Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962)

Director Raj Khosla's excellent romantic-thriller is an old favorite that I never get tired of re-watching. It has all my favorite elements - a taut, well-written story, a beautifully done romance, cute Joy Mukherjee, lovely Sadhna, great songs, and some startlingly modern views on marriage.

The story is set in turbulent Kashmir of the late 40s when the newly formed states of India and Pakistan were engaged in a deadly combat to take control of Kashmir. In late 1947 Pakistani tribal irregulars marched into Kashmir and got as far as the outskirts of Srinagar before the Indian Army seized control and stopped their advance.

Asha (Sadhna) is a young Kashmiri girl in Baramulla who is getting married just as the tribals (or kabaaylis as they are referred to, here) attack their village. The wedding ceremony is interrupted by the attack and Asha is abandoned by everybody in their haste to flee, including her groom (Kamal Kapoor). She manages to reach the shelter of a nearby forest.

Aao Pyaar Kare (1964)

Saira Banu is bent on spoiling my weekend! This is the second bad movie (the last one was Pocketmaar) I watched this weekend and it again had Saira, this time paired with Joy Mukerji. There were some compensations to watching this movie though. Apart from some lovely songs it had a very young Sanjeev Kumar and a very young MacMohan - the latter was for once playing a nice character with no overtones of shadiness.

Door ki Awaaz (1964)

Another oldie I stumbled across in the DVD store. The cover had my favorites Joy Mukherjee and a young Saira Banu. So, I happily dished out the moolah and acquired the movie. The film had some unexpected surprises in store for me. Alert: spoilers ahead.

The plot: Prakash (Joy Mukherjee) is seeing off his sister Mala (Malika) at the station and is smitten by the unknown beauty (a gorgeous Saira Banu) who is to be Mala's cabin mate for the journey. The train subsequently meets an accident and Prakash discovers his heart throb severely injured and suffering from a total loss of memory. Mala and he convince their mother to shelter the girl and name her Jyoti (light). Prakash woos his beloved and in due course she reciprocates. The cute couple dance and ride into the sunset singing lovely duets. They even manage to overcome family opposition and marry - all without Jyoti remembering her past.