Bahar

1951 170’ b&w Hindi d M.V. Raman pc AVM s/lyr Rajinder Krishen c T. Muthuswamy m S.D. Burman lp Vyjayanthimala, Pandharibai, Karan Dewan, Pran, Om Prakash, Sundar, Shyamlal, Leela Mishra, Indira Acharya, Baby Tabassum

Heroine Lata (Vyjayanthimala) is a modern girl, pursued by villain Shekhar (Pran) but in love with novelist Ashok (Dewan) who turns out to be her neighbour called Kumar. Shekhar fathers a child to the country girl Malati (Padmini) who, unable to trace the perfidious Shekhar, abandons the child in Kumar’s house. Seeing Kumar playing parent to a mysterious child, Lata misunderstands the situation until the truth is revealed in the end. Pran, playing his usual villain role, undergoes an uncharacteristic change of heart to allow a happy ending for all. Intended mainly to showcase Vyjayanthimala in her Hindi debut, the film features her numerous dances as well as Kishore Kumar’s hit song Kusoor aap ka. This major hit, adapting Raman’s earlier hit Vazhkai/Jeevitham? (1949), was the Madras- based AVM Studio’s first foray into Hindi cinema.

Film