When Basu Bhattacharya directed this movie he was a new comer whereas Raj Kapoor was already a successful and well established director. Waheeda Rehman, in one of her interviews, narrated how Raj Kapoor would fret and confide in Waheeda "what is this guy doing, he should do this scene in this way" etc. and Waheeda would tell him to forget it and let the director do it as per his vision. I wonder how the movie would have shaped if Basu had heard all of Raj Kapoor's suggestions. No idea, but this is my favorite Basu Bhattacharya and Raj Kapoor movie. It moves at a leisurely pace establishing the ambiance and characters very firmly. Although color was available in those days but the movie was made in black and white for the right effect. Raj Kapoor as a innocent and simple minded bullock cart driver and Waheeda as a village nautanki dancer are amazing at best and their relationship which was doomed from the beginning is the stuff that classics are made of. The movie was crowned with the president's award that year and remains one of the great classics of our times.
