Daera (Kamal Amrohi) 1954

Daera (1954)

Director: Kamal Amrohi; Writer: Kamal Amrohi; Producer: Kamal Amrohi; Cinematographer: M.W. Mukadam; Editor: Vishwanath Kamat; Cast: Meena Kumari, Nasir Khan, M. Kumar, Roopmala, Nana Palsikar, Pratima Devi, Kammo, Jankidass, Ramesh Kapur, H. Prakash, Zarina

Duration: 01:58:52; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 255.000; Saturation: 0.018; Lightness: 0.222; Volume: 0.195; Cuts per Minute: 2.263; Words per Minute: 37.115

Amrohi’s least-known but most elegiac film. Sheetal (Kumari) is married to an old, ailing man repeatedly mistaken for her father. She has an affair with Sharan Kumar (Nasir Khan) and eventually commits suicide. From the outset, when the mismatched couple arrives at the dark, windswept scene where they will face their destiny, the symbol-laden film deploys a baroque style of lighting with sparse dialogue and obsessive characters in the grip of their desires. As in Amrohi’s Mahal (1949), the soundtrack is exceptional, from the opening Mubarak Begum bhajan introducing Sharan to Sheetal, to the hush marking Sharan’s fall from the balcony as the camera cranes over the crowded chaos below into Meena Kumari on a distant terrace.

Singer: Mubarak Begum
Song: Jali jo shamaa zamane ko
...Dekhte jao

Singer: Mohammad Rafi
Singer: Mubarak Begum
Song: Daal di maine jal-thal mein naiya
... Devata tum ho meraa sahaaraa
देवता तुम हो मेरा सहारा

Singer: Talat Mehmood
Song: Aa bhi jaa meri duniya nein koi nahin
आ भी जा मेरी दुनिया में कोई नहीं

Singer: Mubarak Begum
Song: Deep ke sang jaloon mai

Singer: Mubarak Begum
Song: Suno mere nainaa
सुनो मोरे नैना

Singer: Mohammad Rafi
Singer: Mubarak Begum
Song: ... Devata tum ho meraa sahaaraa
देवता तुम हो मेरा सहारा

Singer: Talat Mehmood
Song: Aansu toh nahin hai aankhon mein
आँसू तो नहीं हैं आँखों में

Singer: Asha Bhosle
Song: Kaho Dola Utare Kahaar

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