I have to admit I do have a soft spot for Bollywood reincarnation tales like this, on top of that I am also a fan of murder mysteries, needless to say I have seen Chetan Anand's Kudrat many times after being exposed to it in the late 90's.
When released it was considered a disappointment or an average success at the box office, maybe it was released too soon after Subhash Ghai's reincarnation thriller Karz, deservedly so I might add as it is the more superior movie but Kudrat is a damn fine movie in it's own right.
From the first reel we are exposed to the reincarnation element of the movie as Chandramukhi (Hema Malini) says she has been to Simla before, when she left Simla when she was only a few months old and wouldn't have any recollection of it.
There she meets psychiatrist Naresh (played by Vinod Khanna) and he is attracted to her. On meeting lawyer Rajesh Khanna she is drawn to him and can't shake off the feeling that he is her reincarnated lover Manav.
Then there is the characters of Janak Singh (played by Raaj Kumar) and his daughter Karuna (Priya Rajvansh) Janak Singh has raised Mohan as his own and has high hopes of him marrying his daughter.
Circumstances however keep bringing Mohan and Chandramukhi together.
The first half chugs along quite nicely as a reincarnation love story but however that all changes when Chandramukhi keeps Janak Singh for the first time and becomes inconsolable.
When calm she alleges that Janak Singh raped and murdered her in her previous life as Paro. Naresh desperately tries to convince Mohan into filing a case against Janak Singh, putting Mohan into a quandary as it would mean going against the very person who brought him up.
Watch Kudrat to see how the movie unfolds as Naresh and Mohan try to build a case against Janak Singh leading to some very filmy but gripping courtroom scenes.
Some people might be disappointed by the final scene in which the killer confesses the truth without the prosecution giving any evidence but the finale speech they make is so powerful I can personally overlook that.
What I like so much about this movie is how skilfully Anand reveals the twists and keeps the suspense throughout.
Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini all deliver fine performances. Raaj Kumar is his usual self and doesn't experiment. I suppose it was what the audience expected of him and he didn't want to disappoint them by not giving them what they wanted.
Chetan Anand discovery Priya Rajvansh is also pretty decent. Sadly she didn't find much other work outside of Chetan Anand movies. Maybe it was her distinctive voice that held her back.
A sad fact about her is that she was murdered in 2000 by Chetan Anand's own sons in a dispute over property.
They are joined by a whole host of recognisable faces in Bollywood including Satyen Kapoo, A.K. Hangal, Pinchoo Kapoor, Aruna Irani and many more.
The best thing about Kudrat however is the truly exceptional music by lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and R.D. Burman. Tune O Rangeele by Lata and the very catchy disco song Chodo sanam being the best of the bunch.
To sum up my thoughts Kudrat is a criminally overlooked movie and deserves to be seen by fans of Bollywood suspense thriller.
When released it was considered a disappointment or an average success at the box office, maybe it was released too soon after Subhash Ghai's reincarnation thriller Karz, deservedly so I might add as it is the more superior movie but Kudrat is a damn fine movie in it's own right.
From the first reel we are exposed to the reincarnation element of the movie as Chandramukhi (Hema Malini) says she has been to Simla before, when she left Simla when she was only a few months old and wouldn't have any recollection of it.
There she meets psychiatrist Naresh (played by Vinod Khanna) and he is attracted to her. On meeting lawyer Rajesh Khanna she is drawn to him and can't shake off the feeling that he is her reincarnated lover Manav.
Then there is the characters of Janak Singh (played by Raaj Kumar) and his daughter Karuna (Priya Rajvansh) Janak Singh has raised Mohan as his own and has high hopes of him marrying his daughter.
Circumstances however keep bringing Mohan and Chandramukhi together.
The first half chugs along quite nicely as a reincarnation love story but however that all changes when Chandramukhi keeps Janak Singh for the first time and becomes inconsolable.
When calm she alleges that Janak Singh raped and murdered her in her previous life as Paro. Naresh desperately tries to convince Mohan into filing a case against Janak Singh, putting Mohan into a quandary as it would mean going against the very person who brought him up.
Watch Kudrat to see how the movie unfolds as Naresh and Mohan try to build a case against Janak Singh leading to some very filmy but gripping courtroom scenes.
Some people might be disappointed by the final scene in which the killer confesses the truth without the prosecution giving any evidence but the finale speech they make is so powerful I can personally overlook that.
What I like so much about this movie is how skilfully Anand reveals the twists and keeps the suspense throughout.
Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini all deliver fine performances. Raaj Kumar is his usual self and doesn't experiment. I suppose it was what the audience expected of him and he didn't want to disappoint them by not giving them what they wanted.
Chetan Anand discovery Priya Rajvansh is also pretty decent. Sadly she didn't find much other work outside of Chetan Anand movies. Maybe it was her distinctive voice that held her back.
A sad fact about her is that she was murdered in 2000 by Chetan Anand's own sons in a dispute over property.
They are joined by a whole host of recognisable faces in Bollywood including Satyen Kapoo, A.K. Hangal, Pinchoo Kapoor, Aruna Irani and many more.
The best thing about Kudrat however is the truly exceptional music by lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and R.D. Burman. Tune O Rangeele by Lata and the very catchy disco song Chodo sanam being the best of the bunch.
To sum up my thoughts Kudrat is a criminally overlooked movie and deserves to be seen by fans of Bollywood suspense thriller.