Chawdhary ...Few Numbers Are Good Especially Rafi & Lata's Duet "Tasveer Teri Dil Mein" ...Music Of Asli Naqli Was Given By The Very Best Shankar Jaikishan ..It Had Classic Songs Like Tera Mera Pyar Amar & Tujhe Jeevan Ki Dor Se..So Comparatively Asli Naqli Had Better Songs...
But Not To Forget Maya Was Released First Ya It Was Not That Successful Like Asli Naqli But It Was A Great Attempt By The Director.. Overall A Fine Movie...If You Have Seen Asli Naqli You Can Skip ..Watch If You Wanna Know The Difference Between Both The Movies...:)
Way too bad
mayank_78226 December 2014
The plot of this film is similar to the later Asli naqli(1962) starring again Devanand. But while Asli Naqli was an entertaining watch, this just dulls down the hole.
A rich man(played by Dev anand), disillusioned by his life, goes to live among the poor and falls in love with a girl(played by Mala Sinha). The narrative starts in an adsorbing manner but soon starts to slow down, melodramatic sequences take over and the quality of the movie takes a beating.
The film has a couple of good songs, like "Koi Sone Ke Dilwala" but then that it is. The album isn't a match-winner here. Coming to the acting part, apart from Dev Anand, most of the others deliver below average performances.
It would be better to see Asli Naqli made on the same subject rather than this dull, dreary film.
A rich man(played by Dev anand), disillusioned by his life, goes to live among the poor and falls in love with a girl(played by Mala Sinha). The narrative starts in an adsorbing manner but soon starts to slow down, melodramatic sequences take over and the quality of the movie takes a beating.
The film has a couple of good songs, like "Koi Sone Ke Dilwala" but then that it is. The album isn't a match-winner here. Coming to the acting part, apart from Dev Anand, most of the others deliver below average performances.
It would be better to see Asli Naqli made on the same subject rather than this dull, dreary film.
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