Khilona, very simply, is the story of a man (Sanjeev Kapoor) who shattered by his disappointment in love, becomes mentally imbalanced and is helped back to sanity by a prostitute (Mumtaz) who is hired to nurse him. The film, apart from being a huge commercial success, proved to be a turning point for both its main characters. For Sanjeev Kumar, it was his first big hit and public recognition of his talent in form of a Filmfare Best Actor nomination. For Mumtaz, it marked her emergence as an actress of reckoning from her till-then image of a glamour doll and was sealed with a Filmfare Best Actress award. Apart from a gripping story (Gulshan Nanda got a Filmfare Best Story nomination for it) and great performances, including one of splendidly debauched villiany by Shatrughan Sinha and a superbly comic one by Jagdeep (Filmfare Best Comedian nomination), the film's success was powered by the super hit music of Laxmikant Pyarelal which won Mohammed Rafi the Filmfare nomination for the title song "Khilona Jaan Kar Tum". Also remembered are the stunning mujra "Agar Dilbar Ki Ruswai" and the aching "Khush Rahe Tu Sada".