Solva Saal

Raj Khosla's romantic 'adventurous' thriller 'Solva Saal' is an entertaining 'masala' flick starring the hit duo: Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman. It's got pretty much all the ingredients that make a Hindi film entertaining except that there are some moments that derail from the main plot. Most of the film takes place in one night. I don't see what relevance the title has to the film. Dev and Waheeda's strong chemistry stands out and both act very well. Waheeda is stubborn and lovely while Dev is cool, sophisticated and charming. Their scenes together make the movie worth the while. The songs are beautiful. In spite of its flaws, Khosla does a decent job and keeps the film moving. Perhaps some editing would have helped mend the uneven pace.''Solva Saal' is a fun watch.

Dev Anand ( Prannath) is a journalist looking for a story for his newspaper, spots a young girl Laaj played by Waheeda Rehman who runs away with her boy friend. He follows them hoping that his quest for a good story for his readers will be fulfilled. However the eloping damsel is ditched by her boyfriend who steals a necklace which is worth Rs 10,000. Our hero who initially irritates the damsel by singing the evergreen song " Hai Apna Dil to Awaara", comes to the rescue. What follows is a night's adventure where the debonair Dev Anand woos everyone, sings songs, fights the bad guy and retrieves the necklace. Dev promises the lady he will never will write about her, and advises her to return home and marry some one of her father's choice. The movie ends with a very pleasant twist making it an interesting hit of those halcyon days. It is a must watch, if you can sit through the old black and style of movie making. The script and screenplay are taut, and the music simply rocks. This is one of the first few movies from Raj Khosla, one time assistant of Guru Dutt. Performances of Dev and rest of the cast are quite good