This is the first film I remember watching in theater & it will always remain close to my heart. My dad has a record of seeing this movie 33 times not only b’coz he was a Dilip Kumar fan but in this film he was enchanted by Vyjayantimala’s beauty ! :)
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The Story :
Deven (Dilip Kumar), alongwith a friend, is on his way to the railway station, to fetch his wife & child. However, both of them have to take shelter in an old palace due to storm. Here Deven sees an old portrait, which is very familiar. In a flash, his past life comes back & he tells his story, to his friend & the palace caretaker:
Anand (Dilip Kumar) is an artist & has come to a village for his new job as a manager. He is drawn towards this village beauty Madhumati (Vyjayantimala), who is happily singing and dancing in the beautiful mountains. When he approaches her she too is drawn towards Anand. Soon they both are singing together & become a pair in the village! Madhumati’s father [Jayant] agrees to get them married.
Anand’s employer is a ruthless and arrogant man Ugranarayan (Pran). Their’s is a hate-n-hate relation right from the first meeting. Anand is a honest man & soon he has enemies among the staff, who have been cheating with the accounts till Anand arrived on the scene. Meanwhile, Ugranarayan has an eye on Madhumati & he hatches a plot to rape her. Anand is sent away on an errand, where Madhumati’s dad accompanies him [to shop for his beti’s shaadi]. Madhumati is tricked into the palace. To escape from Ugranarayan’s clutches, Madhumati plunges to her death from the roof of his haveli. When Anand returns he finds that Madhumati has disappeared. Anand learns from Charandas [Johnny Walker] about how Madhumati had been taken to Ugranarayan in his absence & he rushes to the palace. Ugranarayan’s men beat him unconscious, his life is saved but his mind wanders. Anand is then haunted by the spirit of Madhumati who tells him that Ugranarayan is her killer.
Heartbroken & helpless, Anand roams around the forest, when one day he meets a girl who looks exactly like Madhumati. This girl is Madhavi & after much convincing by Anand she agrees to pose as Madhumati and trap Ugranarayan into confessing his crime. However, Madhavi fails to be there on time & Madhumati comes back from the dead, instead! Anand doesn’t realize this and as per their plan they are able to take revenge from Ugranarayan. When Madhavi arrives at the scene, Anand realizes that Madhumati herself had come to help him and he runs up to the terrace where her ghost beckons him. He chooses to fall from the same place where Madhumati had killed herself. The lovers are finally united in death....
After the flashback, Devendra says : I finally did have Madhumati as my wife. In this life - Radha.
Just as he says this there is news that the train in which his wife was travelling has met with an accident. The road has been cleared and the two friends rush to the station. Devendra runs to the train to find his wife Radha (Vyjayantimala) waiting for him with their baby. Anand & Madhumati are finally reunited - in another birth - as Devendra & Radha....................
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The Director :
The film has been directed by Bimal Roy, who was then famous for his sensitive masterpieces films like Do Bhiga Zamee. However, Madhumati was a typical hindi masala film but one which has been handled so skillfully that we don’t mind watching a film that tells us a tale of reincarnation & jaadu-tona. All the songs have been picutrised beautifully & I think this is one of the rare black & white film where the beauty of nature is so evident. Madhumati is the original reincarnation film, which later inspired other famous films like Milan, Mehbooba, Karz, Karan Arjun, Kudrat.
The performances :
Dilip Kumar is at his best & plays a double role with his usual panache. There is no need to praise his acting coz he has been the undisputed acting king of his time & deservingly so.
The surprise of Madhumati is Vyjayantimala, who has given a superb performance! Here she gets a opportunity to show her acting abilities alongwith her dancing skills. She plays 3 roles in the movie & looks/acts different in each role. Wide-eyed & beautiful, as the naive and innocent village belle, she is a pleasure to look at & eachtime she says ’’Anand Babu’’ she sounds as sweet as a sparrow :)
Pran as Ugranarayan is perfect for the role of the lecherous zamindar. He is perhaps the greatest villain ever to grace the Indian Screen. [I have been told that in those times Pran had such a effect with his villainous roles that not a single child had been named Pran for as many as 10 years!]
Also a special mention of: Jayant, who plays Madhumati’s father with great sensitivity. The other character who became famous in the film was Johnny Walker’s Charandas, singing the song Jungle mein mor nacha [though I found him to be very irritating ;)]
The Songs/ Music :
Aaja re pardesi *
Zulmi sang aankh ladi
Ghadi ghadi mera dil
Daiyya re daiyya re
Dil tadap tadap ke
Suhana safar aur yeh mausam
Toote huey khwabon ne
Jungle mein mor nacha
The other star of the movie is the MUSIC ! Amazingly popular songs with beautiful music score by Salil Choudhury.
* My favourite, perhaps the most famous, is the haunting song Aaja Re Pardesi, sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The songs/music add Chaar Chand to the film.
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Thanx for reading :)