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Dr. Vidya (1962)

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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 13th August.

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!

Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969)

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Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (ABGP) is based on a Marathi play by writer Vasant Kanetkar and is presented by Ashok Kumar. His brother Anoop Kumar is the producer and direction by Satyen Bose. ABGP is a tale of principles, the right way and the wrong way. What happens if your life long principles crash in an instant? Where does this lead you?

The Plot

Principal Vidyanand (Ashok Kumar) is the “adarshwadi” college principal. He was appointed by the current trustee Seth Dharamdas’s father on account of his honest and non-corrupt nature. He has dedicated his life to the well being of the college. The vice principal Shyam Rao (Anoop Kumar) has been Vidyanand’s protégé and is like a family member. Vidyanand’s wife Sumitra (Nirupa Roy) is a doctor. And he has a not so shareef friend Shambhu (Pran) with a third wife Neelam (Helen).

Things are happy going. Vidyanand and Sumitra have lost their own son and treat the college children as their own. 

There is an extra smart student Chandrashekhar/Chandu (Deb Mukherjee) who keeps playing new pranks like coming to college on a donkey. He is a poor boy who aims to be educated as well as rich one day. His love interest is played by Krishna (Alka). The other professors are fed up of Chandu’s antics and complain to Vidyanand.

Vidyanand has a strong conversation with Chandu regarding his ongoing education and future plans. He admonishes him of his casual approach towards education and money. He has to be clear of his life’s ambition and how to pursue it. The dialogue between Vidyanand and Chandu is one of the more impactful scenes of the movie.

Later, Chandu is selected for police training and leaves the city. He is happy he has found new parents in the form of the kindly principal and his wife. And has assurance from Krishna she will wait for his return and they can get married. Which they do!

But things cant be calm for long. Seth Dharamdas (Raj Mehra) is the college trustee and main antagonist. He wants a free hand in the running of the college and invest in new buildings meaning more profit. But Vidyanand is not agreeable as the building contractor is Dharamdas’s close relative with a dubious reputation who was recently involved in a newly constructed building’s collapse.

One thing leads to the other. Dharamdas manages to corrupt the other professors including Shyam to do his bidding. Shyam gets Vidyanand to sign a blank cheque. The police arrest Vidyanand for the embezzlement of college funds worth Rs 1,35,000. Vidyanand assures Sumitra and Shambhu that Shyam will tell the truth in court and all will be sorted. But Shyam points to Vidyanand as the source of the crime leaving Vidyanand shattered. In a fit of rage and disbelief, he admits to the crime.

Vidyanand is jailed and after release has only one ambition – to destroy Seth Dharamdas. He joins hands with Shambhu and Neelam, open up a luxury hotel and engage in shady activities including gold smuggling. His various tips about Dharamdas’s smuggling operations help the police come closer to the villain. Things reach a point when he kidnap’s Dharamdas’s son Naveen and is ready to kill him in order to save himself. Shambhu is not agreeable to the scheme as murder was never supposed to be part of the revenge saga. He tells Vidyanand he should consider leaving the country.

This leads to an interesting climax at the airport involving Vidyanand and the newly appointed DSP Chandrashekhar, who happens to be his old student and has looked up to him for his infallible ideals and principles all these years.

The Music

Songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. There are 5 songs which slow the progress of the story. The duet “Jaane kaisa hai mera diwana” is well known.

There are 2 songs picturized on Helen. One of them Meherbaan Mehboob dilbar janeman is the last song of the movie and is performed wonderfully by Ashok Kumar and Helen. It is placed at an important plot point in the story.

My Thoughts

The movie showcases the tale of morals and principles nicely. Ashok Kumar brings out the shock of betrayal with his exaggerated mannerisms. From the non-corruptible principal to seasoned smuggler, Ashok Kumar plays both roles impactfully. Vidyanand goes on his revenge spree and doesn’t know where to stop. Here he displays a different kind of anguish as he seems to have lost control and is even ready to justify murder. Thankfully he receives redemption at the end bringing him peace. He shines in the climax scene.

Deb Mukherjee, with his unconventional looks actually acts well in the movie. His initial irritating character to his transformation as a police officer is remarkable. Alka doesn’t have much to do.

Pran, Nirupa Roy, Helen are excellent. The villains are the weak link and appear as caricatures. There should have been a stronger character to take on Vidyanand which would have made it a more convincing watch.