Afsana

1951 168’ b&w Hindi d B.R. Chopra pc Shri Gopal Pics s I.S. Johar lyr Asad Bhopali, Chander c Rajendra Malone m Husnlal-Bhagatram lp Ashok Kumar, Veena Kumari, Kuldeep Kaur, Pran, Jeevan, Cuckoo, Baby Tabassum, Ratan Kumar, Madan Jamoora, Chaman Puri, Narmada Shankar, Wajid Khan, Uma Dutt, Prem Kohli

Chopra’s debut is a story about identical twin brothers, Ratan and Chaman (A. Kumar), separated in childhood. Ratan, raised in an orphanage, grows up to become a noted magistrate. Chaman inherits the family wealth and becomes an arrogant playboy. The two meet as adults when Chaman is on the run, falsely accused of murder. Chaman gets away by impersonating Ratan and when he dies in a car crash everybody believes it is Ratan who is dead. Ratan, whose wife (Kaur) has an affair with his friend Mohan (Pran), wakes up from a drugged sleep to find himself regarded as Chaman. Eventually his memory returns through the help of childhood sweetheart Meera (Veena) and happiness follows upon his fickle wife’s suicide and her lover’s financial ruin. Continuing Ashok Kumar’s association with the crime movie genre, newcomer Chopra’s direction was extensively commended.

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