Director: Mehboob; Writer: Zia Sarhadi; Cinematographer: Faredoon Irani; Cast: Bibbo, Surendra, Yakub, Ashalata, Ramchandra, Bhudo Advani, Pande, Pesi Patel, Kayamali, Mehdi Raza, Zia Sarhadi
Summary: The first of Mehboob’s socials at Sagar (e.g.
Jagirdar, 1937) using Bibbo in an early example of his woman-centred films interrogating aspects of feudal patriarchy. The painter Ashok (Surendra) who loves the orphaned Vimala (Bibbo) is distressed to learn that she is due to marry Jagdish (Yakub). He paints Vimala’s portraits with a frenzied obsession and becomes a famous artist. Jagdish tries to get Ashok killed. Paralleling this love story is the decline in Ashok’s family fortunes, which eventually leaves him homeless and penniless with only the rich Shanti (Ashalata) who stands by him. Mehboob often liberates his characters from feudal ties by making them orphans (
Deccan Queen, 1936;
Ek Hi Raasta, 1939), later extending this into the format of structuring the guilt of the woman into a love triangle (
Jagirdar,
Hum Tum Aur Woh, 1938), transforming his melodramas into social parables (cf. also R.S. Choudhury’s
Hamari Betiyan, 1936).
Indiancine.ma requires JavaScript.
