Aaina (1977 film)

Ram Shashtri, an upper Caste Hindu Brahmin, lives in a small village in India, but has a very large family, consisting of his wife, Savitri, five daughters and three sons. Ram performs prayers and last rites for the Hindu community, and it is through these meagre earnings that the entire household survives. The eldest is a daughter by name Shalini, who Ashok J Rao,is in love with and wants to marry. Ashok is the son of the Village Mukhiya, Jagannath. As the Raos are of a much lower caste than the Shastris, Ashok is told by his dad that he cannot marry Shalini. One day, after an argument with his dad, he leaves to join the army, and a few weeks later a telegram is received by Jagannath that Ashok has died at war. As Ram work dries up no longer performing last rites. Savitri attempts to poison the entire family, but Shalini stops her in time. She gets a job and is able to get the family to get back up on its feet. Her brother, Gautam, wants to be a doctor, so she arranges for his studies, while her sister, Poorna, wants to be a singer, and a music teacher is arranged. Then Shalini leaves her village to travel to Poona to get her brother's admission to Medical College, with considerable success, but at the cost of her dignity and innocence which she loses forever. The family though are left in the dark about this. Shalini gets a ‘raise’ and an offer for a big pay-raise if she re-locates to the capital, Delhi, which is what she tells her family. She sends plenty of money so her dad does not have to work, and her siblings can carry on with their respective studies. In Delhi late one night Shalini expecting another client has Ashok knock on her door. Ashok wanting company alone in a new city was told to go to an address where he could find a prostitute. They both are shocked to see each other. Shalini makes no attempt to hide her trade and tell Ashok that was her only supporting her family, still in love with Shalini, and heartbroken Ashok leaves. Then Shalini's sister, Girja, meets a young man, Raju, and both fall in love. Gautam, now a doctor, is in love with the Tehsildar's daughter, Usha, and wants to marry her. Shalini returns home to attend Girja's marriage and recognises the groom as one of her clients whom she remembered fondly. Before the wedding the groom is nowhere to be found. Shalini goes looking for him on the night of the wedding finding Raju they both promise to keep their liaison a secret as he loves Girja and still wants to marry her. Girja's marriage takes place with great pomp and ceremony and everyone compliments Shalini, for without her efforts, the family would have been destitute. Her brother Gautum who does nothing throughout the story except, asking his sister for handouts tells her to arrange her marriage to Usha. Meanwhile, Ashok returns home to meet his father and Ram and Savitri also arrive. Ashok doesn't want to speak about Shalini whom his father says, that it was she who told him that he was still alive and had met with Ashok. Ashok denied this, while leaving, Savitri tells everyone not to hassle Ashok about Shalini. Alone with his father, Ashok tell him in error and revealing too much about Shalini being a prostitute. His father shocked says he didn't know say he is relieved Ashok said nothing in front of her parents. Not knowing they were within ear shot. Ram drops to the floor in shock. Meanwhile, Ram's sister out of bitterness of her own daughter not receiving any marriage proposals tells the Tehsildar and along with the rest of Ram's family of how Shalini came into so much money for the family. The Tehsildar, Shalini's aunt and Gautum force Shalini out of the house disgracing her and insulting her.

In the end, she is disowned by her family except her mother who cries for her. Nobody appreciated the hardship she fell upon and how low she fell to financially support her family.At Ashoka's house who took her in after her family through her out, Shalini seems to go into hysteria as she talks of committing suicide while hearing the distant wedding music of her estranged brother's marriage.Ram comes to Jugannath inviting him to preside over the wedding as the village's mukhiya. Juganbath and Ashok reject him saying they stand by Shalini. Ashok accepts her for what she is and marries her with the blessings of his father.

• Rajesh Khanna
• Mumtaz – Shalini R. Shastri
• A. K. Hangal – Ram Shastri
• Nirupa Roy – Savitri R. Shastri
• Rita Bhaduri – Poorna R. Shastri
• Adil Amaan – Dr. Gautam R. Shastri
• Jayasudha – Usha G. Shastri
• Lalitha Pawar – Janki
• Manmohan Krishna – Jagannath Rao
• Jagdishraj – Managing Director
• Polson – Shastri's Client
• Brahmachari – Shastri's Client
• Madan Puri – M. B. Patil
• Jagdeep – Music Instructor[4]
• Suresh Chatwal – Shyam Lal
• Kamal Haasan – Prem Kapoor (Uncredited as an actor, cameo role of a few seconds appearance, shown in a shooting of a movie of Dharmendra and Neetu Singh)
• Dharmendra – Himself (shooting of a movie)
• Neetu Singh – Herself (shooting of a movie)

• Director – K. Balachander
• Story – K. Balachander
• Screenplay – K. Balachander
• Dialogue – Inder Raj Anand
• Producer – L. Duraiswamy, N. Selvaraj
• Production Company – Kalakendra Films
• Cinematographer – B. S. Lokanath
• Editor – N. R. Kittu
• Art Director – T. K. Desai
• Costume and Wardrobe – Bhanu Athaiya, P. Samee
• Choreographer – Suresh Bhatt
• Dance – Kamal Haasan, Gopi Krishna, Manohar Naidu
• Music Director – Naushad
• Lyricist – Jan Nisar Akhtar
• Playback Singers – Asha Bhosle, Vani Jairam, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi

• Aaina at IMDb