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People do murder or somebody is killed in accident by their irresponsible and careless actions. If Judges find them guilty then they are sent in to the jail so that they can get punishment for their wrong deeds but a Judge in this film thinks differently. He wants to do experiments with the legal system. He thinks that when somebody is not hard core criminal and unknowingly some crime has been done by him then he should be treated differently. Judge thinks that jails turn such forced criminals in to hard core criminals because there in jail they meet with true criminals and atmosphere is never helpful in brining any basic change in their mentality. Judge is following line of Mahatma Gandhi that change of heart is must. Judge is doing his personal research in the criminal psychology and when a case comes in his court where a truck driver is alleged to kill a villager in an accident, he gives his verdict that as truck driver�s irresponsible driving has killed a farmer who was the sole bread earner of a big family, so truck driver has to go to that village and will have to earn the bread and butter for the entire family. He cant leave the village and police will keep an eye over him.
Truck driver does not believe his ears. He is so reluctant to accept this unusual, unheard decision. He cries and appeals to judge to reconsider his decision. He says that he is willing to go to jail but to live with the family of dead farmer will be a life full of hell. Hate of family members will kill him. But Judge does not listen and truck driver is transported to the village.
As he had though, old parents of the dead farmer hates him. Widow of farmer hates him. Children of the dead man hate him and sister of dead man hates him. He too ignores them initially. He is given food by throwing food items before him like he is a dog. He hates it but he is helpless. He tries to escape from the village but a police constable is there to keep vigil on him and his attempts to run away are failed. Whole family calls him with the title �Dushman�. Though old parents and widow prefer to not to talk with him. Slowly he accepts his destiny and start taking interest in the farming. He starts liking life in the village and a girl who carries the Baiscope box and slowly love flourishes between them. Truck driver now understands completely that he has made a uncompensated loss to the family of dead farmer. He starts liking and loving his children and makes friends with them. Poor children also start liking him. When old parents sees his hard work in their field, they also start seeing him in new light and when he brings them the income of the crop they almost forgive him. Sister of dead farmer also forgives him after some events. But widow of the dead farmer is not willing to forgive the killer of her husband. Everybody in the family forgives him but she is adamant not to show any flexibility. She does not like any money coming from his earnings. Circumstances take turn and influential people of village try to take advantage of her widowhood and when she scolds them they try to make target of her unmarried sister in law and abduct her. Widow sees this and somehow enters the go down where they have kept her SIL. When she reaches there, at same time abductors come and she asks her SIL to run away and she does and men attack the widow. Truck driver gets to know and run to save widow and he saves her and police nabbed the abductors. Now widow also forgives the truck driver and they start living like a family. But now is the time when period of punishment for the truck driver is finished. Police comes and takes him to the city. Everybody in the family and in village protests and everybody is sad, truck driver too does not want to go back and he protests but police takes him to the city.
A day was there when he had protested Judge�s decision to send him to the family of dead farmer in village and time is now when he falls at the feet of Judge and cries that he wishes to live with the family of the farmer as he has found parents, a sister, a sister in law and two nephews. He pleads that police should not stop him from living in the village with the family.
Judge is smiling and lovingly he says your punishment is over, you are free to live anywhere with anyone.
Thus finishes a story of crime, punishment and atonement.

Rajesh Khanna, a truck driver visits a courtesan, Bindu. He is in mood of fun and he sings a song for her,
� Sachchai chhup nahin saktee banawat ke usulon se
Ki khushbu aa nahin saktee kabhi kagaj ke phulon se
��..
Vada tera vada, vade pe tere mara gaya mein banda seedha sada�.

Kishor Kumar sings the song and with this song he changes his voice and style of singing for next few years. A wonderful song. Good lyrics, good singing and good composition and good picturisation. If effect of this song has to be seen then one should watch film �Imtihan� where Vinod Khanna plays role of a lecturer in a degree college ( his first film as a hero). When Bindu enters the college then the gang of boys who like her, sing this song.
Anyway, after the song and heavy drinking, Rajesh Khanna is reminded that he has to go to other place and he starts in early morning when its still dark and he drives fast as he has pressure to reach on time. Effect of alcohol on his mind, sleepless night, darkness and foggy atmospheric conditions compelled him to lose control over his driving and he kills a farmer by his truck. He tries to escape but he is caught and brought to the court headed by Judge, Rehman. Rest happens as described above.

Rajesh Khanna is charming and appealing in the role of truck driver. Before accident he is usual Rajesh Khanna, a charming and fun loving guy who winks his eyes in a mesmerising way when sings songs for his ladies. Rajesh Khanna carries very well his transformation from a ruthless and careless truck driver to the sensitive human being. Its very interesting to see his films after Aradhna phase. He is part of several social dramas and though he was most famous super star in those years, he was part of the stories. Stories were not written to cash his superstardom. The fact that brilliant directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee worked with him repeatedly with him says a lot about him. If its said that he was favourite of directors coming from Bengali background then its not exaggeration.

Mumtaz in the role of an orphan girl who visits different places with her baiscope, gives good company to Rajesh Khanna. Their on screen chemistry is amazing and its reflected in many films they have worked together. Many good songs have been picturized on them and they both electrify the screen in these hit songs. Mumtaz not only sings hit songs in the film, like Dekho Dekho Baiscope dekho, and paisa phenko tamasha dekho, aur balma sipahiya, and a chorus with Rajesh Khanna, maine dekha tune dekha, but she acts her role very well. How she deals with her drunken uncle is an emotional angle in the film.

Meena Kumari plays the widow of the farmer and she is wonderful. Interestingly in same year 1971, she appears as old widow in Gulzar�s �Mere Apne� but here in �Dushman� she is young widow. She carries two different characters differently in two films of same time. She exhibits the emotions of her character very well and audience can walk along with her character�s emotions. Its very real when whole family forgives Rajesh Khanna but she still hates him. A wonderful performance by Meena Kumari.

Rehman plays the Judge and he is as always charming and suave person and plays every easily his character and appears as most befitting actor in his role of a different judge. The charming and soothing smile in the climax of the film, when Rajesh Khanna falls on his feet and cries, fully defines his grip over the character. Wish, such highly capable character artists come again in films.

Nana Palsikar plays the role of old father of the dead farmer and he is so genuine with his facial expression that it looks as if his real son is died. Nana Palsikar appeared in Govind Nihalani�s Aakrosh(1980) also and he was there in 1950s in films like Do Beegha Zamin, Devdas, Shri 420, Phir Subah Hogi, kanoon etc and its amazing to see the consistency in his performances.

Abhi Bhattacharya plays the police Inspector and he has played this role of sober and honest man many times with authority and he does it here also.

Asit Sen plays the police constable and his slow but sweet dialogue delivery wins the audience where he says� kyon tum samajhte the bhag jaoge, mere rehte bhag nahin paoge�. The scene where Rajesh Khanna reveals that there is no �Miss ghost� in the forest near the village but its Mumtaz who keeps her money below a tree is good. Rajesh Khanna cuts that tree and in the morning when police constable sees him lying on ground and tree is fallen on his body, he thinks Rajesh Khanna is died and when he wakes up he thinks its ghost. He brings good comedy in film.

Kanhiya Lal, Sajjan, Leela Mishra, Anwar Hussain, K N Singh, Tiwari, Murad, Naaz play their small roles very well. They have been competent character artists. Character artists of today�s generation like should watch more Nana Palsikar, Rehman, Kanhaiya Lal, like actors of yester years for this factor of consistency.

Johny walker in guest appearance attracts the audience with his acts.

Virendra Sinha, the writer of the film has inserted many twists in the film and he deals with a nice story. He had written earlier Milan (Sunil Datt and Nutan starrer dealing with rebirth) and a mysterious story like Anita ( Sadhana, Manoj Kumar). In Dushman he works with ideal philosophy and successfully inserts the psychological transformation of the characters in his story. Such stories should be written, which carry audience with their flow and present enough twists, so that time to time they get jerks to be attentive through out the film.

Dulal Guha, directed the film and he got more commercial success with this film than his earlier films like Dhartee kahe Pukar ke ( Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra). Dulal Guha can be credited as the director who introduced pair of Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha in Do Anjane in 1976. Dulal Guha directed well and made this good film Dushman.

Film is adequately supported by cinematographer M.Rajaram and Laxmikan Pyarelal�s catchy music are two value added factors associated with the film, “Dushman“.

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