Cast: Navin Nishchol, Rekha, Padmini Kapila, Meena Roy, Rakesh Pandey with Asha Sachdev (special appearance) and Nazneen & Narendranath ...
Cast: Navin Nishchol, Rekha, Padmini Kapila, Meena Roy, Rakesh Pandey with Asha Sachdev (special appearance) and Nazneen & Narendranath (Friendly appearances)
Not too many people remember ‘Woh Main Nahin’ today, but the adaptation of the Marathi play ‘To Mee Navech’ which was released on October 25, 1974, is a well-made con film directed by Mohan Segal who repeats his hit pair of Navin Nishchol & Rekha from their debut film ‘Sawan Bhadon’.
The film keeps you hooked once the court case starts. It is intriguing and full of red herrings, which keeps the audience guessing. The unexpected twist in the climax is another plus in the film, apart from Navin Nischol’s performance.
The film is about Vijay (Nischol) who is an author of natural medicines, staying in the jungle and researching with nature’s jadi-booti. He falls in love with a rich girl Anjali (Rekha) whom he saves after an accident and from some jungle janwars & crooks. After some naach-gaana and objections from the family and with help from his publisher friend Ranjeet (Rakesh Pandey), the marriage date is fixed. But during the saat pheras, Vijay is arrested on a complaint made by one Sultana Bibi (Meena Rai) who says Vijay is her husband Salimuddin. From here on in the court Vijay is accused of being Diwakar Ganesh Datar and Daji Shastri by Sunanda Date (Padmini Kapila), Captain Ashok Paranjpe by Pamela Darling (Asha Sachdev), and is also accused of murdering Benu (Nazneen) by disguising as Baba Radheshyam. But Vijay repeatedly tells the judge - ‘woh main nahin’. Vijay is convicted but there comes a twist.
It’s a Navin Nishchol show all the way and he quite effortlessly gets into the skin of both the roles. He also showcases his negative side in this film. Rekha, Asha Sachdev, Padmini Kapila all just add to the glam quotient with almost nothing to do. The red herrings include Rakesh Pandey (and his dog/ hyena laughter), Manhar Desai as Dwarkadas, father of Anjali, Narendranath as Vishwamber, Krishan Dhawan as Sheikh Mansoor who all have some grudge against Vijay / lookalike conman
Music directors Sonik-Omi again repeated from ‘Sawan Bhadon’s success comes up with few lovely numbers - ‘Mujhe jisne banaya nishana’ (Kishore & Asha), ‘Chahe purush ho chahe naari’ (Kishore), ‘Cheekh-o-cheech ganeria (Asha) & ‘Tujhe ek ladki mili jawan’ (Asha).
Though not a success at the box office, Woh Main Nahin is quite a fair thriller that will keep you engrossed with the proceedings.
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