1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
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 film directed by
Kishore Sahu
Kishore Sahu (22 November 1915 – 22 August 1980) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. He appeared in 22 films between 1937 and 1980, and he directed 20 films between 1942 and 1974.
His directorial venture Kuwara ...
. The film was produced by Filmistan and had music by
C. Ramchandra
Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian music director and playback singer.Rehana in the female lead, and following the success of this film, as well as ''
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. The cast included
Ashok Kumar
Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family.
He ...
, Rehana, Ramesh Gupta, Anant Prabhu and
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 ...
.
The story revolves around Prakash (Ashok Kumar), a man suffering from amnesia following a train accident. A man pretending to be Prakash surfaces at his house. The film was a big commercial success.
Plot
Prakash (Ashok Kumar) is returning home after eleven years from UK, and is now on a train for his journey back home. He meets a young man, also called Prakash (Ramesh Gupta), on the train who befriends him. The train meets with an accident and Prakash loses his memory. While Prakash is wandering around trying to regain his memory, the man from the train thinking that Prakash (Kumar) is dead, pretends to be Prakash and reaches his house. There everyone believes him to be Pakash except for his wife, Kamla (Rehana), who then runs away from home. She joins a band of wandering gypsies. Kamla and Prakash meet, both unaware of each other's true identity. Forming a close bond, the two finally realise the truth when Prakash's memory returns. The fake Prakash is revealed as the villain.
Cast
*
Ashok Kumar
Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family.
He ...
as Prakash
* Rehana as Kamla
* Ranjit Kumari as Bijli
*
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 ...
* S. L. Puri as Gypsy Chief
Reception
''
Filmindia
''filmindia'' is an Indian monthly magazine covering Indian cinema and published in English language.
Started by Baburao Patel in 1935, ''filmindia'' was the first English film periodical to be published from Bombay. The magazine was reportedl ...
'' called it a "highly improbable and unrealistic story", but praised it for its fast pace and "good entertainment". The story was inspired by ''
Random Harvest
''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including ''Lost Horizon'' and ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' list ...
'' (1942), however unlike it, ''Sajan'' made "no effort" to remain "plausible".
Baburao Patel
Baburao Patel (1904–1982) was an Indian publisher and writer, associated with films and politics.
Career
He was the editor and publisher of India's first film trade magazine, ''Filmindia'', the first edition of which was published in 1935.
B ...
, the editor of ''Filmindia'', remarked on the implausible situation of a mother, servants and others not recognising someone only after a period of eleven years. Critical of Rehana's acting, citing it as "Rehana flops", Patel praised S. L. Puri, in his role of the gypsy leader, as the only actor to show any "authenticity" in the film.
Soundtrack
Ashok Kumar, who was to sing his songs in the film, was replaced by playback singer
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 ...
. In his book "A Journey Down Melody Lane", Bharatan states that Ashok Kumar was unable to reach the recording studios due to the Hindu-Muslim riots (1947), and hence the composer of the film,
C. Ramchandra
Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian music director and playback singer. The lyricists were Moti B. A. ,
Qamar Jalalabadi
Om Prakash Bhandari (9 March 1917 – 9 January 2003), better known as Qamar Jalalabadi, was an Indian poet and lyricist of songs for Hindi movies. He composed the title track of the popular television serial Vikram Aur Betaal.
Early life
He w ...