Aankhen

Ankhen is a 1968 Hindi spy thriller produced and directed by Ramanand Sagar. After the surprise big hit of Farz as a spy thriller, Sagar came out with a bigger budget film in the same genre, shot in many international locations. The film stars Mala Sinha, Dharmendra, Mehmood, Lalita Pawar, Jeevan and Madan Puri. The music is by Ravi and the lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. It was the biggest hit of 1968 in India, attaining 'blockbuster' status. Ankhen is considered to be a pioneer in Hindi spy films. It was initially planned to be shot when Dharmendra had just one film under his belt. But the director Ramanand Sagar had apprehensions of casting him since he was considered raw and was not yet a star; therefore he recruited a huge star of the period, Mala Sinha, opposite him for market considerations. With the success of Phool Aur Paththar, Sagar decided to increase his budget and finalize Dharmendra as the leading man. The film went on to become the biggest hit of the year and Dharmendra was in the top league. His other movie of the year, Shikar, went on to be a golden jubilee hit and he became an actor of reckoning.