Starting on a lighter note, English cinema had Dr. No in 1962 and Hindi had Dr. Vidya. Dr Vidya starring Vyjanthimala and Manoj Kumar is about an educated woman whose husband leaves her because she is educated. For her, he is a Pati parmeshwar and she will not rest until he accepts her back wholeheartedly. The concept is obviously dated today but well, those were the times. Happy birthday Vyjanthimala, whose birthday is on 13^th August.

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The Plot

Geeta (Vyjanthimala) is a fiesty college girl. She is good at studies and dancing and the upholder of Indian values. Her friend is Shanta (Helen), who is married. Shanta is the opposite of Geeta and influenced by western culture. Shanta’s husband Jagdish has returned from London and Shanta is aghast to find him unaffected by western influences and insisting on Indian values. Another classmate is Kundan (Prem Chopra) who is supportive of Shanta’s thoughts as a modern, independent woman.

Its Geeta’s birthday and the point between India vs western culture is highlighted again. Its also an opportunity for Geeta to present a semi classical song, dancing to Pawan deewani na mane udaye mora ghungtaa. Shanta is embarrassed by her husband’s behavior as he is supportive of Indian traditions and they have a fight upon returning home.

Geeta’s parents (played by Shivraj (as Lala Hansraj) and Mumtaz Begum) are looking for a suitable match for her. Her father conveniently remembers his old friend Chowdhury Hiralal (Nazir Hussain) and his son Ratan (Manoj Kumar). We come to know through a flashback that Geeta had fallen down the stairs as a child. There was a risk of losing her leg. Hiralal promises Hansraj his son Ratan will marry Geeta irrespective of Geeta’s physical disability. Luckily Geeta recovers and the risk is averted (of course, as she has to grow up as Vyjanthimala, an accomplished dancer!).

The match gets fixed. Ratan lives in the village and is hardly educated compared to Geeta. He is a zamindar who works closely with the farmers and their welfare. One day, Shanta, Kundan and their friends arrive at the village for a picnic is the village. Ratan accuses them of dancing in the field causing damage to the crops. He humiliates them and asks them to leave immediately.

Soon its marriage time. Shanta recognizes Ratan and is surprised Geeta is marrying such a uncivilized and uneducated villager. She openly humiliates Ratan. His friends also emphasize Geeta’s education and how she will dominate him. A stung Ratan is unable to face the reality. On the first night, a happy Geeta sings in anticipation of her husband but he doesn’t arrive. He has decided he cannot live with her and is ready to leave the house and the village.

The parents make him see sense but he is adamant. Geeta accepts this dejectedly and returns to her father’s house. Later Hiralal visits Geeta’s house. He falls sick while returning home and passes away at the railway station. Coincidentally, Ratan is at the railway station preparing to leave. He has a sudden shock seeing his father’s body. He returns home to stay with his mother and carry on his duties as a zamindar but not as a husband. He wants no communication with Geeta.

Geeta’s father Hansraj is practical and tells her to persuade her education and she becomes a doctor. She writes a letter informing Ratan of her success. He refuses to read the letter and sends her a substantial amount of money for her expenses. Hansraj is furious at his son-in-laws attitude.

Meanwhile Shanta has drifted away from her husband and wants to be a modern woman meaning wearing western clothes, speaking English and disregarding Indian culture. Geeta lectures her how she is wrong but Shanta disagrees.

Geeta has her own plans to win back Ratan. She goes to his village with her cook Nyarelal (Sundar). Nyarelal will pretend to be a doctor and she is Vidya, his uneducated niece. She assists Nyarelal when he is attending patients.

And rest of the time she is wooing Ratan by singing songs and pretending to be a simple, unsophisticated girl. As expected, Ratan falls in love with Vidya.

But will he marry Vidya when is still married to Geeta? Will circumstances change for the better? And there are a couple of villains waiting to do their job – Madan Puri (who is after Vidya) and Prem Chopra (pursuing Shanta).

The Music

While not the best of S.D. Burman, it has some good songs like Pawan deewani, Khanke kangana, and Jaani tum to dole. Vyjanthimala gets to dance in most of the songs.

My Thoughts

The movie is inspired from the Marathi movie Shikaleli Bayko meaning educated wife. Usha Kiran had played the title role. Dr Vidya is a collection of many filmy formula elements but make the final product boring. There are too many characters and sub plots. The Indian v/s western track was not required. The movie should have stuck to the core story of Geeta and Ratan and how they resolve the differences to reunite as husband and wife. The leads lack chemistry which only improves towards the end of the movie. It is difficult to believe why a qualified doctor would make her servant a doctor without thinking of its risky implications; that’s too far fetched. Overall, Vyjanthimala is fine, Manoj Kumar is O.K. Helen shines in the supporting role which is not limited to a couple of songs.

The verdict – watch Dr. Vidya only for the memorable songs and Vyjanthimala’s dancing skills but watch Dr. No any time!