Hello Friends.
2025 is the 112th year of Hindi Cinema since its inception. Dada Saheb Phalke produced his first feature silent film, “Raja Harishchandra,” in 1913. Since then, thousands of films were produced and got the privilege to reach the wide screen. The rating of the majority of those was average or below average. Many flopped miserably at the box office, but at the same time, a good number of them were accepted by cinegoers and the media as well. They celebrated silver, golden, and even platinum jubilees.
I have noticed that in all these 112 years, 1957 has remained the most remarkable and historic year for the Indian film industry.
WHY? Let us review and rewind our memories back to the year 1957.
Below are the names of four classic films which were released in 1957:
* Mother India (Mehboob Khan)
* Pyaasa (Guru Dutt)
* Naya Daur (B.R. Chopra)
* Do Ankhen Barah Haath (V. Shantaram)
If you were to rate all the films produced till today, it is very likely that these four titles would be amongst the top twenty best-rated movies.
Besides these four, there were many other unforgettable films released in 1957. I recall a few of them:
* Aasha
* Bhabhi
* Sharada
* Paying Guest
* Nau Do Gyaara
* Tumsa Nahin Dekha
These and a few others joined the bandwagon for the 1957 celebrations.
1957 witnessed the nomination of Mother India for the Oscar Awards. This was the first Indian movie selected for an Oscar. It was unfortunate for the film that it lost its trophy by just one vote to “Nights of Cabiria.” A great disappointment for Bollywood.
There is a reason also behind losing that crucial vote. Maybe if time permits, I will post another write-up on this, as this is a different topic.
1957 also faced the cracks in the romantic team of Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Their almost 10-year association brought many timeless movies like Barsat, Awara and Shree 420. They separated, and the film industry missed their romantic pairing on the screen for good. Their last film was Chori Chori, released in 1956.
1957 gave a shock not only to the Film Industry but to all moviegoers around the globe when B.R. Chopra filed a suit against Madhubala, where Dilip Kumar, as a witness, favoured the plaintiff, and the defendant lost the case. This happened when both love birds were on the road to the wedlock.
1957 also saw the return of rebel star Shammi Kapoor without his moustache. “Tumsa Nahin Dekha” was his comeback to stardom, from where he never looked back. This was courtesy of Dev Anand, who was the original actor for the film but left because one of his conditions was disapproved by the producer. The movie turned out to be a super hit. Bad luck for Dev, but a big break for Shammi Kapoor. Sahir Ludhianvi, as a lyricist, also followed Dev and left the film; Majrooh Sultanpuri was brought in as a replacement. The title song had already been written by Sahir, and he requested that his name should not appear in the titles for that one song.
1957 also left music lovers discouraged when the 7-year-long association of S.D. Burman and Sahir Ludhianvi came to an end. After Pyaasa, they didn’t work together. During their partnership, they created many timeless songs for films like Sazaa, Jaal, Baazi, Aandhiya, Taxi Driver, Fantoosh, Devdas, and a few others. Who can forget songs like:
* “Tum Na Jane Kis Jahan Mein Kho Gaye” (Sazaa)
* “Jaayein Toh Jaayein Kahan” (Taxi Driver)
* “Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni Phir Kahan” (Jaal)
* “Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer Bana Le” (Bazi)
* “Dukhi man mere, sun mera Kahena” (Fantoosh)
Before I conclude, I want to express my sentiments for the film Pyaasa.
Pyaasa, one of the best movies ever produced in Bollywood, didn’t get the laurels it deserved. Let us understand the reason. We have to go back to the inauguration of the Filmfare Awards in March 1954. There were only five categories when Filmfare started giving away their “Black Ladies.” As the years followed, more categories were added.
By 1957, three categories were added to the former five. The distribution was as follows:
* Best Picture: Mother India
* Best Director: Mehboob Khan (Mother India)
* Best Actor: Dilip Kumar (Naya Daur)
* Best Actress: Nargis (Mother India)
* Best Supporting Actor: Raj Mehra (Sharada)
* Best Supporting Actress: Shyama (Sharada)
* Best Music Director: O.P. Nayyar (Naya Daur)
* Best Story: Akhtar Mirza (Naya Daur)
Alas, the categories of Best Dialogues, Best Lyricist, and Best Playback Singer were not yet added. If these were included in the 1957 awards, then Pyaasa could have won all three awards for Abrar Alvi, Sahir Ludhianvi, and Mohammed Rafi, respectively.
It was unfortunate for the film that it had a slow opening. This could be the reason as mentioned above that many popular films were released in that year. This also be the reason why all those beautiful compositions of S.D. Burman took time to shine but as the saying goes, diamonds are forever. His songs are still alive today, immortal.
Let me also share that composer C. Ramachandra was second in line in nomination as Best Music Director for the film Aasha for his one song, “Eena Meena Deeka,” which became popular then but was soon forgotten, leaving behind the timeless songs of Pyaasa.
One more interesting incident: Guru Dutt wanted Dilip Kumar for the main role, but the latter was following the instructions of his doctor to divert his focus and not play tragic roles for a few years. This happened after he played the tragic role of Devdas par excellence to win his Filmfare award. In one of the interviews of Director Surendra Kapoor, father of Bony and Anil Kapoor he said that if Dilip Kumar had played the main roll, then Pyassa would have broken all records to run for many years in cinema houses.
Originally, Guru Dutt also wanted Madhubala and Nargis to play the roles of the two main actresses, but it didn’t materialise. Anyways, Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha did an excellent job to bring the movie to its summit. Sadly, they were not nominated.
One more interesting episode about Pyaasa is that the film was globally rated among the 100 best movies listed by Time Magazine in the 1980s. Later it was also released in many European cities. Its music was also recognised and praised.
I wish Pyaasa is re released in colour on big screen following few B/W films like Mughal e Azam, Naya Daur and Hum Dono.
You may be wondering why I have given so much emphasis on this movie. Needless to say, I consider Pyaasa one of my favourite movies. Such movies are rarely produced.
And, of course, it was released in 1957
