Madhumati

For the Telugu film, see Madhumati (2013 film).
Madhumati

Poster
Directed by Bimal Roy
Produced by Bimal Roy
Screenplay by Ritwik Ghatak
Rajinder Singh Bedi (dialogues)
Story by Ritwik Ghatak
Starring Dilip Kumar
Vyjayanthimala
Johnny Walker
Pran
Music by Salil Choudhury
Shailendra (lyrics)
Cinematography Dilip Gupta
Edited by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Production
company
Bimal Roy Productions
Release dates
  • 1958 (1958)
Running time
 179 minutes
Country India
Language Hindi

Madhumati is a 1958 Hindi drama film produced and directed by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. Its music was composed by Salil Choudhury with lyrics written by Shailendra. The film stars Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala in the lead roles with Pran and Johnny Walker. It was one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation and had a gothic noir feel to it.[1] The first and only collaboration between Roy and Ghatak, it was one of their most commercially successful and influential films.[2] Madhumati won the National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Hindi and nine Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematographer.

Janam Janam, the 1988 Hindi film starring Rishi Kapoor, is a remake of Madhumati. In 2007, Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan made Om Shanti Om using some plot elements from Madhumati but did not credit the earlier film.

Plot

On a stormy night, Devendra (Dilip Kumar), an engineer, drives down a hill road with his friend to fetch his wife and child from the railway station. A landslide blocks their path and the friends take shelter in an old mansion off the road. Devendra finds the house uncannily familiar. In the large front room, he finds an old portrait which he recognises. His friend and the old caretaker join him, and Devendra, amidst flashes of memory from another life, sits down to tell his story while the storm rages outside.

Anand (Dilip Kumar) had come to Shyamnagar Timber Estate as its new manager. An artist in his spare time, he roamed the hills and fell in love with Madhumati (Vyjayantimala), a tribal girl whose songs have haunted him from a distance. Anand's employer, Ugra Narayan (Pran) is a ruthless and arrogant man and, as Anand refuses to bend down to him like others, he incurs his wrath. Anand has enemies among his staff. Sent away on an errand, he returns to find that Madhumati has disappeared. He learns that Madhumati had been taken to Ugra Narayan and confronts him, but he is beaten unconscious by Ugra Narayan's men. While the men are taking Anand's body out of the palace, his men meets with Madhumati's dad (Jayant) who had to fight for her own daughter's death. He does it and wins but dies laying down in the road while Charandas (Johnny Walker) hides then takes Anand's body to the hospital.

Anand's life is saved but his mind wanders. One day, he meets a girl who looks exactly like Madhumati. She says she is Madhavi but Anand refuses to believe her and is beaten up by her companions when he tries to plead with her. Madhavi finds a sketch of Madhumati and realises he was speaking the truth. She takes the sketch and learns his story. Meanwhile, Anand is haunted by the spirit of Madhumati who tells him that Ugra Narayan is her killer. He appeals to Madhavi to pose as Madhumati before Ugranarayan and help him get a confession out of him and she agrees.

Returning to Ugranarayan's palace, Anand begs permission to do a portrait of him. Next evening, with a storm brewing outside, Anand paints Ugra Narayan. At the stroke of eight, Ugra Narayan sees the pretend-Madhumati in front of him. Shaken, he confesses the truth. The police waiting outside the room come and take him away. Anand suddenly realises that the questions Madhavi asked Ugra Narayan were things she could not have known, as even Anand did not know, such as where Madhumati was buried. Madhavi just smiles and moves towards the stairs. The real Madhavi, dressed as Madhumati, then rushes into the room. She is late, for the car failed on the way. Anand realises it was Madhumati's ghost he had seen, not Madhavi. He runs up to the terrace, where the ghost beckons to him. Madhumati had fallen from the same terrace, trying to escape Ugra Narayan. Anand follows the ghost, falling to his own death.

Devendra's story is over. But he says "I finally did have Madhumati as my wife. In this life – Radha." Just then, news arrives that the train in which his wife was travelling has met with an accident. The road is cleared, and they rush to the station. Devendra's wife, Radha (Vyjayantimala) appears, unhurt with her baby.

Cast

Production

Bimal Roy had previously signed on Vyajanthimala and Dilip Kumar for two films. The first, Devdas (1955), based on a novel, received much critical acclaim and a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.[3] However, it didn't receive much commercial success jeopardising Bimal Roy Productions: Roy needed a commercial success to survive.[4]

Madhumati was written on a story written by noted Bengali filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. When Ghatak shared the story with Roy, he immediately liked it and started developing the film as a mainstream commercial venture complete with song-and-dance formula, stepping away from usual themes of social realism as seen his Do Bigha Zamin (1953), Biraj Bahu (1954) and Devdas (1955).[3] Its re-incarnation, melodrama and commercial got him some criticism.[5] Ghatak went on to write the screenplay, while Rajinder Singh Bedi wrote in dialogues.[3] It launched in front of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Theatre in Czechoslovakia.[6] Dilip Kumar faced the camera, while Soviet actress Tatjana Konjuchova, switched on the camera. Polish actress Barbara Polonska acted as Clapper loader.[6] Madhumati was the first Indian film to be launched abroad.[6]

Unlike other noir films, shot indoors, Roy decided to shoot Madhumati outdoors and at a hill station. It had six-week schedule in Ranikhet, Nainital.[3] Some scenes were shot in Ghorakhal, near Nainital.[7] In those days there were no monitors, so when the negatives were developed, it was found that the most of the footage was foggy. Since a reshoot in far-away Uttarakhand wasn't possible, sets were created near Vaitarna Dam, Igatpuri, near Nashik. Art direction team, led by Sudhendu Roy, created fake pine trees, which were planted to match the location in Nainital. One particular scene where Dilip Kumar looks for Vyjayanthimala in the woods was actually shot in Igatpuri.[3] Subsequently, a large part was also shot in Aarey Milk Colony, a small forested area in Mumbai. The foggy effect was recreated by employing gas bombs.[3]

However, due to its extensive outdoor shooting the film went over budget by Rs. 8–1 million. This added to the troubles of Bimal Roy Productions. Thus a film preview and lunch was organised for the distributors. Roy told them, about the financial crunch and that he had decided to forego Rs, 70,000 of his own fee as director to make up for the loss. Thereafter, all the distributors pitched in with money and made up for the deficit.[4]

Release and reception

Madhumati had its premiered at the Roxy Cinema near Opera House, Mumbai, received wide commercial success, and helped Bimal Roy Production make up for its losses.[3][4] It became the highest grossing Hindi film of the year.[8]

Awards and nominations

Madhumati was the record holder for the most awards (9) received by a film at the Filmfare Awards for 37 years until the release of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge which won ten awards.The record of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was later broken by Black after 10 years which won eleven awards in total. It had multiple screenings since its release screened: 10th Bite The Mango Film Festival (2004), 4th Pune International Film Festival (2006) and Toronto Film Festival (2011).[9][10][11]

Ceremony Award Category Nominee Outcome Note
31st Academy Awards Academy Award India's official submission for Best Foreign Language Film Bimal Roy Not Nominated Second film submitted by India
National Film Awards 6th National Film Awards[12] Best Feature Film in Hindi Won Initially known as President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi
Filmfare Awards 6th Filmfare Awards Best Film Received on behalf of Bimal Roy Productions
Best Director
Best Actor Dilip Kumar Nominated[13]
Best Actress Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala won Best Actress Award for Sadhna
Best Supporting Actor Johnny Walker Won
Best Music Director Salil Choudhury
Best Female Playback Singer Lata Mangeshkar For "Aaja Re Pardesi"
First winner of this category
Given as single category for both male and female singers
Best Story Ritwik Ghatak Nominated
Best Dialogue Rajinder Singh Bedi Won[14] First winner of this category
Best Art Direction Sudhendu Roy
Best Cinematographer Dilip Gupta Black-and-white category
Best Editing Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Music

All lyrics written by Shailendra, all music composed by Salil Choudhury.

No. TitleSinger(s) Length
1. "Aaja Re Pardesi"  Lata Mangeshkar 04:26
2. "Chadh Gayo Papi Bichhua"  Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey 05:23
3. "Dil Tadap Tadap Ke"  Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar 03:27
4. "Ghadi Ghadi Mora Dil Dhadke"  Lata Mangeshkar 03:11
5. "Hai Bichhua Hai Re Hai"  Lata Mangeshkar 01:55
6. "Ham Haal-e-Dil Sunaenge"  Mubarak Begum 03:26
7. "Jungle Mein Mor Naacha"  Mohammad Rafi 03:07
8. "Kancha Le Kanchi Lai Lajo"  Asha Bhonsle, Sabita Chowdhury & Ghulam Mohammad 03:24
9. "Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam"  Mukesh 03:44
10. "Tan Jale Man Jalta Rahe"  Dwijen Mukherjee 03:22
11. "Toote Huye Khwabon Ne"  Mohammad Rafi 03:42
12. "Zulmi Sang Aankh Ladi"  Lata Mangeshkar 04:05

According to film and music expert Rajesh Subramanian, Bimal Roy had opted for S D Burman as the composer of Madhumati but the veteran music director voluntary suggested composer Salil Chaudhary's name adding he would do a more apt job.

Influence

Madhumati went on to become the source of inspiration for many later works dealing with the theme of reincarnation in Indian cinema, Indian television, and perhaps world cinema. It may have been the source of inspiration for the American The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)[2] (though that film was based upon a 1973 novel by Max Ehrlich) and the Hindi film Karz (1980), both of which dealt with reincarnation and have been influential in their respective cultures.[2]

Karz in particular was remade several times: as the Kannada film Yuga Purusha (1989), the Tamil film Enakkul Oruvan (1984), and more recently the Bollywood film Karzzzz (2008). The Reincarnation of Peter Proud and Karz may have inspired the American film Chances Are (1989).[15] The most recent work to be directly inspired by Madhumati is the hit Bollywood film Om Shanti Om (2007), which led to the late Bimal Roy's daughter Rinki Bhattacharya accusations of plagiarism and threatening legal action against its producers.[16][17]

Other Indian films featuring reincarnation as a main theme include:

Reincarnation has appeared as a main theme in the following Indian soap operas and television serials:

Golden jubilee

Marking the celebrating its golden jubilee anniversary of the film, Bimal Roy foundation headed by Roy's daughter Rinki Bhattacharya, hosted a screening of Madhumati at the Globus Cinema in Mumbai on 11 April 2008. The occasion saw the reunion of film's cast, including Vyjayantimala. Madhumati, which released in 1958 with music by the legendary Salil Chaudhury and lyrics by Shailendra, was one of Bimal Roy's greatest commercial successes.[18][19] Subsequently, his daughter published a book on the making of the film, Bimal Roy's Madhumati: Untold Stories from Behind the Scenes.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mishra, Vijay (2002), Bollywood cinema: temples of desire, Routledge, pp. 49–57, ISBN 0-415-93014-6
  2. 1 2 3 Doniger, Wendy (2005), "Chapter 6: Reincarnation", The woman who pretended to be who she was: myths of self-imitation, Oxford University Press, pp. 112–136 [135], ISBN 0-19-516016-9
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "It's 50 years since Madhumati captured the hearts and minds of a nation". MiD DAY. 19 January 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Narwekar, Sanjit (2012). Dilip Kumar The Last Emperor. Rupa Publications. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-81-291-3365-6.
  5. ↑ Raheja, Dinesh (9 December 2002). "The perceptive camera of Bimal Roy". rediff.com, Movies.
  6. 1 2 3 Ramnarayan, Gowri (19 September 2003). "From pages of the past". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Hero worship". Mint. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "IMDb: Highest Grossing Hindi Movies of 1958". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Men of letters". Mid Day. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Sakina Babwani (12 July 2011). "Bimal da films are still relevent (sic)". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  11. ↑ Times News Network (12 January 2006). "PIFF to honour Victor Kemper". Mid Day. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "6th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "The Nominations – 1958". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "The Winners 1958". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  15. ↑ Doniger, Wendy (2005), "Chapter 6: Reincarnation", The woman who pretended to be who she was: myths of self-imitation, Oxford University Press, pp. 112–136 [128–31 & 135], ISBN 0-19-516016-9
  16. ↑ Ashanti nags Om Shanti Om, Mumbai Mirror, 7 August 2008.
  17. ↑ Shah Rukh, Farah Sued: Writer Claims SRK stole his script for Om Shanti Om
  18. ↑ Mahaldar, Manisha (12 April 2008). "Bimal Roy's Madhumati celebrates 50 years". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "Vyjayantimala touched as Madhumati celebrated 50 years". Zee News. Retrieved 13 April 2008.

Bibliography

External links

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