Plot

Renu lives a poor lifestyle with her mom, dad and a brother. Her dad decides to travel to Africa so that he can earn enough money to send his son to study engineering, so that he can find employment abroad. But fate has other plans when one day Renu's brother returns home sick from college, and shortly thereafter passes away. His shocked father books a seat on a plane to attend his son's funeral, but the plane crashes killing everyone on board. Shattered and devastated, Renu decides to hide her dad's death from her ill and fragile mom, and goes along pretending that her father is still alive. She obtains employment and through her earnings convinces her mom that her dad is regularly sending money. Then things brighten up when a homeless young man, Anand, enters her life, both fall in love with each other and want to get married. But once again fate plays a cruel joke on Renu as she subsequently finds out that Anand is not who he claims to be, but is in fact, a playboy, the grandson, nicknamed 'Prince", of one of the wealthiest man in town, Dwarkadas, and Anand is scheduled to get married to Rekha - the only heir to a multi-million rupee estate. Watch as events unfold and the effect this news has on the townspeople and Renu's mom.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

In a panel discussion during Jaipur Dev Festival 2020 , The noted comic actor Rakesh Bedi told us how fast Dev Saab would climb the stairs to his Kheera Nagar Office. The movie Asli Naqli begins with a similar scene when the protagonist Anand (Dev Saab) climbs several flights of stairs to his grandfather's office. The indulgent grandfather gives him twenty-five thousand rupees which Anand spends on frivolous entertainments. The grandfather ( Nazir Hussain) is a very complex character. He spoils his grandson, but he is unhappy that he has turned out as a good for nothing young man. He says ' Gali Ka Kutta ( stray dog) bhi apne liye roti dhhond leta hai. Tum Ye Bhi Nahi Kar Sakte Ho', and other nasty lines which demolish the hero's self-esteem. The only use the grandfather can think of for his worthless grandson is to get him engaged to a super-rich Rekha( Indira Billi) who can bring in several sugar mills in dowry . If you are not able to place Indira Billi, please recall Firdaus of Mere Hazoor and Raj Kumar's dialogue- Lucknow Me Wo Kaun Si Firdaus Hai Jise Hum Nahi Jante. The hero runs away and is taken in by Anwar Hussain who lives with his sister Sandhya Roy in a chawl. This is also the point of entry for the heroine Renu (Sadhana) who works as a private secretary in an office and helps the chawl dwellers with adult literacy lessons in the evening. Renu helps Anand get a job in her office,and the protagonists become love birds. The strength of the movie is that the director Hrishikesh Mukherji has stuck to the basics. Number one, the romance between super handsome Dev Anand and super gorgeous Sadhana which rides on lovely SJ songs like EK But Banaunga Tera, Tujhe Jeevan Ki Dor Se, and Tera Mera Pyar Amar. Then, the director has very skilfully portrayed humour and human values in day to day situations in the lives of ordinary people.The scenes like when Mukri is taking his wife to a movie and is looking for a baby sitter for his son, show that a great director doesn't require extra ordinary situations and extravagant sets to keep the audience engaged. Unlike in Maya, there is no villain in this movie. The chawl dwellers are simple, honest , hard working , people who are full of compassion. They have their eccentricities which add spice to the story. Dev Anand was at his best both in terms of looks and performance. Sadhana's glamour has been underplayed by the director which suits the part played by her. It was an unusual role for Nazir Hussain as he plays a rich ,arrogant, and selfish grandfather who even attempts villainy in the end. There was no scope for Indira Billi, but Sandhya Roy gave a scintillating performance. Anwar Hussain also deserves praise. Mukri was one of those comic actors who didn't get washed away by Mehmood's tidal wave, and continued to get roles in sixties and seventies. In this movie, he has a longish role which he performed very well. Keshto Mukherji also amuses with his Jee Haan as telephone operator. The review would be incomplete if I didn't mention the cameo of the great Moti Lal who gives life lessons to Dev Anand on Billiards Table.