It been a year since I started my blog on 31^st March 2024. So Happy Anniversary! The first post was dedicated to Meena Kumari’s songs whose death anniversary falls on 31^st March. So I thought of writing about a movie in which she starred – Miss Mary. Produced by AVM, directed by Prasad, this is a remake of a Telugu/Tamil movie called Missamma/Missiamma. The movie was successful in all versions.

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The Plot

Miss Mary is a lost and found story. Shri Laxmi Vidyalaya has been founded by Laxmi’s father Rai Sahib (Jagdish Sethi) in the memory of his lost daughter. Laxmi had got lost some 16 years back and he has been making efforts to trace her with no success. He announces the primary school will be made a middle school. For this, he will be soon hiring a B.A. pass married couple who will be responsible for running the school. He has placed an ad in the newspaper.

His wife is Achla Sachdev and they have another daughter Sita (Jamuna). They are looking at Laxmi’s photo and remembering her appearance, habits etc. Its obvious they have had this conversation many times before and is repeated for the sake of the audience!

Another family member is Raju (Kishore Kumar), who is a friend’s son and a self proclaimed detective. Raju is Sita’s fiancee. He has declared himself as India’s no. 1 detective whose sole purpose is to find his uncle’s missing daughter. Apparently he doesn’t do anything else all day. His assistant is Chandragupta (Karunanidhi).

Raju has come with a man and his daughter. The man claims his daughter is the lost girl Laxmi. But Raju’s aunt (Achla Sachdev) rejects the claim. She explains that Laxmi had been wearing a leaf shaped locket and there is mark on her right foot. This is the only way of identifying the real Laxmi. Raju is motivated to double his efforts, advertise in the newspaper and and search for the missing daughter.

The scene shifts to Mumbai. Meena Kumari (Miss Mary) is teaching a song to a young girl Kiran, who is the daughter of a Government officer. Kiran’s father informs Miss Mary that he is getting transferred and she needs to look for a new job. Mary is taken aback with the sudden news. Another employee with the same fate is Arun (Gemini Ganeshan). Mary and Arun are suddenly jobless. They get a reference letter from the officer but is not that useful.

Mary lives with her parents. Her father (Shivraj) is a Christian priest. A villainous character is John (Randhir) who had given a loan of Rs. 400 to Mary’s father. He keeps reminding the family and pesters them to return the money. But his real purpose is to marry Mary and is willing to forget the money. Mary is furious. She has no intention of marrying John.

In frustration, she brings a weird leaf shaped locket which has photos of Hindu gods to her father. Its been lying in the family cupboard for many years. After all, what is a Hindu locket doing in a Christian family? She asks her father to sell the locket and repay the loan. But her father gives a lecture on religious unity. He considers the locket lucky. Of course the audience can guess that this is Laxmi’s locket and Mary is none other than Laxmi.

Meanwhile, Arun has been acquainted with a good for nothing character Nakadu (Om Prakash). He is a fraud, a beggar whose job is to con people and earn easy money. Arun spends most of his time in the public garden as he searches for job vacancies in the newspaper. Coincidentally, Mary visits the same garden. She too, has had no success job hunting. Arun comes across the ad concerning the B.A. pass married couple teaching job. He manages to explain the situation to Mary. If she is willing, they can pose as a married couple and apply for the job. Mary is enraged at the suggestion and leaves in a huff. But Arun tells Nakadu that she will be back soon with good news.

And that’s what happens. Mary is agreeable to Arun’s plan for the sake of the money. She will work for a couple of months until John’s loan can be repaid and return home. Arun is supportive. They submit the joint application and Laxmi’s father appoints them as the new teachers (cum headmasters!) of the middle school. Only Raju has some concerns. The couple appear to be very young and not too experienced. His uncle admonishes him and asks him to make arrangements to welcome the new appointees.

So Arun, Mary and Nakadu arrive and are welcomed wholeheartedly by Laxmi’s family. Achla Sachdev immediately looks upon her as her daughter. Mary’s resemblance to Laxmi it seems is obvious. The new couple settle down in their own bungalow with Nakadu for company. They are successful in their job and Laxmi’s father is satisfied.

The elderly duo keep calling Mary and Arun to their house for different reasons. One day its Laxmi’s birthday, next is dinner followed by Sita’s dance performance, another some rituals are to be performed and so on. (They obviously do not know that Mary is a Christian, and strangely her Hindu name is never revealed!).

Mary is not impressed with the interference and uncomfortable with the Hindu customs. She blames Arun for her plight. He is helpless but cannot do anything. They both need the job and need to sustain for 2 months before Mary can leave.

We also have a “love” triangle angle in the form of Sita. She wants to learn music from Arun but Mary is jealous of the arrangement. And then we have Raju who is hell bent in finding Laxmi and keeps “investigating” the couple. Nakadu manages to keep him at bay by demanding money (bribe) and give him roundabout answers to keep the couple’s secret intact.

In general, this plot continues for rest of the movie until it reaches its predictable end and the truth coming out.

The Music

The songs are good, voiced by Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt. Rajinder Krishan (lyrics) and Hemant Kumar (music) share the credits. The popular songs are Sakhi ri sun bole papeeha, O Raat Ke Musafir and Brindaban Ka Kishan Kanhaiya.

My Thoughts

Miss Mary is a simple and sweet movie. There are no twists and turns and things move at a lethargic pace. The movie could have been shorter and more entertaining if some dramatic moments were included.

For once, Meena Kumari’s character is not weepy. She alternates between the irritated character only to mellow down a bit and return to her original form effectively. Gemini Ganeshan is credited as Ganesh and plays the role adequately. Strangely, there is no romantic track shown between the supposedly married characters. They are always bickering and playing the blame game which becomes repetitive. And joining them is Om Prakash’s character which becomes predictable as the film progresses. Kishore Kumar is impressive and plays a character that does not want to do anything with music. He even sings a song Gaana naa aayaa, bajaanaa naa aayaa. Again, there is no romantic involvement shown with Jamuna’s character though they are supposed to get married.