''Dastak'' () is a Hindi film made in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. It was written and directed by

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

and was his directorial debut. The film is known for its performances by its leading cast, Sanjeev Kumar, and the newcomer,

Rehana Sultan Rehana Sultan (born 19 November 1950) is an Indian actress best known for her debut role in the acclaimed 1970 film '' Dastak'' which won her the National Film Award for Best Actress. A graduate of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), ...

, and for its memorable songs by

Madan Mohan Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as th ...

. He won his first

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

for it and the lyrics of

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 ...

. Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the film director-turned-editor of this black-and-white film and won a Filmfare Award, his second after ''Madhumati'' in 1958.

Awards

* 1971 National Film Award for Best Actor -

Sanjeev Kumar Sanjeev Kumar (born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was an Indian actor. He is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. He acted in genres ranging from romantic dramas to thriller ...

* 1971 National Film Award for Best Actress -

* 1971 National Film Award for Best Music Direction -

* 1972 Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award - (B&W) -

Kamal Bose Kamal Bose (1915–1995) was an Indian cinematographer, who shot most of Bimal Roy classics, including '' Parineeta'' (1953), ''Do Bigha Zamin'' (1953), '' Bandini'' (1963), ''Devdas'' (1955) and '' Sujata'' (1960). He successful transitioned i ...

Overview

''Dastak'' presents an expanded version of

's radio play, ''Naql-e-Makaani'' (''Moving to a New House''), first performed on All India Radio, Lahore in 1944. Upon release, the film established Rajinder Singh Bedi as an important force in Indian

Parallel Cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

, as ''Dastak'' is considered an important film of the decade. In 1972 the director was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

. The director Hrishikesh Mukjherjee once said, "Rajinder Singh Bedi was an extraordinarily gifted writer. Indeed, I feel privileged that I could edit his maiden venture as writer-director 'Dastak' in stark B&W starring Sanjeev Kumar and Rehana Sultan. Rehana won the 'Urvashi' award then the term for the National Award for Best Actress and I won the coveted Filmfare award for my first love - editing!"

Critical reception

''Dastak'' was featured in Avijit Ghosh's book, ''40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Have Missed''.

Synopsis

The film was known for its unusual story line set in a red light area. A newlywed couple, Hamid (

) and Salma (

), unwittingly rent a flat, and thus begins their daily turmoil at the knocks (dastak) on their door. The previous occupant was Shamshad Begum (

Shakeela C. Shakeela, known mononymously as Shakeela, is an Indian actress and politician who has predominantly acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. She is a member of Indian National Congress. Shakeela debuted in the film ''Playgirls ...

), a mujrewali (nautch girl).

Cast

as Hameed *

as Salma *

Anju Mahendru Anju Mahendru is an Indian actress. She is best known as Reeva in ''Kahiin to Hoga'', Kamini Gupta in '' Kasautii Zindagii Kay'' and Beeji in ''Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai''. Personal life Mahendru was briefly engaged to cricket player Gar ...

as Maria *

as Shamshad *

Kamal Kapoor Kamal Kapoor (22 February 1920 – 2 August 2010) was an Indian actor and producer who acted in around 600 Hindi, Punjabi and Gujarati films. Early and personal life Kamal Kapoor was born in 1920 in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Bri ...

as Brijmohan *

Manmohan Krishna Manmohan Krishna (26 February 1922 – 3 November 1990) was a popular Indian film actor and director, who worked in Hindi films for four decades, mostly as a character actor. He started his career as a professor in Physics and held master's de ...

as Shahid * Anwar Hussain as Marativale * Dev Kishan as Mirza *

Niranjan Sharma Niranjana (), also rendered Niranjan, is an epithet in Hinduism. It is a title of Krishna according to the Bhagavad Gita, and is also an epithet of Shiva. Etymology Niranjan in Sanskrit means the one without blemishes or the one who is spotless a ...

* Jagdev * Yash Kumar

Music

''Dastak'' was released when the nation was gripped by the western rhythms prevalent in the music of music directors like R.D. Burman. The film's music director stood his ground as a maestro of classical rhythms on the ''

dholak The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in ''qawwali'', '' kirtan'', '' lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...

'' and raga based melodies. The music of ''Dastak'' stood out for its allegiance to the classical traditions of raga-based melodies by its music director Madan Mohan, who managed to get from Lata Mangeshkar, ostensibly her best performance as a playback singer.

Lyrics

The film is known for its poignant lyrics by lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, especially in capturing the painful state of the story's female protagonist, Salma — be it a dramatic statement about the society: "Hum hai mataye koocha bazaar ki tarah, Uthti hai har nigaah kharidaar ki tarah" or the silent pain of "Mai Ri mai ka se Kahoon peer apne jiya ki..."

Songs

* "Baiyan Na Dharo" -

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

- (based on Raag

Charukesi Charukesi (pronounced chārukēś‌i) is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 26th ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Tarangini in Muthuswam ...

) * "Hum Hain Mata-e-koocha-o-bazaar" - Lata Mangeshkar * "Mai Ri Main Kase Kahoon" – Lata Mangehskar/Madan Mohan * "Tumse Kahoon Ek Baat" -

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0137455, title=Dastak
Passion for Cinema-Dastak

Films featuring a Best Actress National Award-winning performance 1970 films Indian erotic drama films 1970s Hindi-language films Indian black-and-white films Films scored by Madan Mohan Indian films based on plays Films featuring a Best Actor National Award-winning performance 1970 directorial debut films Films directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi