''Bombai Ka Babu'' (English: ''Gentleman from Bombay'') is a 1960 Hindi film directed by

Raj Khosla Raj Khosla (31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top director, producer and screenwriter in Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "neo-noir" and style in Indian cinema, and also as a "women's direc ...

and written by

Rajinder Singh Bedi Rajinder Singh Bedi (1 September 1915 – 1984) was an Indian Urdu writer of the Progressive Writers' Movement, progressive writers' movement and a playwright, who later worked in Hindi cinema as a film director, screenwriter and dialogue writer ...

. The film stars

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

and Suchitra Sen in a rare appearance in Hindi cinema. Though the film was a thriller, it treads into rare Hindi film territory by hinting at incest between the lead pair. Except for the "brother-sister" angle, the plot of ''Bombai Ka Babu'' is inspired by O. Henry's short story, "A Double-Dyed Deceiver". The 1974 movie ''Zameer'' starring

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

and

Saira Banu Saira Banu (born 23 August 1944) is a former Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi language films. She was one of the most popular actresses in her heyday in the Indian film industry in the 1960s and early 1970s. Career Saira Banu was the ...

was also based on the same story. With classic songs such as "Chal Ri Sajni, Ab Kya Soche", by Mukesh, and "Deewana Mastana Hua Dil" by Mohd. Rafi and Asha Bhosle, the film was a musical masterpiece, with music by

S. D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...

and lyrics by

Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was ...

. Raj Khosla was also the director of Dev Anand's suspense thrillers like '' C.I.D.'' (1956) and '' Kala Pani'' (1958). Initially,

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, ...

was the choice for playing the female lead, but she had to withdraw owing to her poor heart condition.

Plot

Babu and Malik are two inseparable friends who live in a small town in India. One day, they decide to play a prank and steal something, but get caught. While Malik's dad came to bail out and stand as

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

for him, Babu has no one to do so and ends up in the juvenile centre. When the two grow up, Malik becomes a police inspector, while Babu takes to crime and ends up in jail. When he is released from the jail, he goes to meet his partner-in-crime, Bali, and together they start planning the next heist. Malik meets Babu and tells him to straighten his ways. But Babu had already tried that and ended up being falsely accused of stealing a necklace belonging to his employer's wife. Nevertheless, Babu does inform Bali that he will not be taking part in any crime. Thereafter, Bali and his men are arrested and they blame Babu for ratting on them. Bali is released on bail. When Babu meets him, an argument ensues leading to a fight and Bali is killed. A fearful Babu flees Bombay and lands up in Jogendra Nagar in Northern India, where he meets a man named Bhagat who asks him to masquerade as Kundan, the sole heir of a wealthy man named Shahji. When Babu refuses, Bhagat threatens to notify the police. Babu becomes Kundan and makes his way into the hearts of Shahji, his wife Rukmani and daughter Maya. Babu gets enough cash to pay off Bhagat in small instalments, but Bhagat becomes greedy and wants Babu to steal all the cash and jewellery and abscond. Babu is reluctant to steal from the kind people. To make matters worse, he has fallen in love with Maya - apparently his "sister". Caught between a rock and a hard place - no matter what move Babu makes - he will surely end up trapping himself - not only with Bhagat, but with his newfound family as well as the police - who are now hot on his trail.

Cast

as Babu / Kundan * Suchitra Sen as Maya *

Nazir Hussain Nazir Hussain (15 May 1922 – 16 October 1987) was an Indian actor, director and screenwriter. He was famous as a character actor in Hindi cinema and acted in almost 500 films. Dev Anand starred in a large proportion of the films he acted i ...

as Shahji * Dhumal as Munim *

Achala Sachdev Achala Sachdev (3 May 1920 – 30 April 2012) was an Indian actress who appeared in classic films of Hindi language film industry. She was from Peshawar and started her career as a child actor. She later became known for mother and grandmother ...

as Rukmani *

Rashid Khan Rashid Khan Arman ( ps, ; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and a former captain of the national team. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Austra ...

as Bhagat *

Jagdish Raj Jagdish Raj Khurana (1928 – 28 July 2013) was a Bollywood actor who holds a Guinness World Record for being the most type-cast actor. He played the role of a police inspector in 144 films. Early life and career He was born in 1928 in the tow ...

as Bali *

Tun Tun Tun Tun
Press Release, Bela Bose Bela Bose is an Indian dancer and actress who was active in Hindi films during the 1960s and 70s. Early life Bela Bose was born in Calcutta in a well-to-do family. Her father was a cloth merchant and her mother was a homemaker. Following a ...

as Maya's Friend

Songs

Music:

; Lyrics:

Trivia

In the opening sequences, one can hear the classical songs 'Dil se milake dil pyar kijiye' from the movie

Taxi Driver (1954 film) ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1954 Hindi-language romantic musical film produced by Navketan Films. The film was directed by Chetan Anand and stars his brother Dev Anand, along with Kalpana Kartik, Sheila Ramani and Johnny Walker. The film was writte ...

and ' O dilwale' playing in the background.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0053629, Bambai Ka Babu Films scored by S. D. Burman 1960 films 1960s Hindi-language films Films directed by Raj Khosla