Woh Main Nahi is a Hindi movie adapted from Marathi writer Acharya Atre’s play To Mee Navhech (That’s Not Me). The play was inspired from a true story where the protagonist marries several woman for money and later abandons them. He was ultimately caught and presented in court for judgement. Woh Main Nahin is directed by Mohan Segal.

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The Plot

The movie opens with Anju/Anjali (Rekha) driving her car recklessly and having thoughts of suicide. She can’t stay with her father and young stepmother anymore. Her stepmother has made her life hell and arranged her marriage with one Ranjit Mukherjee. Anju doesn’t agree with this forced match making and fights with her mother and decides to leave the house forever. Her father Seth Dwarkadas (Manher Desai) tries to stop her but she doesn’t relent and leaves in her car. She reaches the jungle. The car crashes and she manages to get out safely. But the jungle is not a safe place.

She encounters many animals and a human being. The human being is a forest conservator Vijay (Navin Nischol). He saves her from a lion attack and takes her to his makeshift home. She fights with him not knowing his identity. She feels he is after her money and tries to run away. She even shoots him by mistake. She encounters some goons and Vijay saves her once again.

There is a tribal celebration in the forest and Anju dances with Vijay and they fall in love. Anju returns home and introduces Vijay to her father as her prospective life partner. The parents are shocked. Vijay mentions he is an orphan and has only one friend Ranjit Mukherjee (Rakesh Pandey) whom he meets very occasionally. The parents realize Ranjit is the same man whose match has been arranged with Anju.

Vijay and Ranjit meet and realize Anju is the same girl they are seeking to marry. Vijay tries to convince Anju that Ranjit is a rich man and she will be happy with him. But Anju doesn’t relent. Ranjit convinces Anju’s father Dwarkadas that his money is Vijay’s money and they should proceed with the marriage. All is well and Vijay and Anju are about to get married. But Inspector Kapoor (Kamaldeep) suddenly arrives to stop the ceremony.

The police are accompanied by a woman (Sultana), her child and her father Shaikh Mansoor (Krishan Dhawan). The woman Sultana identifies Vijay as Salimuddin, her husband and father of her son. Vijay refutes all charges with the dialogue “Woh – main nahin” implying she is referring to a different person and that’s not him. The police find a bag containing some wigs and fake ID cards in Vijay’s hotel room. Vijay is arrested. Ranjit steps in to rescue him and the case reaches the court.

The prosecution lawyer Iftekhar tells the apparent story of Vijay alias Salimuddin and many other aliases. Vijay stays in the forest but travels to different cities under the pretext of meeting women, marrying them and fleeing some days or months later with their money and valuables. This began with Shaikh Mansoor’s family in Hyderabad. Vijay impressed the family by acting as a poor, god fearing and hardworking man. Shaikh offers him a job in his tin factory. After getting close to the family, he married Shaikh’s daughter Sultana; they had a son. One day he mortgages the factory and runs away with the money abandoning his wife and son.

The court has assigned a lawyer to Vijay but he decides to fight his case alone. He shrewdly cross examines Shaikh Mansoor and brings out some disturbing facts which make him a non-reliable prosecution witness. Again he refutes the charges stating “Woh main nahin.” But this is only the beginning. There are other women, of different religions with similar stories. Sunanda Datar (Padmini Kapila) alleges he is Diwakar Ganesh Datar. She has met him through the Happy Marriage Bureau run by Gangutai Ghotale (Nadira). Diwakar had made a story of how he is a secret officer and has 3 brothers Daji Shastri, Ashok Paranjape and Johnny Walker. Diwakar marries Sunanda. She is pregnant and he refuses to accept it as his own child. He tells her his younger brother Captain Ashok, a naval officer is getting married and needs her jewellery.

He disappears with the jewellery for a couple of months. Sunanda comes to meet Pamela (Asha Sachdev) who is now Ashok’s wife. Pamela is a cabaret dancer who had met Ashok in her hotel and they had got married. Ultimately, Ashok and Diwakar arrive (separately) to meet and convince their wives. They both cook up a story and leave. The police also arrive. Finally Pamela realizes she has been duped of her savings by Ashok. And Ashok and Diwakar go missing.

The final witness is Chandarani Chitrao. Vijay had arrived at their village posing as Radheyshyam Maharaj. Apparently he has fled with her daughter Venu’s (Nazneen’s) jewellery and murdered her. But there is no proof available.

Thus the case ends. And the court is ready to deliver the judgement. Will Vijay be pronounced guilty? Is he a cheat and fraud in reality? Is there any alternative? What happens to Anju and their marriage?

The Music

Sonik Omi are the music directors. They had composed hit music for Mohan Segal’s earlier movie Saawan Bhado (1970) which also starred Navin Nischol and Rekha. However, the music of Woh Main Nahin is fairly forgettable.

My Thoughts

To Mee Navhech was a classic play. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Woh Main Nahin. Navin Nischol displays his abilities through the multiple roles and is convincing. The rest of the cast don’t have much to do. There are some seasoned supporting actors who appear to be under utilized. The problem is with the beginning and ending. The first half and hour is dedicated to the Vijay-Anju romance but it fails to click. The jungle scenes are stretched and the romance forced. They could have shown that the couple is already in love with a flashback explaining how they met etc. The original story is altered for the movie audience but doesn’t work as desired. The court scenes which form the crux of the story are less engaging. And the ending is twisted and falls apart.

Overall, the movie is a wasted effort. There was a Tamil movie Naan Avanillai starring Gemini Ganesan adapted from the same play and released in the same year. It would be worth watching if it is closer to the inspiration or a celebration of cinematic liberties.