Maan Abhimaan : Retro Gems

#5 Maan Abhimaan (1980)

Can a deep and intense love story be portrayed, without the hero and heroine’s physical intimacy?

Maan Abhimaan, the film made back in 1980, is an answer to this question. The film starred Raj Kiran and Rameshwari in the lead roles.

Plot

Ajay Chaudhary( Raj Kiran) returns from foreign to his home. His old father Mathuraprasad Chaudhary (Amrish Puri) perusades him to take over a huge mansion in a village where he grew up. He hides the facts and figures about the mansion from Ajay though. Ajay comes to the village and is guided by Mathuraprasad’s evil accountant( C. S. Dubey)., who poisons his mind against the residents of the mansion.

Especially for the owner’s daughter Mallika (Rameshwari). Ajay is unaware that Mallika’s father Thakur Sumer Singh (Iftekhar) was cheated upon by Mathuraprasad in business and then his whole property was claimed by the latter. Now the mansion was mortgaged and is the only thing Mallika owns. She stays with her younger brother Somu, and an old servant ( Yunus Parvez) there. She has promised her dying father that she will never forgive the family of Mathuraprasad for what he did.

When Ajay and Mallika meet,

he already has wrong notions about her because of the evil accountant. Mallika too dislikes him as she knows Ajay as an evil person’s son who has come to make her and her brother homeless. But Ajay is a golden hearted man, which Mallika is unaware of.

Later, not only he befriends her brother but also falls in love with her. Subsequently, he tries to win her heart. But self respected and hurt that Mallika is, she never entertains Ajay.

Ajay finally finds out why Mallika hates him. But things take an ugly turn when Ajay loses his father and he returns to the city. The evil accountant gives notice to Mallika to vacate the mansion in his absence. She blames Ajay for all this and insults him when he comes for Somu’s birthday.

Misunderstandings deepen

and Ajay finally leaves from the village. While leaving he hands over her mansion’s property papers which shakes Mallika off her feet.

After returning back to city also, he donates money for the school where Mallika teaches. He financially helps the library where she works and also gives fund for repairing her ancestral temple. She is taken aback by his generousity and big heart. But her self respect stops her from approaching and thanking him.

Finally Somu arranges there meeting and they talk out matters. The film ends with a happy note.

Highlight

The highlight of the movie for me is the deep love Ajay has for Mallika. She too has a regard for him in her subconscious mind. So beautifully they have maintained these emotions throughout. At the end also, when misunderstandings clear out, they share an intense eye lock and the film ends This film is the best example of how a deep and intense love story can be filmed without any physical intimacy of the leads.

Hats off.