''Basant'' () is a 1942 pre-partition Indian

romantic musical film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Amiya Chakrabarty Amiya Chakravarty (30 November 1912 – 6 March 1957) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, who was leading film director in Hindi cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. He is noted for films like '' Daag'' (1952), '' Patita'' (1953), ...

, produced by

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After Ra ...

and starring

Mumtaz Shanti Mumtaz Shanti (28 May 1926 – 19 October 1994) was a popular actress in Indian and Pakistani Cinema during 1940s and 1950s. She was known as ''The Jubilee Girl'' because of her roles in films '' Basant'' and '' Kismet''. She worked in films in ...

and

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

along with Ulhas. It revolves around Uma (Shanti), who is left to dance on stage for money when her husband (Ulhas) abandons her. ''Basant'' marked the Hindi film debut of Shanti, who was already a celebrated star in Punjabi film industry. However, the film is largely remembered as the first screen appearance of Madhubala, who played an uncredited role of daughter to Shanti and later became a leading star in the 1950s and early 1960s. The film was theatrically released on 29 July 1942 and was praised by critics for the performances of actors, music and direction. It was major box office success and the highest-grossing film of 1942. The film had a 76-week run in the theatres. As of 2021, ''Basant'' remains one of the fifty highest-grossing Indian films in the history (when adjusted for inflation).

Plot

Uma and her brother Babul are two downtrodden servants who dream of becoming singing-and-dancing stars on the stage. They attract the attention of the impresario Janaki Prasad, which leads to Uma marrying his spoilt and envious younger brother, Nirmal. A self-absorbed Nirmal sets out to make his own fortune and soon after their wedding, abandons Uma and their infant daughter, which is named Manju. When Nirmal returns to find his wife is working on the stage, he abducts Manju and disappears again. After a further 10 years of unhappy stage stardom of Uma, the family is reunited and the happy ending sees her return to being a housewife in accordance with her husband's wishes.

Cast

Mumtaz Shanti, Madhubala et Ullhas dans Basant (1942)

as Uma * Ulhas as Nirmal *

Mumtaz Ali Mumtaz Ali (15 March 1905 – 6 May 1974) was an Indian dancer and character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to 1970s. He was the father of Indian actor Mehmood. He also had his own dance troupe "Mumtaz Ali Nites" which performed all ove ...

as Babul, Uma's brother * P. F. Pithawala as Janaki Prasad, Nirmal's brother *

Suresh Suresh is an Indian masculine given name originating in the Sanskrit word ' (compound of ' and '). Its meaning is "Ruler of Gods" and it has been used an epithet for the Hindu gods Indra, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. People named Suresh include: *Sur ...

as Babul, Uma's brother (child role) * Jagannath as Meena's Father *

Kamala Kamala refers to: People * Kamala (name), given name and surname, includes list of people and characters with the name ** Kamala Harris, the 49th and current Vice President of the United States * Kamala (wrestler) (1950–2020), American profess ...

Kanu Roy Kanu Roy (1912-1981) was an Indian actor and music composer in Hindi and Bengali films. He gave music for most of Basu Bhattacharya's films. His most famous compositions are for Geeta Dutt, such as ''Aaj ki Kaalighata'' and '' Uski Kahani'' (1 ...

as House Rent Collector * * * Pramila as Meena * Baby Mumtaz as Manju (uncredited)

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by

Pannalal Ghosh Pandit Pannalal Ghosh ( bn, পান্নালাল ঘোষ; 24 July 1911 – 20 April 1960), also known as Amal Jyoti Ghosh, was an Indian flute ( bansuri) player and composer. He was a disciple of Allauddin Khan, and is credited with pop ...

with lyrics penned by P. L. Santoshi.

Box office

At the end of its threatical run, ''Basant'' did a gross collection of 80 lakhs, with a nett of 40 lakhs. It became the highest-grossing film of 1942, and also the highest-grossing film of all time. ''Basant's'' record was broken the next year by '' Kismet,'' which stars

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

and

in the lead roles.

Madhubala

, then Mumtaz, was spotted by

Himanshu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940), one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of movies, including ''Goddess'' (1922), ''The Light of Asia ...

when she was searching for work in film industry, along with her father Ataullah Khan. Rai soon cast her in ''Basant'' at a fee of 500 per month. Though she was uncredited in the film but Mumtaz became the financial backbone of her family after the film' release. She found work in other films as a child artist where she was credited as ''Baby Mumtaz''. In 1947, five years after Rai's demise, his ex-wife and actress

Devika Rani Devika Rani Choudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who was active in Hindi films during the 1930s and 1940s. Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani ha ...

rechristened Mumtaz as ''Madhubala'', literally meaning "honey belle", and also groomed her as a new leading lady.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0138315, title=Basant
Songs
1942 films 1940s Hindi-language films Indian black-and-white films Films scored by Pannalal Ghosh Films directed by Amiya Chakravarty Indian musical drama films 1940s musical drama films 1942 drama films