''Jwala'' () is a 1971 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 ...

-language

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed and produced by M. V. Raman and written by Chandliyan. It stars Sunil Dutt and

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, ...

(in her final, posthumous film appearance), with

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 ...

and Pran in pivotal roles. The film's music was composed 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 ...

. ''Jwala'' was first conceived in mid-1956 but was not completed by late 1960s. Madhubala was mostly absent from the set due to her sickness and Raman had to make use of body doubles for finishing the filming. The film failed at the box office when released in July 1971two years after Madhubala's deathand received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Maharaja Anup Singh is attacked by his arch enemy Raja of Rampur and in the battle that ensues; Anup Singh loses his kingdom and has to flee for his life. He is thus separated from his infant son Ajit, who has taken to the safety of the jungles by the trusted aide of Anup Singh. Whilst in this compulsory exile, Maharaja Anup Singh is befriended by Vanaraj and with his help goes from Kingdom to Kingdom to ask help to regain his lost Kingdom. Ajit in the meanwhile grows up in wild jungles among the wild animals, not knowing that he is the son of beloved Anup Singh. The Raja of Rampur along with his daughters is travelling through the jungles when they are attacked by a band of Dacoits. Ajit, who was nearby hears the cries of their distress, comes to their aid and saves them from the Dacoits. The Raja is very pleased with the bravery of Ajit and appoints him as a captain in his Palace Army. Ajit falls in love with the Raja's daughter Jwala. The people of Seema Desh are completely frustrated with the evil and treacherous rule of Kumar, the son of Raja of Rampur, and his wicked Minister Vikram. The once rich and prosperous people are now nothing but poor unhappy paupers with no pride and dignity in them. Anup Singh cannot tolerate this vile treatment to his subjects and with help of friends becomes a dacoit robbing only the treasures of Raja of Rampur. Not knowing the real identity of his father, nor knowing the real reason of the looting of the treasures by Anup Singh, Ajit takes upon himself the challenging and gruesome task of capturing the Dacoit. Thus father and son engage in a fight to the finish.

Cast

* Sunil Dutt as Veera *

as Maharaja Anup Singh *

as Rajkumari Jwala * Pran as Kumar * Ulhas as the king of Rampur * David Abraham as Vanaraj *

Gajanan Jagirdar Gajanan Jagirdar (2 April 1907 – 13 August 1988) was a veteran Indian film director, screenwriter and actor. He worked in Hindi Cinema, also called Bollywood, as well as Marathi cinema. The period of 1942 to 1947, saw his rise as a film direct ...

as Vikram *

Raj Mehra Raj Mehra 20 May 1913 1993), was an Indian character artist and film actor in Hindi language films, especially known for his role as a father of leading actors. During his career, he worked in over 300 Hindi films. Some of his popular roles a ...

as Maharaja Rampur *

Asha Parekh Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is a retired Indian actress, film director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful ...

as Ranjana *

Kumari Kamala Kumari Kamala (born 16 June 1934) is an Indian dancer and actress (also known as Kamala Lakshman). Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films throughout her career. In the 1970s, she ...

as dancer * Vijay Laxmi * Lalita Pawar *Leena *Nazar *

Sabina Sabina may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Sabina (region), region and place in Italy, and hence: * the now Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina (-Poggio Mirteto), Italy * Magliano Sabina, city, Italy * Pozzaglia Sabina, city, Italy *Fara Sab ...

*Roshan *Poonam *Shashi * Naaz *

Shivraj Shivraj ( hi, शिवराज; 1920 - 3 June 2017) was an Indian actor. Selected filmography *''Singaar'' (1949) *'' Andolan'' (1951) (He played a key role) *'' Patita'' (1953) *''Devdas'' (1955) *'' Seema'' (1955) *''Dekh Kabira Roya'' ( ...

* Brahm Bharadwaj *

Chaman Puri Chaman Puri was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His younger brothers were Bollywood actors Madan Puri and Amrish Puri. Early life Chaman Lal Puri was the first of five children, with younger brothers Madan Puri, Amrish Puri and Har ...

* Kesri *

Mukri Mohammed Umar Mukri (5 January 1922 – 4 September 2000), popularly known as Mukri, was an Indian actor, who worked as a comedian in Hindi films. Born as Muhammad Umar Mukri in Uran, in Kokani Muslim Family. He started his film career with th ...

* Kumud Tripathi * Kharyati * Keshav *Kapoor * Vishvas Kunte *Vijay * Shobha * Daisy Irani ;Dances Choreographers * Gopikrishna *Sudarshan Kumar *

Shetty Shetty is a surname originating from coastal Karnataka state of India. Found amongst the Bunt (community). The word ''Shetty'' is derived from the Sanskrit word (Devanagari: श्रेष्ठ) or (Devanagari: श्रेष्ठीन् ...

;Animal Trainer *Govindraj ;Stunts *

Production

''Jwala'' was primarily shot in the mid-1950s, when

was alive. The film was shelved for a decade when she fell ill between the filming. After her untimely death in 1969, filming resumed with various actresses doubling for Madhubala.

, then a little-known child artist, had played a supporting role in the film.

Music

The music of ''Jwala'' was composed by

. Its soundtrack included eight songs.

Release

''Jwala'' was released in only limited number of theatres on 1 July 1971. Dutt and Modi were given the top-billing over Madhubala in the opening credits, but the actress' name appeared on the first position in all the posters and publicity stills. It was Dutt who had insisted that Madhubala be given the top-billing since she was a bigger star than him.

Reception

The film underperformed commercially, and reviews were predominantly negative, with most of the critics focusing on Madhubala's final performance. Writing retrospectively, ''Cinestaan'' called the film "a haphazard mess". It further criticised the film for providing Madhubala lesser screen time: "Despite being the title character, Madhubala is pushed to the background." Khatija Akbar, who wrote Madhubala's biography in 1997 commented "The film, however, must be seen and savoured if only for the pleasure of viewing Madhubala in sapphir, in black, in red, for the rare experience of rich brown hair and a translucent milk and roses complexion."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0065927, title=Jwala 1970s Hindi-language films 1971 action films 1971 films Films directed by M. V. Raman Films scored by Shankar–Jaikishan Indian historical action films