Even in the make-believe world of movies, there are certain crimes that are simply unforgivable. Iconic screenwriters Salim-Javed, who have written some of the most popular Hindi film villains of all-time including Gabbar, Mogambo and Shakaal, famously believed that their villains could be horrible, immoral people, but they could have never been written as lecherous men. Their reason was that once a man starts lusting after a woman on screen, he loses all respect, even as a villain. While Salim-Javed followed this rule for their own creations, one can see in hindsight that a male villain who lusts after a woman, or worse rapes a woman, has sinned beyond the point of redemption. Hence, it was no less than a shock when Dilip Kumar played one such man in Mehboob Khan’s 1954 film Amar.
In the film, Dilip Kumar plays the titular Amar, who is introduced as a well-respected lawyer. He is shown as a charming man who thinks on his feet and mesmerises Madhubala’s Anju in an instant. The director makes you believe that he is the definition of a ‘good guy’, until that stormy night. The village belle Sonia, played by Nimmi, is introduced as an innocent Disney princess-like woman, who talks to her many pets and respects Amar, for his kind nature and how he appears to be helping the needy.
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