The film was a considerable success and was important in the career of Malini as an actress.[3] It features "Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana", one of the best-known Bollywood yodels by the singer Kishore Kumar that was also featured on the soundtrack of Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala.[4] The song fetched Kumar a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer. When this film released, films of Kapoor were not doing well at the box office. The 10-minute cameo of Khanna is credited for turning Andaz into a hit film.[5] This film is counted among the 17 consecutive hit films of Rajesh Khanna between 1969 and 1971, by adding the two-hero films Maryada and Andaz to the 15 consecutive solo hits he gave in that period.[6] Further, this film is the first of the successful scriptwriting partnership between Salim-Javed. "This film was a direct copy of the French movie Un homme et une femme (1966)"; this was stated by Shammi Kapoor in an interview to Lehren TV.
Plot
The story begins with Ravi (Shammi Kapoor), shown as a single father bringing up his only daughter, Munni. His life is good, living in a nice house, with his mother. His brother, Badal (Roopesh Kumar), going to college in a different city, but shown as a playboy wasting all the money being sent to him.
At a fund raiser for the local school, Ravi meets Sheetal (Hema Malini)and appears to take a liking for her. He drops her home and realises she is a single mother, raising her only son, Deepu. It also turns out that Sheetal is also Munni's teacher.
A side plot is with Gangu (Randhawa), who cannot speak and works near Ravi's house. He is in love with Mahua (Aruna Irani). But Mahua herself is flirting all the time with Ravi. She gets a lift in Ravi's Jeep, on any pretext, to try and spend some time with him. He tells her not to 'cry wolf', otherwise in her time of need, no one will believe her.
After a couple more meetings of Ravi with Sheetal, her story is revealed as a flashback. She is a widow who is left devastated by the death of her beloved Raj (Rajesh Khanna). After staying together in a hotel room, they get intimate. They do not get married legally, but in the presence of God alone. She tells Raj to tell his father Ajit. Later, when Raj tries to tell his father about his plans for marriage, his father shouts him down and tells him that bringing someone who lives in a hostel, and does not know her own lineage, is not acceptable. Raj walks out of the house disowning his father and his property. On his way to Sheetal's birthday party, Raj meets with a fatal accident. Sheetal tries to commit suicide, is rescued by a Father. After not being accepted by Raj's father, she brings up Deepu as a single mother, and gets a transfer to the present city. The Father in charge of the local school is Abhi Bhattacharya.
Later, Ravi reveals that his wife Mona (Simi Garewal) died soon after giving birth to their only daughter Munni. She had a condition with high blood pressure and low iron in her blood which proves fatal after childbirth.
Badal finds out that his money supply has stopped. So he and a friend come back home to see what he can do about it, riding bikes and flirting with the village belles. He eyes Mahua in a not-so-decent manner. His friend spots Sheetal, and knows a little of the back story. It is spun a little into making Sheetal look like a money grabber and passed on to the mother.
Meanwhile, after multiple cute incidents, the children draw their respective parent closer and Ravi finally confesses his love to Sheetal. The Father also convinces Sheetal that everything is pointing to Ravi and Sheetal being together.
Badal and his friend chase Mahua in the forest. As she is trying to escape, she spots Ravi in the distance in his Jeep, and cries out for help. But this time Ravi tells her that he doesn't believe her and drives on.
Ravi finally takes Sheetal home and wants to introduce Sheetal to his mother. But as he is trying to trace his mother in the large home, she steps out and confronts Sheetal with the concocted story that she has heard from Badal and his friend. Sheetal is shattered. Ravi comes back and confronts his mother, in a different room and a twist is added to the story - Ravi is also an illegitimate child of the mother who has lied and convinced Ravi's father that he Ravi is his son. The mother is, in turn, shattered. Ravi comes out to see that Sheetal is missing.
As he steps out, Gangu comes out of nowhere and lunges at Ravi with an axe. The villages also come en masse to the house and place a body in front of Ravi. The Father is also there and says that Mahua committed suicide by hanging herself. It also looked like she had been molested. Ravi puts two and two together and goes after Badal's friend and Badal. They confess and the police take them away.
Meanwhile, Sheetal goes home to find Raj's repentant father waiting for her. He is sincerely apologetic and tells her that he has come to take her away to Bombay, where she can bring up Deepu.
Ravi and family then drive to Sheetal's home - only to find that she has packed up and left for the train station. They drive to the station. Raj's father sees that Sheetal has found a new life here and decides that it is best for her to remain there.
Vocals for Kapoor and Khanna are supplied by their frequent collaborators, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar, respectively, while Asha Bhosle sang for Malini.
Andaz was one of the last movies for which the music directors duo, Shankar-Jaikishan composed music together. Jaikishan died of liver cirrhosis on 12 September 1971 at the age of 42. "Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana" ("Life is a beautiful journey") believed to be the last song that Jaikishan recorded before his death but it was popular myth, songs were recorded way back than his death.
Andaz was the last hit for Shammi Kapoor as a lead. The film's success is credited to the Rajesh Khanna Mania of the early 1970s, as Khanna only appeared for 15 minutes in the movie, and still created a stir. However, Kapoor's performance was well received and it is considered be one of the most uncharacteristic roles in his acting career. The film is also noted for Ajit's rare turn as a sympathetic character.
