''Raj Hath,'' also called ''Rajhath'' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

:राजहठ; meaning "''Royal obstinacy or stubbornness''"), is a

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

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 de ...

)

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed and produced by Sohrab Modi. It starred

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

, Pradeep Kumar,

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Press Release, Sohrab Modi and

Ulhas The Ulhas River is a river in Maharashtra, India. It is in the Thane, Raigad, and Pune districts of that state. It flows north and west from it source to where it splits into Vasai Creek and Thane Creek, near Thane. The Ulhas divides Salsette ...

in the main roles. The music for the film was scored by well known music directors, Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal and Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi, often credited as Shankar Jaikishan. The story revolves around two neighboring empires with long-term mutual enmity, whose children turn their rivalry into love.

Plot

The king of Jagmer, Maharaja Daljeet ( Sohrab Modi), sends a marriage proposal to the king of a neighboring city, Sultanpur. In the proposal Maharaja Daljeet asks to marry his daughter, Raja Beti (

), to Kumar ( Pradeep Kumar), the son of the king of Sultanpur (Ulhas). The king of Sultanpur strongly rejects the proposal and states that the long term rivalry between the two empires is the reason for his refusal; he is injuriously disrespected by the messenger, Sabgram Singh ( Murad). Later, the king of Sultanpur also says that Daljeet has conspired against his empire, and by proposing the marriage he wants to take revenge. The disrespectful behavior of the king of Sultanpur makes Daljeet angry, and he orders preparations for a war against Sultanpur. Daljeet also provokes his daughter to take vengeance against the king of Sultanpur for the insult. The fortress of the king of Sultanpur is well known for a trap in which troops flounder. Daljeet learns of a map of the fortress, which will help troops navigate across the trap. While retrieving the map from the enemy camp, one of the Daljeet's important soldiers is caught and killed. Daljeet realizes the task is full of risk so he invites the bravest soldiers in the kingdom to try, but they all refuse. After the denial of the brave soldiers, Juhi (Kammo) and Raja Beti accept the task and dress up as men to infiltrate the enemy camp. After much hardship, they at last get the map. While returning in disguise as a shepherdess, Raja Beti meets Kumar. Kumar at first meeting, begins to fall in love with her, but he is unaware that the shepherdess is actually the princess of Jagmer. Raja Beti gives the map to Daljeet. When everything is planned and the army is ready for the war, Daljeet orders an attack on Sultanpur. Raja Beti decides to take revenge for the insult by killing the king of Sultanpur's son, Kumar. But in the combat zone she finds herself in love with Kumar and unable to kill him. Although Kumar knows that the shepherdess is really Raja Beti, he doesn't stop loving her. Kumar asks his father for permission to marry Raja Beti, and after a long disagreement, Kumar's father agrees. But now, Daljeet refuses the proposal and shows disrespect. However, Daljeet soon realizes that Raja Beti is in love with Kumar and promises to allow the marriage. Daljeet overlooks past rivalries and asks the king of Sultanpur that the marriage should go ahead. At last they marry. Later, Daljeet regrets his action as he broke a royal promise and bowed down to fulfill Raja Beti's wishes. Out of extreme repentance, he commits suicide.

Cast

as Raja Beti * Pradeep Kumar * Sohrab Modi * Ulhas

Soundtrack

Rafi's partnership with Shankar Jaikishan was among the most famous and successful in the Hindi film industry. The song ''"Aaye Bahaar Ban Ke..."'' proved to be one of the hit songs of the partnership. Source:

Crew

Sohrab Modi in Prithvi Vallabh (1943) 1 (cropped)

The film was directed and produced by the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Sohrab Modi under the Minerva Movietone banner. He was also a member of the

10th Berlin International Film Festival The 10th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1960. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film ''El Lazarillo de Tormes'' directed by César Fernández Ardavín. Jury The following people were announc ...

. Along with directing and producing, he played a significant role in the film. The lyrics for the songs were written by lyricists

Hasrat Jaipuri Hasrat Jaipuri, born Iqbal Hussain (15 April 1922 – 17 September 1999) was an Indian poet, who wrote in the Hindi and Urdu languages. He was also a renowned film lyricist in Hindi films, where he won the Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricis ...

and Shailendra. The 2013 Dadasaheb Phalke award winner, Gulzar occasionally stated that Shailendra was the best lyricist in the Indian film Industry. The story for the film was written by Shams Lucknowi. Music directors who wrote "everlasting" and "immortal melodies" in the fifties and sixties composed music for the film. They are often credited as Shankar Jaikishan. Shankar-Jaikishan were also honored with the

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

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. Madhubala, one of the most influential personalities in the Hindi film industry, is seen to be dressed up like a man in the film so that she can recover documents from the enemy camp.

Reception

Critical reception

''Raj Hath'' received mixed response from critics. Writing about the film, ''Cineplot'' said that the story is "well-developed" and has a "convincing effect" but criticized the way Madhubala's character was written. Further, it was written that songs are "ill-placed" and the screenplay is "cluttered up". It praised the film for its direction and performances of the lead actors.

Box office

''Raj Hath'' was the sixth highest-grossing Indian film of 1956, with a verdict of "hit". It grossed ₹1.4 crore, including a nett of ₹0.7 crore. Adjusted for inflation, its gross was equivalent to ₹152 crore.

References

External links

* * {{Sohrab Modi 1956 films 1950s Hindi-language films Indian drama films Films directed by Sohrab Modi Films scored by Shankar–Jaikishan Indian epic films 1956 drama films Hindi-language drama films