Exactly 48 years ago, Mili starring Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan was released. Directed by the famous director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the movie’s story revolved around a young girl called Mili played to perfection by Jaya who is suffering from an incurable rare disease called pernicious anemia.
While today there are treatments to tackle the symptoms caused by this disease, during the 70s when the movie was made, it was considered untreatable.
The character of Mili is that of a cheerful girl who loves to spread happiness. She is very lively and inquisitive and initially her cheerfulness and playfulness become a nuisance for her new neighbour Shekhar who is depressed and also an alcoholic.
But her joyful nature starts changing Shekhar and at one point he starts looking forward to her antics and presence. When Mili who is a regular visitor to his flat when suddenly stops coming, Shekhar who is now in love with her starts wondering about her absence. When he comes to know about Mili’s health problem, he cannot bear that Mili is going to die and decide to marry her so that he can take her abroad for better treatment.
Shekhar is a rich man who has everything in his life except love which he gets from Mili. That is why he marries her and takes her abroad with the hope to cure her from the rare ailment. The highlight of the film is the strong chemistry between Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.
Big B as an alcoholic, depressed, and moody Shekhar has done a fabulous job. Since her debut movie Guddi, Jaya Bachchan has shown that she has a mischievous side to her calm and cool demeanour and that mischievous side comes into play in Mili as well and is more active when Shekhar is around.
The way Amitabh and Jaya express themselves through eyes with less dialogue but more with body language and stares is something only actors of high calibre can do. The movie also starred legendary Ashok Kumar and Aruna Irani in important and unforgettable roles. Songs like “Badi Sooni Sooni Hai”, “Aye tum yaad muzhe” and “Maine kahan phoolon se” composed by S.D. Burman are very soulful.
Mili is one of the most loved movies of Jaya and Amitabh as pair and one of the best by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.