Nimmi, who puts over a convincing portrayal in P. V. Films' "Angulimaal."

Director Vijay Bhatt is noted for his period films, like “Ram Rajya,” “Bharat Milap”, “Chaitanya Mahaprabhu” and “Baiju Bawra.” An addition to this impressive record is “Angulimaal,” in which Bharat Bhooshan plays the title role.

The story, set in Bhuddhist times, depicts the life of a scholarly youth who is destined to live two lives of completely opposite charac­ter—as a killer and as a saint. He shows prowess in all the arts and is expected to bring a good name to his family and the community, but finds himself on the wrong side of the law due to the jealousy of some of the inmates of the Ashram where he is studying.

Wrongly accused of gross moral lapse, he runs amuck, kills hundreds of innocent people and lives a savage life. In the end, however, he is reformed and accepts the Buddhist teach­ing and way of life.

The story as well as the complexity of the character he portrays provide Bharat Bhooshan with plenty of scope for histrionic expression. The three main facets of the title role—the scholar, the killer and the saint– are so diverse that it is only the deep under­standing and sincerity of Bharat Bhooshan that make the character real.

As the hero’s beloved, petite Nimmi puts over a fine portrayal. It is refreshing to see her on the screen again after a long time. Anita Guha gives a compelling performance, and Ulhas is convincing as the guru. Chandra­shekhar, Achala Sachdev, Manmohan Krishna, the late Prem Adib, Vinod Kumar and Sheila Kashmiri are adequate in their respective roles. Dancing starlet Helen does justice to her dance numbers.

Maestro Anil Biswas has written a fine music score, and the theme song, “Buddham, Sharanam, Gachhami,” is inspiring. Bharat Vyas’s lyrics are appropriate to the theme as well as the mood of the film.

Bhavani Prasad Misra’s dialogue, Kanu Desai’s art direction and V. Avdhoot’s photo­graphy together help to make “Angulimaal” a memorable film (Source – Filmfare Magazine – February 24th, 1961)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1960, Genre – Historical/Mythical, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer –Thai Information Service, Director – Vijay Bhatt, Music Director – Anil Biswas, Cast - Bharat Bhushan, Anita Guha, Ullhas, Achla Sachdev, Manmohan Krishna, Prem Adeeb, Kesari, Helen, Nimmi, Chandrashekhar

Teesri Manzil (1966)

Cast: Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Premnath, Helen

Director: Vijay Anand

Music: R.D. Burman

Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Capsule Review: Blending producer Nasir  Husain’s trademark formula of frolic and romancewith director Vijay Anand’s penchant for using song, dance and drama as extensions of the characters’ inner world, Teesri Manzil created a storm at the box office. The plot is a murder mystery about a girl befriending a musician at a hill station to find out the identity of her sister’s killer. Much of the plot seems an excuse for Burman’s rousing songs rendered with glorious gusto by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle. In his first major tryst with the hit parade, Burman created smash-hit tracks like 0 mere sona re, 0 haseena zulfon wall, Aaja aaja main hoon pyar tera and the uncharacteristically sober Rafi solo Tumne mujhe dekha which was filmed immediately after the leading man’s wife Geeta Bali passed away. One of the lead pair’s biggest hits, Kapoor and Parekh somehow failed to click together in subsequent projects like Jawan Mohabbat and Pagla Kahin Ka.

Helen

Known as the “Golden Girl” of Hindi cinema, dancer-actress Helen raised the standards of film dance to new heights. She perfected the art of “clean” cabaret, her elegance and style lending the genre respectability.

Born in Burma (now Myanmar) to a French father and Burmese mother, Helen’s family fled to India during World War II. Economic compulsions forced Helen to become a chorus dancer in films. However, her training in classical dance soon saw her doing solo numbers. Amongst the earliest of these was for the song Mr John O Baba Khan in the film Baarish.

The phenomenal success of Mera naam Chin Chin Chu (from the film Howrah Bridge) established Helen as the foremost dancer of Hindi cinema. Her dances soon came to be regarded as a necessary ingredient for a films success, and were almost de rigueur for features made between the 1950s and the 1970s.

What set Helen apart from other dancers was her grace, control over rhythm, and above all, a sensuousness that is best seen in such immortal hits as Piya to ab to aaja (Caravan),O haseena zulfonwali (Teesri Manzil), Aa jaane jaan (Inteqam), and Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay).

Helen played the lead role in several B-grade productions. But it were films such as Gumnaam and Lahu Ke Do Rang that revealed her acting skills. Helen’s performance in the latter won her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1979.

After a long sabbatical, Helen returned to acting with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khamoshi.

Helen was honored with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 1999.