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Saturday, August 5, 2023
The biggest bollywood blockbusters of 1949.
The biggest Bollywood blockbusters of 1949.
1949 was a year in Bollywood films where a lot of transitions took place. Till that time majority of shooting of films used to take place in the studios. Directors started shooting the films outdoor.
Barsaat was the biggest blockbuster in 1949. It was produced and directed by Raj Kapoor. This was the second film directed by Showman Raj Kapoor after Aag in 1947. Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Prem Nath and Nimmi played the lead roles. The pairs that were launched included Premnath and Nimmi together and Nargis and Raj Kapoor together. KN Singh played the role of a negative character in the film. It was the first time the composer duo Shankar Jaikishan was used by Raj Kapoor. Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri also contributed in the film. Raj Kapoor and Nargis fell in love with each other but due to resistance of Nargis’s father the marriage got obstructed. Nargis drowned in water and KN Singh, a fisherman found her. At the end of the film Nargis and Raj Kapoor were united. The music of the film rocked Bollywood. All the songs like “chod gaye balam” by Mukesh, “hawa mai udta jaye” and “jiya beqarar hai” by Lata stormed Bollywood.
Andaz was the second biggest blockbuster of 1949. It was directed by Mehboob Khan. The music of the film was composed by Naushad Ali. Dilip Kumar loved Nargis in the film without knowing that he was already having affair with Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor came from abroad and married Nargis. When Dilip Kumar disclosed his love towards Nargis, she was shocked because she always considered Dilip Kumar as her friend and not a husband. Murad played the role of the father of Nargis. Cuckoo also played an important roles. The songs of the film were bumper hits like “tu kahe agar”, “toote na dil toote na” by Mukesh and “yun to aapas me bigadte hai” by Rafi and Lata. There were signs that Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor were going to rule Indian films for the next 30 years.
Mahal was the third biggest blockbuster of 1949. Ashok Kumar played the lead role opposite Madhubala. It was directed by Kamal Amrohi. It was produced by Bombay Talkies. Khemchand Prakash composed the music of the film.
The film was based on the story of reincarnation. Madhubala’s atma or soul was visualised by Ashok Kumar in the second birth. Lata’s song “ayega anewala” become a theme song for horror movies. The direction was excellent. Ashok Kumar came to a mahal or palace and the illusions made him horror –striken. It was one of the films which gave Lata her primary recognition with “ayega anewala”. Even Raj Kumari’s songs “ek teer chala dil ko laga” and “mai wo hansi hoon lab pe jo ane se reh gayi” became super hit.
There were other successful films in 1949 like Dulari, Shabnam and other films. Naushad Ali, Shankar Jaikishan, Khemchand Prakash, Roshanlal Nagrath were the most dominating composers of that age. The world of singing was dominated by Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Lata, Raj Kumari, Zohrabai Ambewali, Shamshad Begum, Noorjahan, Geeta Dutt and others.
The most prominent directors included Raj Kapoor, Kamal Amrohi, Mehboob Khan, Bimal Roy, V Shantaram and others. While stars like Ashok Kumar continued their dream run, new stars like Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor showed promise. Actresses like Nargis, Madhubala, Suraiya became most prominent in the black and white age. The films require restoration.
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