''Dushman'' () is a 1957 Indian

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 ...

-language drama film directed by Raja Rishi. 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

Usha Kiran Usha Kiran (22 April 1929 – 9 March 2000) was an Indian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, she acted in over 50 Hindi and Marathi films, notably '' Daag'' (1952), '' Patita'' (1953), '' Baadbaan'' (1954), '' Chupke Chupke'' (1975 ...

Plot

Ram Singh (Master Romi) is a schoolboy who one day brings home a penknife, which one of his classmate had forgotten to take back. He shows it to his mother, saying that he must return it the next day. His mother, however, says it need not be returned and uses it. This pampering and encouragement to take another person's property by his mother spoils Ram Singh. He soon begins to steal frequently from others and becomes a

dacoit Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

. One day, Ram Singh (Dev Anand) now grown up, is escaping from the police after being betrayed by a dancing girl, Gulnar (Kumkum), who dies in the crossfire between cops and bandits. He jumps aboard a train where he meets a fellow conman, Kirorilal (Radha Krishen), who becomes his partner in crime. The train reaches Allahabad. Soon after arriving, he comes across a group of girls playing on swings. Among them is Sheila (Usha Kiron), who is wearing a necklace Ram Singh takes a fancy to. He cuts the rope with his knife, resulting in Sheila falling into a river nearby. He saves her, while secretly stealing the necklace. Ram Singh soon discovers that Sheila's brother is none other than a CID inspector named Mehta (Prabhu Dayal), from whom he had previously escaped. He then woos and marries Sheila to make sure that Mehta will not be able to arrest him. Ram Singh continues to steal, but Mehta discovers him in due course. Mehta immediately reveals the truth about Ram Singh to Sheila, leading to an altercation between Ram Singh and Mehta. The former manages to escape. Meanwhile, Sheila becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son. After learning of the birth of his child and being unable to bear the separation from his wife, Ram Singh is reformed, and lives on charity while finding shelter in temples. Years later, he notices Sheila and his son and meets them. Once when the child is sick, Ram Singh asks Kirorilal for help. When refused by the latter, Ram Singh, left with no alternative, steals from him leading to Kirorilal informing the police. Sheila, on the other hand, throws away the stolen money and the medicine that Ram Singh brought with it. Soon the police arrive on the scene and he surrenders to them.

Cast

as Ram Singh *

as Sheela *

Kumkum Kumkuma is a powder used for social and religious markings in India. It is made from turmeric or any other local materials. The turmeric is dried and powdered with a bit of slaked lime, which turns the rich yellow powder into a red color. In Indi ...

as Gulnar *Prabhu Dayal as Mehta *

Master Romi Master Romi (born Mohammed Salim) is a former Indian actor in Hindi language films. He was best known as a child actor after his brilliant performance in K.A. Abbas’s film “ Munna” released in 1954. “Munna”, the first songless Hindi m ...

as young Ram Singh *Radha Kishan as Karodilal *

Minoo Mumtaz is a city in northwestern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Its name is commonly romanized as "Minō" or "Minoo"; however, the city government officially uses the spelling Minoh in English. As of October 2016, the city has an estimated population of 134 ...

Soundtrack

The music was composed by the duo

Husnlal Bhagatram Husn Lal and Bhagat Ram were the first legendary music directors duo in Bollywood. They are two brothers, Husn Lal (8 April 1920 – 28 December 1968) and Bhagat Ram (1914 – 29 November 1973). Husn Lal was also a renowned violinist, vocalist ...

. The lyrics are written by

Prem Dhawan Prem Dhawan (1923–2001) was an Indian lyricist, music composer, choreographer and actor of Bollywood known for his patriotic songs, especially for the lyrics and compositions for the 1965 Manoj Kumar starrer, ''Shaheed''. He was a winner ...

, Pyarelal Santoshi & Tanveer Naqvi. On the album, film critic Suresh Kohli of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' noted that except for "O Lootnewale Duniya Ko", the other songs "were even hummable".

Reception

Kohli wrote that "the film worked at the box office and added to Anand's popularity. The film had one of his best performances."

References

External links

* *
Dushman (1957 film)
' at

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provide ...

*
Dushman Full Film
' on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

*
Aji Loot Liya Dil Ko Bahaane Karke
' on

{{Portal bar, 1950s, Bollywood, Film, India 1957 films 1950s Hindi-language films Indian black-and-white films Indian musical films