''Ujala'' (Light/Luminosity) is a
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 ...
romantic crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
released in 1959, starring
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced ƒÊŒmËi kÊŒpuËɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor f ...
,
Mala Sinha
Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...
,
Raaj Kumar
Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film ''Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four ...
,
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 ...
and
Tun Tun
Tun Tun
Press Release, 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 ...
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 ...
. The film came with a message; "Honesty always triumphs". The film's music was by
Shankar–Jaikishan
Shankar–Jaikishan (also known as S-J), were an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be one of the greatest ever music composers of the Hindi film industry. After Jaiki ...
, with lyrics by
Shailendra and
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 ...
.
Plot
Ramu (
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced ƒÊŒmËi kÊŒpuËɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor f ...
), his family consisting of his mother (
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 ...
) and three siblings, and his sweetheart Chhabili (
Mala Sinha
Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...
) are poor, but they dream of a better life and keep trying to achieve it. In the process his childhood friend and villain in the movie Kalu (
Raaj Kumar
Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film ''Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four ...
) creates obstacles for his ambitions.
Ramu is dragged into an evil world, where Kalu makes him realize that it is easy money to rob someone; honesty apparently has no value. Ramu gets pulled into this world when his sister meets with a car accident. He needs money for her treatment and she dies due to the lack of it. Ramu now joins Kalu and his gang. Kalu kills one of his gang members who betrays him. Kalu convinces Ramu that he may get blamed for the murder so Ramu goes into hiding. He works for a man making knives from where Kalu steals a silver knife, which belongs to a police officer. This implicates Ramu further where he's again on the run. After a final fight with Kalu, Ramu is able to prove his innocence.
Cast
*
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced ƒÊŒmËi kÊŒpuËɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor f ...
as Ramu
*
Mala Sinha
Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...
as Chabeli
*
Raaj Kumar
Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film ''Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four ...
as Kalu
*
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 Ramu's mother
*
Dhumal as Bholu
*
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 Kammo
* Ramesh Sinha as Police Inspector
* Shivraj as Acharya
Trivia
Raaj Kumar was unhappy that none of the songs were picturized on him; they were instead picturized on Shammi Kapoor, a rising superstar of the late '50s. To remedy this, Naresh Saigal, the director, created a friendship song between the two male stars "Yaaron Surat Hamari Pe Mat Jaao" which was sung by
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
and
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 ...
, with lyrics by Shailendra.
Music
The film score is composed by the musical duo
Shankar–Jaikishan
Shankar–Jaikishan (also known as S-J), were an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be one of the greatest ever music composers of the Hindi film industry. After Jaiki ...
. The lyrics were written by
Shailendra and
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 ...
.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0157132, Ujala
1950s Hindi-language films
Films scored by Shankar–Jaikishan
Romantic crime films