Shehnai

(1964)

Young and handsome Deepak, an enterprising youth of many talents, is a popular student in his college, for intellectual persuits, sports, music and poetry. His co-student, Preeti, the only daughter of a millionaire, Raja Sahib, has, on the other hand, no equal at dancing and feminine grace. Deepak and Preeti are attracted towrads each other by the natural process of the like attracting the like. Aided and abated by their common friends, goofy Jan Mohammad and vivacious Rita (a bublling Anglicised lass), Deepak and Preeti fall in love, dreaming of their ultimate union, their final bliss. Benevolent and kind-hearted Raja Sahib, when he learns of his daughters infatuation of Deepak, generously offers a scholarship for further studies in the U.S.A and a high-salaried lucrative job on his return from abroad, in his business firm. Bouncing with joy, Deepak rushes to his mother to announce the happy tiding to her. But mother, Shobha, is far from being pleased. She discloses the last wish of her late husband, Pilot officer, Amarjeet,that their son should be brought up as an officer in the Indian Air Force, according to the noble traditions of his family. Deepak willingly acceeds to the wishes of his mother and goes for training to the Indian Air Force Center. He returns as a full-fledged pilot-officer to Srinagar. Now his rank and uniform shock Preeti's mother, Asha and father Raja Sahib. Asha flatly refuses to marry her only daughter to a pilot-officer, every moment of whose life, according to her, is full of risk. Actully Asha was a close freind of Deepak's mother and both were married to pilots. After both's husbands killed in war, Shobha remained widow to make her son pilot as per her husbands wish , while Asha married rich Rai saheb. Now she was not ready to put her daughter to same fate. Deepak accepts the refusal with grace and conceals the agony of his heart with a smile. He is not prepared to seek his own personal happiness at the cost of his mothers ambitions and leaves for the Front on duty.