I just watched this film and I highly recommend it to anyone who feels like making a trip into the Hindi cinema of yesteryear. While by no means original, the story has the perfect combination of drama, fun, romance, hardship and lucky coincidence.
Balraj Sahni is affluent and cocky, living the good life with his beautiful wife and three young boys. He thinks he can control destiny but TIME wills otherwise and an earthquake scatters his family to the winds.
His eldest turns into a suave thief Raja, played by Raj Kumar. The middle son, played exceedingly well by Sunil Dutt, is brought up by a very wealthy couple and turns into Ravi the lawyer. The youngest is Vijay, played by Shashi Kapoor, who lives with his mother in penury.
He finds a job as a driver with Chinnoy Seth(Rehman), a master criminal. The two older brothers both fall in love with the beauteous Meena, played by Sadhna, while the younger romances the peppy Renu, played by Sharmila Tagore. Of course the brothers have to cross paths and in fact they meet and part and even bump into their father on the streets.
By a quirk of fate Raja discovers that Ravi is indeed his brother and now blood will tell. He wants to smoothen the path of love for Ravi and Meena but is framed for a heinous murder committed by Chinnoy Seth. Chinnoy convinces Vijay to lie for him. An exceedingly well enacted courtroom drama, with the rookie Ravi defending Raja, terminates in the obligatory happy ending for all but the journey is most pleasant.
All the actors have delivered great performances and every principal character has been able to preserve his uniqueness among others. However the memorable performances have come from Sunil Dutt and Raaj Kumar. Besides, the performance of Balraaj Saahni and Achala Sachdev blushing like a teenager girl while listening to the romantic song of her husband in the song - Aye Meri Johra Jabeen is also something unforgettable.