''Kundan'' is a 1955

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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 de ...

-language social drama film produced and directed by

Sohrab Modi Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...

for Minerva Movietone. The film stars

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Dutt; 6 June 1929 — 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. Dutt was one of the major stars of Hindi cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s and continued to star in many successful film ...

Nimmi Nawab Bano (18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), better known by her stage name Nimmi, was an Indian screen actress who achieved stardom in the 1950s and early 1960s in Hindi films. She was one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Hin ...

, Pran,

Om Prakash Om Prakash (born Om Prakash Chibber 19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu as Om Prakash Chibber and went on to become a well-known character actor of Bollywood. His most well-known movies are Na ...

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 ...

, Naaz,

Murad Murad or Mourad ( ar, مراد) is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It ...

, Ulhas, Manorama. The Screenplay was by Pandit Sudarshan, with dialogues by Munshi Abdul Baqui and Pandit Sudarshan. The music was composed by Ghulam Mohammed, with lyrics by Shakeel Badayuni.

's double role in the film as mother and daughter was acclaimed critically, while Ulhas won a nomination in the

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the awards star ...

category. Based on

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's 1862 novel, ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', the film had Modi playing a poverty-stricken young man who gets into trouble with the police for stealing a loaf of bread. Over the years, he avoids a policeman who is on his trail even as he tries to live an honest life.

Plot

The film starts with Kundan (

) stealing a loaf of bread from a kitchen and running home with it to feed his young niece Radha, and ailing mother. He is arrested, and in court he says that he had tried to find work, begged, and in the end was forced to steal. The judge sentences him to two years in prison. His niece visits him in jail telling him of his mother's death. Kundan bends the iron rods and escapes, but is caught. He is imprisoned for a further five years for trying to escape. The second time he tries to do so, he gets an additional seven years. Kundan spends a total of fourteen years in prison doing hard labour. Radha (

) is married to Gopal ( Pran) and they have a baby girl Uma. Gopal, who is in bad company, and a crook get her to part with all her jewellery and he disappears with it. Radha and her baby find refuge with a tea-stall owner (

) and his wife ( Manorama)), who employ her to work for them for minimal wages. Kundan, on release from jail, sets out to find Radha. He has been told by the jail authorities, including Inspector Sher Singh ( Ulhas), a devout policeman, to keep them informed about his whereabouts and to present himself regularly at the police station. When he returns to his locality, he is unable to find Radha, and the neighbours drive him away, calling him a dacoit. Kundan, on being turned away by everyone, finally finds a saviour in Gurudev (

), a priest, who helps him find himself and introduces him to making pottery and earning money. Kundan does well for himself and meets up with Radha and Uma. Radha dies from an illness and Kundan brings up Uma. Inspector Sher Singh meanwhile, is after him all the time. A grown Uma (Nimmi) meets Amrit (

), a freedom fighter involved in the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

against the British. Amrit and Uma fall in love, but Amrit has the police after him. In a fight between the revolutionaries and the police, Sher Singh is imprisoned by them, but subsequently let free by Kundan. Amrit gets injured and Singh tries to arrest him. Kundan knocks the policeman down and escapes through a drainage with Amrit. When the Inspector comes looking for them again, there is a confrontation between Kundan and the Inspector while Amrit lies wounded. Kundan tells Sher Singh that he will give himself up to the police if he allows Amrit to get treatment. Sher Singh agrees to let Amrit's wounds be treated and waits as the doctor attends him. When Amrit recovers, Kundan goes down to find a note written by the Inspector, in which he states that he's letting two people wanted by the police to go free, hence his only salvation for not doing his duty is to kill himself. Kundan manages to see the Inspector jumping into the river. Amrit and Uma are reunited with a repentant Gopal asking Kundan's forgiveness.

Cast

as Kundan *

as Amrit *

as Radha / Uma (Double Role) * Pran as Gopal *

as Uma's Foster Father * Manorama as Uma's Foster Mother * Ulhas as Inspector Sher Singh *

as Gurudev *

* Naaz as young Radha / Uma

Production Crew

Modi had Art Director Rusi K. Banker design similar underground drainage sets, as in the sets of the film

(1952). The crew included: * Director:

* Producer: Sohrab Modi * Screenplay: Pandit Sudarshan * Dialogue: Munshi Abdul Baqui, Pandit Sudarshan * Cinematographer: M. N. Malhotra, Lateef, Bhandare * Editor: P. Bhalchandra * Art Director: Rusi K. Banker * Costumes Designer: D. Aradhaye, M. V. Dubashi * Audiographer: M. Eduljee * Studio: Minerva Movietone * Colour Consultant: Aba Joshi, D. Shirdhankar * Make Up: Rajaram Saranjame * Choreography: Morey * Music Director Ghulam Mohammed * Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni

Awards

Ulhas was nominated for

Soundtrack

The film had music directed by Ghulam Mohammed, with the lyrics written by Shakeel Badayuni. The playback were provided by

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 ...

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 ...

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...

Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a ...

, S. D. Batish,

Mubarak Begum Mubarak Begum (5 January 1936 18 July 2016) was an Indian vocalist who sang in the Hindi and Urdu languages. She was a playback singer in Bollywood films during the 1950s and 1960s. She had also recorded and given public performances in a num ...

and Sudha Malhotra.

Song list

References

External links

* {{Les Misérables 1955 films 1950s Hindi-language films 1955 drama films Indian drama films Films based on Les Misérables Films directed by Sohrab Modi Hindi-language drama films