Raj Kapoor and Suraiya in Dastan (1950)

Musical Pictures Limited’s presentation Dastan directed by Mr. A.R. Kardar from a story by Mr. Bannerji with music by Mr. Naushad, is a veritable dynamo of pulse pounding, heart throbbing drama. In comparison to the weak, feeble and semi-tottering results of cramped intelligence and doddering minds, as evident in some recent pictures Mr. Kardar’s Dastan is a dynamic picture, possessing all the power, the force of the roaring deep and the magnificent might of a colossus. From the bubbling, hilarious gaiety, which is sprinkled generously in the first half of the picture, the story swings on to swift action spurred on to gain momentum with every passing footage.

Dastan is obviously inspired from Samuel Goldwyn’s story of love and suffering, Enchantment. The broken dreams of love’s awakening, the scattered pieces of young hopes, the shattered fragments of faith sublime is the sizzling current charged through every breath-taking moment of this well produced picture. Brilliant direction, superb performance and excellent production values all fused together succeed in creating a dramatic thunderbolt.

Though the characters and earlier sequences are taken freely from Enchantment yet Mr. Kardar has, to a great extent moulded the delicate texture of the original material to fit into the Indian background. The master’s touch is most prominently conspicuous as every unfolding scene reveals an enchanting panorama of charm and delight – a fleeting landscape of human passion bared to the naked eye by the sheer brilliance of the histrionic talents of the artistes and Mr. Kardar’s vigorous and virile direction.

Seeing Dastan after an unending stretch of dry, insipid pictures is like coming across a merry, sparkling fountain after experiencing the torrid heat and maddening glare of a blazing sun. To a parched, weary traveler in the arid desert an oasis is God-send, to the critics and the public, who have day in and day out seen some decayed stuff of our industry, Dastan is a healthy, soothing remedy to the highly strung nerves.

There are of course a few niches in this well constructed story – a few ungainly nooks and corners that mar but superficially, the perfect symmetry and faultless proportions of an artistic piece of creation. But fortunately they are so tiny and insignificant that they are hidden away in the surrounding brilliance. The sudden departure of the older brother played by Mr. Al Nasir from the house when a word of explanation could have straightened out the misunderstanding was too flimsy to be convincing.

Even his own explanation for this act offered to his brother later on in the hospital was utterly lame and ambiguous. The accident of Raj, the younger brother, was yet another sequence which appeared like an artificial bead in a string of faultless purity. But as I have said before, they must not be weighed against the innumerable commendable qualities of the picture.

The unchecked fury of drama really springs from the character of the aristocratic, haughty sister, whose iron will, ruthless mind and cruel determination wreck other happy lives, twist their joys, blight their hopes and shatter their fine and cherished world. Veena puts over the role of this proud, defiant woman with an ability which really astounded me. She brings into life the spirit of grim, sordid, obstinacy verging to hate, which cleaves and slashes its way with relentless persistence, the unbending hauteur, the scorn and the flash of anger and contempt. In Dastan Veena’s was the best work of the picture and the greatest role of her career.

Raj Kapoor, as the younger brother, is presented to us in a new type of role altogether. Hitherto we had known him as a sorrow stricken, sobbing, frustrated lover; here he is presented to us, a sparkling, prank playing carefree lad. As a comedian and mimic, Raj raises himself to the caliber of Danny Kaye.

As for Suresh and Al Nasir, our milk sop heroes, the word is ham.

Suraiya as the unfortunate orphan and a victim of a cruel fate looks extremely coy, sweet and lovable.

Naushad’s orchestral compositions were extremely delightful. A couple of songs were well tuned though the rest were odd mixtures of Samba, Rhumbas, and Fox Trots. To a great extent the credit also goes to Dwarkadas Divecha for wonderful photography.

Dastan is definitely an unmissable picture and must see on the list (Source – The Motion Picture Magazine – December 1950)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1950, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Musical Pictures, Director –A. R. Kardar, Music Director – Naushad, Cast - Pratima Devi, Raj Kapoor, Al Nasir, Murad, Suraiya, Veena, Suresh, Shakila

Bharat Bhushan and Suraiya in Mirza Ghalib (1954)

Mirza Ghalib, Sohrab Modi’s eagerly awaited production, was released at a glittering premiere in Bombay on December 10th 1954, at the Minerva, Excelsior and Palace cine­mas.

Inspired by the tragic romance between the great poet Ghalib and Moti Begum, the dancing girl—whom the poet fondly named Chaudavin—J. K. Nanda’s adaptation of Minto’s original story closely follows the pattern of the lives depicted there, the depar­tures from recorded fact being dictated by dramatic considerations and regard for the censors.

Bharat Bhushan plays the title role while Suraiya portrays the feminine lead. They re­ceive excellent support from an all-star cast comprising Nigar Sultana, Ullhas, Durga Khote, Murad, Iftikhar, Mukri and —Baij Sharma, while veteran actor Jagdish Sethi appears as a guest artist.

Directed and produced by Modi on his usual lavish scale, the film magically re-crea­tes the poignant love story of the Poet and the Dancer in the atmosphere of the magni­ficent court of the last of the Moghul em­perors. He has with deftness preserved the atmosphere of the times and those aspects of life which inspired the wistful ghazals of Ghalib.

The film sympathetically depicts the torments suffered by the poet in his love for two women. Torn between his sense of duty to­wards his lovely wife Umrao Begum, and his love for Chaudavin, his troubles and frustra­tions increase and assume the proportions of tragedy.

Sohrab Modi’s direction is unquestionably inspired. Not only has he re-created the world of the Moghuls, but has paid due tri­bute to the poet in a film which is as warm and dignified as the story it tells. Ghalib’s exquisite ghazals and couplets have been admirably incorporated into the narrative and they richly embellish an already masterly production.

Bharat Bhushan is superb as the poet, Ghalib. Enacting his role with quiet restraint and dignity, he presents both the genius of Ghalib the poet, as well as his shortcomings as a man.

Suraiya beautifully brings to life the fascinating Chaudavin, drawing every ounce of sympathy through the character she por­trays. The skill she displays in her rendering of Ghalib’s exquisite ghazals together with the flexibility of her voice enables her to reach the depths of meaning in the poet’s words and draw out their subtlety to the full.

Nigar Sultana as Umrao Begum and Durga Khote as Chaudavin’s mother are both

brilliant in their character roles, while Baij Sharma as Fiddan the opium-eater turns in a noteworthy performance.

Ullhas, the villain of the piece, is con­vincingly evil and lecherous, Iftikhar with regal dignity almost instinctively lives his part of the Emperor, Bahadur Shah, and Mukri contributes a fine cameo of the self-important but kindly money-lender.

Rajinder Singh Bedi’s  expressive dialogue registers much of the elegance of speech characteristic of Moghul times. Ghulam Mohammed’s music and Shakil Badayuni’s lyrics give further evidence of their creative talents.

With delightful grace, Roshan Kumari and Kumkum present the spectacular dances directed by Lachhu Mahraj and Badri Prasad.

Production values of costume, sets and decor constitute spectacular additions to the film which also has excellent photography – Filmfare Review – January 7, 1955

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1954, Genre – Historical/Romance/Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Sohrab Modi, Director – Sohrab Modi, Music Director – Ghulam Mohammed, Cast - Bharat Bhushan, Suraiya, Nigar Sultana, Durga Khote, Ulhas, Mukri, Murad, Baij Sharma, Iftikhar, Jilani, Saadat Ali, Ghulam Mohiuddin, Kumkum, Roshan kumari

Balraj Sahini in Do bigha zamin (1953)

Bimal Roy, one of India’s foremost film-makers, made many great films including Do bigha zamin, which is one of Roy’s best works and is a remarkable film by any standards. It brings together Roy’s neo-realist form of Hindi cinema’s melodrama with his deeply felt political concerns, to form a great study of human values and dignity among the poor.

Do bigha zamin explores the real impact of money-lending on the peasant farmer, as he becomes enslaved by his debts. Driven to try to raise money to pay off his loan, Shambu (Balraj Sahni) leaves his pregnant wife (Nirupa Roy) and elderly father to head for Calcutta. His young son smuggles himself onto the train and helps his father as a shoe-shiner. Robbed on their first day, the couple soon remake their village ties by finding surrogate families in the city: Dadi as their mother and Rani as an elder sister to the boy. Shambu’s experience of helping a sick man leads him into rickshaw-pulling. While terrible accidents befall the family, the film avoids easy answers to the serious problems facing the urban migrant. Roy’s melodrama is restrained, and he uses few devices of the Hindi film, with songs kept to a minimum, placing the emphasis instead on the black-and-white photography of realistic sets and wonderful footage of contemporary Calcutta.

The main strength of this film lies in the performance of Balraj Sahni as Shambhu. Sahni is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema, both during his lifetime and with hindsight. He rarely appeared as the Hindi film hero but usually, as he said, as ‘all those fathers and uncles’, often taking roles in films dominated by the outstanding female stars such as Nargis and Meena Kumari. While Sahni’s younger brother, Bhisham, became one of the great figures of modern Hindi literature, Balraj had a variable career in theatre and cinema, as well as working for the BBC in London before independence. Despite his own elite and educated background, Sahni is totally plausible as the desperate but determined peasant, his physical movement accurately reproducing that of a labourer, while his facial expressions are restrained and powerful.

One scene in this film is particularly resonant, its images condensing the narrative of the invisibility of the poor and the way the rickshaw- pullers are seen as little more than draught animals. A middle-class woman, arguing with her lover, leaps into a rickshaw. The man follows her and they egg the pullers into a chase, where the pullers seem to be running after the extra money itself with no other sight in mind. The rapid editing by Hrishikesh Mukherjee adds to the speed of the chase and the desperate pursuit of a few extra coins. During the race, Shambu’s rickshaw overturns and he is severely injured, but the couple pay no attention.

The setting of this film in the Bengali village and Calcutta of the 1950s inevitably invites comparison with Ray, and the differing merits of the Hindi film and the ‘art’ film.

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1953, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Bimal Roy, Director –Bimal Roy, Music Director – Salil Chaudhary, Cast - Murad, Ratan Kumar, Tiwari, Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Nana Palsikar, Nazir Hussain, Noor, Kusum, Hiralal, Misra, Rajlaxmi, Dilip, Nand Kishore, Jagdeep, Mehmood, Paul Mahendra, Navendu Ghose, Sunil Das Gupta, Ashit Sen, Shelly Banerjee