Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai created a trend of dacoit-oriented films.

Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai created a trend of dacoit-oriented films.

Raj Kapoor’s film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai created a trend in bollywood films to make movies on the subject related to dacoits. Radhu Karmakar the famous cameraman of Raj Kapoor directed the film while Raj Kapoor produced it in the early 60s.

Just like any other film of Raj Kapoor, his character Raju was full of innocence. He helped the leader of the dacoits of Central India (father of Padmini), who was shot by the Police. Raj Kapoor gave him food and water, and Pran with his men brought both Raj Kapoor and their leader back to their area. Most part of the film was shot at Bheraghat in Jabalpur near Narmada falls.

Raj Kapoor was initially convinced by Padmini that the dacoits rob the money from the dishonest moneylenders and distribute it to the poor people. Raj Kapoor agreed to help the dacoits on that count. But when he went with the dacoits to a marriage party and saw that most of the members of the party were killed by the dacoits, he went and reported the entire matter before Raj Mehra, the police officer and told him that he would convince the dacoits to surrender before the police. But he also asked Raj Mehra to award least amount of punishment to the dacoits. All the dacoits were convinced by Raj Kapoor at the end of the film.

The biggest asset of the film lied in the powerful music of Shankar Jaikishan. In this film SJ used mainly folk tunes with powerful orchestration. Most of the leading singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor, etc, were used. The music was superhit with successful songs like “kya hua”, “o maine pyar kiya”, “hoton pe sachai rehti hai”, “hum bhi hai, tum bhi ho”, “aa aab laut chale”, to name a few.

Padmini, the brilliant dancer previously had a glorious career opposite Shivaji Ganeshan in South Indian films. She almost gave her lifetime performance in the film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai. Her dance performances were brilliant, innovative and unparallel. Pran also did extremely well in his character of the dacoit in the film. Nana Palsekar, Lalita Power and other character artists were also sublime in their respective roles.

Raj Kapoor won the film fare award for best actor for his performance in the film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, while the film won a number of awards under other categories. The film also had lot of social message. The dishonest section of middlemen in the country who tortured the lower middle class compelled innocent people to turn into dacoits. In that context the film depicted the picture of Indian society in the late 50s and early 60s. From that time onwards a number of films were made on the life of dacoits. Significant among them include Sunil Dutt’s film Mujhe Jeene Do, Dilip Kumar’s Ganga Jumna, to name a few.

Raj Kapoor had always been a trend setter. Even in respect of films related to dacoits he created a trend which many directors had followed after that time. The film should be restored for those purposes.

Films like Madhumati are creative works of art.

Films like Madhumati are creative works of art.
Films like Madhumati are creative works which had not become obsolete even with passage of time. Bimal Roy had experimented with the subject of re-incarnation which most sections of the people don’t believe in. But the strong performance of Dilip Kumar, Vaijayantimala, powerful direction of Bimal Roy, brilliant music of Salil Choudhury had made the views spellbound in 1958 and the film still remains as one of the classic creations of all times.

Dilip Kumar in his second birth had come to the same palace where he met Pran, the prince of the palace in his last birth. He told the story of his last birth to Tarun Bose. He was a forest officer, and worked within the estate of Pran, the ruler of the place. He entered into an affair with Vaijayantimala and convinced his father Jayant about the marriage. But when he went out of the city for official work, Pran brought Vaijayantimala in his palace, and she jumped from the roof and committed suicide.

Very significantly Dilip Kumar met another girl in the same place having similarity with Vaijayantimala. He asked her to cooperate with him and the police and create the same situation relating to murder before Pran so that he would confess about his guilt. The plan was made but the soul of Vaijayantimala told the story and Pran confessed his guilt even before the girl having similarity with Vaijayantimala could arrive in the palace. The soul of Vaijayantimala took Dilip Kumar to the roof and he slipped from the rooftop and died. Johnny Walker, the servant of Dilip Kumar and a local villager helped him all along the previous life.

In the second birth, again Vaijayantimala was married to Dilip Kumar. He heard about a railway accident and being worried went to search for his wife. He found his wife and child still arrive where the film ended. Although the story could not be believed by big section of the viewers, it entertained everyone. The songs “aja re pardesi”, “ghari ghari mera dil dharke”, “daiya re daiya re”, sung by Lata, “jangal me mor nacha”, “tute hue khwabon ne”, sung by Rafi, “suhana safar”, “dil tarap tarap ke” sung by Mukesh, stormed bollywood films for more than a decade. Salil Choudhury received the filmfare award for the best composer for his immortal composition in the film Madhumati.

One of the amazing factors of Bimal Roy’s classic lied in the romantic presentation of the film in the midst of glamourous locations. Although it was a black and white film, the shooting was mainly done outside the studio and vey romantic landscape with hills and waterfalls were shown in the film. The music was ably picturised and the popularity of Dilip Kumar and Vaijayntimala helped the director in getting the box-office support.

New directors can learn a lot from the classic creation of Bimal Roy which still can haunt the viewers with romantic appeal.

Happy birthday to Pran.

Happy birthday to Pran.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Pran Sikand, the legendary actor on 12th January, 2009. He was one of indispensable personality in bollywood films without whom most of the films of the 50s and 60s could not be thought about. He also was a big star who was as popular as an antihero as the leading stars of 50s and 60s including Showman Raj Kapoor and Tragedy King Dilip Kumar.

Pran had acted in more than 300 films in his career which spanned over 60s years. He was a notorious dacoit in Raj Kapoor’s Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, who was reformed and persuaded to surrender before the police at the end of the film. He hammered Dilip Kumar all along the film Dil Diya Dard Liya, not knowing his identity. It was later known that Dilip Kumar was the king of the princely estate after the locket in his body was discovered. Dilip Kumar forgave him even after knowing that his affair with Wahida Rehman never blossomed into marriage due to Pran only. Among romantic songs of Rafi and Lata like “sawan aye ya na aye”, “dilruba main ne tere”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”, Pran kept a balance with his villanish pursuits.

In Ram Aur Shyam, Pran tortured one of the Dilip Kumars who played the role of his brother-in-law. When Dilip Kumar’s twin brother came to his wife he took revenge against the evil deeds of Pran. The film was serio-comic in nature with Dilip Kumar playing a double role for the first time in Ram Aur Shyam.

In the mid-60s, Pran changed his image by playing positive roles like the one he played in the film Upkar. In that film he played the role of a handicapped person but he was an observer who witnessed the good deeds of Manoj Kumar who was a farmer and the bad deeds of his own brother played by Prem Chopra. Pran’s lips in Manna Dey’s songs “kasme wade” is still remembered by cinematic audience today.

Pran was sublime in most of the hit films of the 60s like Shammi Kapoor’s Raj Kumar, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening in Paris, etc., Joy Mukherjee’s Love in Tokyo, Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Biswajeet’s Mere Sanam, Rajender Kumar’s Ganwar, to name a few. In the 70s he even matched himself with the action heroes of the other generation like Dharmender and Big B.

His performance in Big B’s film Zanjeer in the role of a Pathan requires special mention. In Amar Akbar Anthony, he was the father of Big B, Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor and he faced the evil operations of Jeevan and his men all along the film. He kept his fit to such an extent that in action sequences, he never looked out of place in a film where Big B, Vinod Khanna who were much younger than him showed their own skills.

Pran continued his villainish performances in films of 80s including Dilip Kumar’s Duniya and Big B and Rajnikant’s Andha Kanoon. With notable actors coming in bollywood industry in the 80s like Amrish Puri, Danny, Paresh Rawal, Kader Khan, Anupam Kher, etc., Pran slowly faded away from the industry. By that time he had performed in more than 300 films.

Viewers remember him for his unique style of dialogue delivery, unique mannerisms and fantastic body. His viewers pay respect to the old actor on his birthday who had already received lifetime achievement award from Filmfare for his unique contribution to bollywood cinema.