Director: Shaukat Hussain Rizvi; Writer: Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, Sadat Hasan Manto; Cinematographer: S. Srivastav; Cast: Shobhana Samarth, Chandramohan, Nurjehan, Balwant Singh, Yakub, Miss Moti, Mirza Musharraf
Summary: A realist tragedy based on a story by the Urdu novelist Manto about Fazlu (Chandramohan), the lifelong servant of the Khwaja Islamuddin. Blamed for the death of Islamuddin’s infant son Salim in a railway accident, Fazlu is jailed. Escaping from prison, he finds his wife has given birth to a son whom he believes to be Salim’s reincarnation. The film chronicles Fazlu in his old age, when his son, also named Salim (Singh), befriends Nargis (Samarth), Mirza (Musharraf) and Sadiq (Yakub). When Fazlu moves to the city, he helplesly watches the destruction of his family by economic circumstances. Nargis dies in his arms, Mirza is arrested, Sadiq commits suicide and Fazlu ends up once again in prison. Much of the film works through symbols like the whistle of the railway engine evoking traumatic memories.
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