Review
Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz navigate treacherous narrative waters in this ambitious but narratively fractured thriller that struggles to balance its espionage subplot with a romance that feels increasingly incongruous. Director's attempt to weave post-Independence patriotism, amnesia-driven melodrama, and crime thriller into one film results in a disjointed patchwork—the Kashmir sequences have genuine tension, but the pivot to Bombay bank heists feels like two different films colliding. Khanna's performance carries weight in the spy sequences, though his amnesia-induced emotional confusion sometimes blurs into simple underacting. The central romantic proposition—that Asha and Ajay's bond transcends his forgotten memory—could have been the film's emotional anchor, but instead gets buried under elaborate revenge mechanics and contrived coincidences.
Where the film falters most is in its structural ambition outpacing its execution. The synergy between Asha's vulnerability and Ajay's espionage background promises thematic richness—the collision of intimate love against geopolitical stakes—yet the screenplay reduces their relationship to a plot device rather than exploring its philosophical dimensions. The second-half suspense, where both women converge on Ajay's household, should crackle with dramatic irony, but instead feels repetitive and padded. For comparison, films like *Khiladi* (1975) managed similar genre-blending with sharper economy; here, scenes linger without deepening
Storyline
Ajay Mehra is on a secret mission to Kashmir to counter Pakistan backed terrorist right after Independence. While on the mission, he is injured due to a bomb blast. A girl, Asha from a poor family, is forced to flee for her own safety following an attack on her house by Pakistan backed terrorist. She comes across Ajay, who is injured. She nurses him back to health over a period of time and they start falling in love with each other. But after the bomb blast, Ajay has lost his memory. Hence they both decide to go to Srinagar to get treatment for him at a hospital. But Ajay gets some clue from his things and decides to go to Bombay to find the truth about himself. In Bombay, while searching for some more clues, Ajay sees bank robbers fleeing after robbing a bank. He tries to stop them and is hit by their car. In the process, he recognises the robbers to be from Continental Hotel, where he was looking for clues. He is then taken to a hospital where his brother comes to meet him. Due to this accident, he starts regaining some parts of his memory. But he has completely forgotten about the last six months. The robbers decide to kill Ajay as he has recognised them. They send a group member's wife to Ajay's house and there she claims to be his wife. Looking for Ajay, Asha also reaches his home. But Ajay fails to recognise her. Finding it suspicious, Police keep an eye on both women. The robbers try to kill Ajay several times, but are unsuccessful as he discovers their plans. The police and Ajay draw up a plan to fool the robbers. They fake Ajay's death and, relieved by that, the robbers stop hiding and are then caught by police. In the last fight, Ajay again loses consciousness, but regains his full memory later on. Ajay and Asha get married in the end.