''Majhli Didi '' is a 1967
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film directed by
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...
, based on the
Bengali language
Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...
story, ''Mejdidi'' (Middle Sister) by
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee ( bn, শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়; 15 September 1876 or ৩১ শে ভাদ্র ১২৮৩ বঙ্গাব্দ ...
, which was earlier filmed in Bengali in 1950 as ''
Mejdidi''. ''Majhli Didi'' stars
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
and
Dharmendra
Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...
.
Though the film didn't perform well at the Indian box office,
it remains one of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's highly rated films. At the
16th Filmfare Awards
The 16th Filmfare Awards were held in 1969.
''Brahmachari'' led the ceremony with 9 nominations, followed by ''Neel Kamal'' with 8 nominations and '' Ankhen'' with 7 nominations.
''Brahmachari'' won 6 awards, including Best Film and Best ...
, it won
Best Screenplay
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
Awards for
Nabendu Ghosh
Nabendu Ghosh (27 March 1917 – 15 December 2007) was an Indian author in Bengali literature, and screenwriter. He has written screenplays of classic Bollywood movies like, Sujata, Bandini, Devdas, Majhli Didi, Abhimaan and Teesri Kasam. He ...
and
Best Art Direction, B&W for Ajit Banerjee. It was India's entry to the
41st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.
[Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]
Plot
Bipinchandra (
Dharmendra
Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...
) breaks family tradition by marrying a city girl, Hemangini (
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
), much to the chagrin of his sister-in-law, Kadambini (
Lalita Pawar
Lalita Pawar (18 April 1916 – 24 February 1998) was a prolific Indian actress, who later became famous as a character actress, appearing in over 700 films in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati cinema. She holds a Guinness world record of longest ac ...
), and her husband, Navinchandra (
Bipin Gupta
Bipin Gupta (21 August 1905 – 9 September 1981) was an Indian actor and artist during the 1930s and 1960s. He acted in Bengali and Hindi cinema, most notably in ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Jagriti'' (1954), ''Gharana'' (1961) and '' Khilona'' ...
). Things are delicate even after both women give birth to two children each. Then Hemangini testifies against Navinchandra in Court, leading to the division of the property. Things get worse by the arrival of Kadambini's orphaned school-going step-brother, Kishan (
Sachin), who is beaten and abused not only by Kadambini and Navinchandra, but also by their overweight son. When Hemangini objects to Kishan's ill-treatment, Bipin takes the side of the rest of the family, and may probably force her to abandon Kishan to his fate or divorce her.
Cast
*
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
as Hemangini 'Hema'
*
Dharmendra
Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...
as Bipinchandra 'Bipin'
*
Sachin as Kishan
*
Lalita Pawar
Lalita Pawar (18 April 1916 – 24 February 1998) was a prolific Indian actress, who later became famous as a character actress, appearing in over 700 films in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati cinema. She holds a Guinness world record of longest ac ...
as Kadambini
*
Bipin Gupta
Bipin Gupta (21 August 1905 – 9 September 1981) was an Indian actor and artist during the 1930s and 1960s. He acted in Bengali and Hindi cinema, most notably in ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Jagriti'' (1954), ''Gharana'' (1961) and '' Khilona'' ...
as Navinchandra 'Navin'
*
Leela Chitnis
Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from 1930s to 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her later role ...
as Kishan's Mother
*
Leela Mishra
Leela Mishra (1 January 1908 – 17 January 1988) was an Indian actress. She worked as a character actor in over 200 Hindi films for five decades, and is best remembered for playing stock characters such as aunts (''Chachi'' or ''Mausi''). She ...
as Kishan's neighbor
*
Asit Sen as Babunath, prosecuting lawyer
*
Maruti
*
Keshto Mukherjee
Keshto Mukherjee (7 August 1925 – 2 March 1982) was an Indian actor and comedian. He was born in Kolkata,Bengal Presidency, British India. He specialised in comic drunkard roles in Hindi films. Though he was famous for his drunkard typecast ...
as Bhola, Navin's employee
*
Sarika
Sarika Thakur is an Indian actress and costume designer. In 2005, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the English-language film ''Parzania''. She was also awarded the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for her work i ...
as Uma, Hemangini's daughter
*
Jalal Agha
Jalal Agha (11 July 1945 – 5 March 1995) was an Indian actor and director in Bollywood films. He was the son of the popular comedian actor Agha. Jalal studied acting at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.
Career
He made his d ...
as Kamal
Music
#"Ma Hi Ganga Ma Hi Jamuna Ma Hi Teerth Dhaam" -
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 ...
#"Ma Hi Ganga Ma Hi Jamuna Ma Hi Teerth Dhaam v2" - Lata Mangeshkar,
Kamal Barot
Kamal Barot is an Indian female playback singer mainly worked in Bollywood.
Career
Born on 18 November 1938 (Dar es-Salaam at Tanzania) and She debuted in Bollywood in 1957 with the film Sharada. She later went on to sing 140 songs in 117 films ...
#"Ma Hi Ganga Ma Hi Jamuna Ma Hi Teerth Dhaam v3" - Lata Mangeshkar
#"Main Laal Laal Guchkoon" - Lata Mangeshkar, Kamal Barot and Neelima Chatterjee
#"Nadiyon Ki Bhari Bhari God Jahaan" -
Hemant Kumar
Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...
#"Umariya Bin Khewat Ki Naiya" - Hemant Kumar
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
''Majhli Didi''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 provides ...
''Majhli Didi''at
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
Majhhli Didi by Sharath Chandra Bhathopadya from Pocket fM
{{Indian submission for Academy Awards
1967 films
1960s Hindi-language films
Hindi remakes of Bengali films
Films based on Indian novels
Films based on works by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Indian black-and-white films
Films directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Films scored by Hemant Kumar