Anokhi Raat

Anokhi Raat (lit. 'Strange Night') is a 1968 Hindi film produced by L. B. Lachman and L. B. Thakur and directed by Asit Sen. The film stars Sanjeev Kumar, Zaheeda Hussain, Aruna Irani, Keshto Mukherjee and Parikshit Sahni. It has music by Roshan and Salil Chowdhury, with the former being the song composer and the latter being the film score composer. The film has some outstanding songs that include "Oh Re Taal Mile", "Mahalon Ka Raja Mila", "Mile Na Phool To", and "Dulhan Se Tumhara Milan Hoga".^[1]

Anokhi Raat
Directed by	Asit Sen
Written by	Hrishikesh Mukherjee Anand Kumar
Produced by	L.B. Lachman
Starring	Sanjeev Kumar Zaheeda Hussain Parikshit Sahni
Cinematography	Kamal Bose
Edited by	Tarun Dutta
Music by	Songs: Roshan Score: Salil Chowdhury
Distributed by	L. B. Films
Release date	1968 (1968)
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Plot

The events depicted in the film take place on a single night and result in several characters sharing their life stories. It is a fascinating depiction of some of the challenges faced by the poor and by women in Indian society, some of which continue to this day.^[2]

Cast

• Sanjeev Kumar as Baldev Singh
• Zaheeda Hussain as Rama / Gopa
• Tarun Bose as Madan Lal
• Aruna Irani as Mrs. Prema Rai
• Parikshit Sahni as Painter
• Anwar Hussain as Ram Das
• Praveen Paul as Orphanage Matron (as Pravin Paul)
• Dev Kishan as Matron's Uncle
• Keshto Mukherjee as Buyer (stammerer)
• Viju Khote as Idle bandit (as Vijay Khote)
• Vishwa Mehra as Lakhan Singh (Bandit)
• Brahm Bhardwaj as Madanlal's Lawyer
• Mukri as Naubat
• Badri Prasad as Durga Prasad

Trivia

Parikshit Sahni changed his screen name to Ajay Sahni at the suggestion of Sanjeev Kumar during the shooting of this film, before eventually reverting to his own name a few years later.^[3][4]

Soundtrack

The film score was composed by Salil Chowdhury while the songs featured in the film were composed by Roshan.

#	Song	Singer
1	"O Re Taal Mile Nadi Ke Jal Mein"	Mukesh
2	"Dulhan Se Tumhara Milan Hoga"	Mukesh
3	"Mehlon Ka Raja Mila, Tumhari Beti Raaj Karegi"	Lata Mangeshkar
4	"Mile Na Phool To Kaanto Se Dosti Kar Li"	Mohammed Rafi
5	"Mere Beri Ke Ber Mat Todo, Kaanta Chubh Jaayega"	Asha Bhosle

Awards

• Filmfare Best Art Direction (black & white)- Ajit Bannerjee
• Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award (black & white) - Kamal Bose
• Filmfare Best Screenplay Award- Hrishikesh Mukherjee^[5]
• Filmfare Best Dialogue Award- Anand Kumar^[6]