User reviews

This was Guru Dutt's second movie, after Dev Anand's production "Baazi". Guru Dutt was sort of finding his bearings through commercially successful movies. And after "Baazi", this was the second film in which Dev Anand also came through as a confident star/actor, with a style uniquely his own. Geeta Bali, the most gifted actress of the Indian screen ever, gave a scintillating performance. But what stood out most was the musical score of the film. Till date, the sweetness of the melodious "Yeh raat yeh chandni phir kahan, sun ja dil ki dastaan", sung by the heavenly voices Hemant Kumar has not been equalled by any song of this type, composed by any music composure. Most other songs were based on the Goan folk music, probably first time used by a music director.

JAAL is a musical melodrama with some underlying tones of crime noir. The most notable thing here is the role of Dev Anand, who is cast as a conniving and manipulative person with villainous shades, a completely against-the-type role for a leading hero of that era. He plays the role of a scheming and shrewd smuggler, who traps women in his net of love for his nefarious motives, to perfection. Geeta Bali as his love interest is superb and plays the role of an independent and love-struck girl with fierce and exquisite energy. The film's depiction of longing and the innate human need for a connection is very passionately done. It portrays those emotions with various imagery and subtle subtexts. The eloquent dialogues further bring out the feeling of love and desire in the story. Also, the music album is just chef's kiss.

Some of the things haven't aged well like some dialogues about women's sexuality or some incredibly weird interpretation of crime and punishment, but generally, it's a well-made tale of love, betrayal, faith and redemption.