''Dahej'' (Dowry) is a 1952

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

social family drama film based on the

dowry system The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the groom, his parents and his relatives as a condition of the marriage. Dowry is referred to dahez in Hindi and as ''jahez ...

directed by

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

. Produced by

Rajkamal Kalamandir Rajkamal Kalamandir was a noted film production company and studio in Mumbai. It was established by V. Shantaram in 1942, after he left Prabhat Films. The studio produced films both in Hindi and Marathi, and it was best known for '' Dr. Kotnis Ki A ...

, the director of photography was V. Avadhoot. Music was composed by

Vasant Desai Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was an Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram films like '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' (1955), '' Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' (1957), Vijay Bhatt's '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959), ''Samp ...

with lyrics by Shams Lucknavi, who also wrote the story and dialogues. The film starred

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

, Karan Dewan, Jayshree, Ulhas, Mumtaz Begum,

Keshavrao Date Keshavrao Date (1889–1971) was an Indian film actor, who worked in both silent and sound movies. He tried to run his own drama company but found it difficult to perform the dual roles of manager and actor. Career His role in the drama ''An ...

and Lalita Pawar. The story is set in the city of

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and involves the social issue of dowry. The film is about a young bride who faces suffering and humiliation for not bringing a dowry and then makes the "ultimate sacrifice" with her death.

Plot

Thakur (

), his wife ( Mumtaz Begum) and daughter Chanda (Jayshree) live in a big old-style house. Though he has this ancestral property, Thakur is not wealthy and he makes this clear to lawyer Biharilal (Ulhas) and his wife ( Lalita Pawar) when they ask for Chanda's hand in marriage. He tells them that he can not give a dowry as tradition demands. The lawyer says he does not want a dowry for his son Suraj (Karan Dewan) and are happy having Chanda in their house. He has said this thinking that Thakur is rich and would anyway give a dowry. Soon after the marriage, the lawyer dies and Chanda's blamed by her mother-in-law for bringing bad luck. She plans to throw Chanda out of the house and get Suraj remarried. Meanwhile, seeing the suffering his daughter has to endure Thakur decides to sell his entire property and get a big dowry for Chanda. He proceeds to bring the dowry to Chanda's house with big fanfare. Suraj lies hurt following an accident and Chanda's mother-in-law refuses to let Chanda look after him. In the melee, Chanda also gets hurt when the door she's standing against is broken down. Suraj hearing the commotion gets out of his bed and collapses dead. Thakur reaches the house only to have Chanda die in his arms.

Cast

* Jayashree as Chanda *

as Thakur (Chanda's father) * Karan Dewan as Suraj * Lalita Pawar as Suraj's mother * Ulhas as Lawyer Biharilal, Suraj's father *

* Shantarin * Mumtaz Begum as Thakur's wife * Shantarin * Lata Rao

Soundtrack

The music was by

with lyrics by Shams Lucknavi. The singers were

Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum (Hindi: शमशाद बेगम, IAST: ''Śamśād Bēgam''; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and r ...

, Krishna Goyal, Jayshree.

Song list

References

External links

* {{V. Shantaram 1952 films 1950s Hindi-language films Films directed by V. Shantaram Indian drama films 1952 drama films Indian black-and-white films