It was made in
‘black and white’ in 1961 and was a Hit. I saw it the first time in Niranjan cinema hall of Allahabad in 1979 in a matinee show along with my college
friends, since then I have been singing –‘ Mein Zindagi ka saath nibha ta
chala gaya, har fikr ko dhuen mein uda ta chala gaya, Rusvaiyon ka sog mana na
fizul tha rusvaiyon ka jashn mana ta chala gaya’. I was not alone
singing , all my friends were in tune. Thereafter it
was released in colour on 04th
Feb 2011 when I saw it again in Mumbai twice .
Set against Military/war background it
explores the emotions of love, separation, duty, sustenance of
relationship torn by distance and human conflict and the whole idea of goodness
in human beings. What has stood the test of time is the theme, the music and the very aesthetics of the
film. To this day at the very mention of
the film we break into the immortal romantic song ‘ abhi na jao chod kar
ke dil abhi bhara nahi....’.
The conversation is never complete without
humming the other two memorable songs ‘ mein zindagi ka saath nibha ta
chala gaya’ and ‘ Allaha tero naam ishwar tero naam, sabko sanmati de Bhagwan’.
The first song has a unique distinction of being popular as well as deeply
philosophical notably the line-‘ gam aur khusi mein fark na mehsus ho
jahan mein dil ko us mukaam par lata chala gaya’ echoes the philosophy of Gita, whereas ‘Allaha
tero naam, Ishwar tero naam ‘ could
be chosen as the finest ‘Bhakti – Geet’.
Dev Anand in Double role , Sadhna and Nanda in HUM DONO
In brief the story is of four main characters- Anand, Mita , Major Verma and Ruma. Anand( Dev) and Mita( Sadhna) are lovers and Mita invites him to speak to her father for marriage . Mita is a very rich and lives in a palatial bungalow whereas Anand is poor who lives with his mother in a small house and is in search of employment . During the conversation Mita’s father insults Anand at his lack of job and his inability to provide his daughter the same comforts. Anand Is much affected by the meeting and while he is walking on the street sees a poster for Army recruitment . This is early forties and Indo – Burmese war is on during World War 2. India is under British rule. He is selected and leaves for his border posting as his mother is shocked and is inconsolable. Anand meets Major Verma( Dev) in the bar to handover his purse which had fallen down . They are shocked to see that they look alike and continue drinking and talking in the tent of Major Verma during which time he tells about his home and wife. Soon there is battle between the Japanese and Indians and Major Anand gets injured , lost and presumed dead. Soon the war ends and Anand returns home to find his mother no more but Mita staying there. He goes to Major Verma’s house to announce of the tragedy on seeing him his mother is overjoyed but Ruma faints. The Doctor advises Anand that since Ruma was a heart patient she should not be told the truth immediately . Anand is trapped and in dilemma . Mita suspects him . However soon Major Verma return dramatically by train injured with one leg walking with crutches! He learns of Anand from his friend and confronts him but Anand asks him to come to the temple the next day where he has invited Mita too. In the Temple he engages in a conversation with Ruma who was aware of Mita in his life. As Major Verma and Mita are hearing the conversation it becomes clear to them that Anand was innocent . On the indication of Anand , Major Verma appears and Ruma rushes in his arms and helps him and Mita happily joins Anand .
It has a unique opening scene; Dev and Sadhna
are lovers and meet in a garden, there
is no exchange of words. Dev gifts her with a ‘long ribbon’ an innovative an
unusual gift, he ties the ribbon to her hair, Sadhna gifts him with a cigarette
lighter( this became a standard gift from girls to their boy friends at that
time , even though cigarette was a much taboo in society then). Dev lights the gift and discovers
along with the audience that it was a musical lighter. This sound of the
lighter is the signature tune of the film. Fondly he keeps the lighter in his
breast pocket. There is no exchange of dialogues. The afternoon passes into
evenings and the lights appear when Sadhna decides to get up as Dev breaks into
the song ‘abhi na jao chod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahi’ . This is
how the film begins; with a song after a prolonged silence but action conveyed
through the expressions of the two lovers.
Dev’s life
in Army is picturised with the song ‘mein zindagi ka saath nibhata chala
gaya’. Dev is shown shaving in the forest using the pond as mirror. He
lights a cigarette takes few long drags and breaks into the song, but prior to
that as he presses the lighter and the music begins he imagines the reflection
of Sadhna in the water, she appears again when he again presses for light, the
scene reflects that he still misses her though he had left abruptly in search
of employment after being rebuked by her father.
The episode
showing the meeting of the two similar looking Army officers portrayed by Dev
in a double role has been deftly handled, how the scene shifts to his home when
he shows his family album has been composed very effectively. The climax in the
temple too is very well controlled and sums up the story successfully. The entire human conflict of faith , trust
and relationship is handled very convincingly through the screenplay.
The film is
the labour of love of many talents who came together to produce
this masterpiece - Sahir Ludhiyanvi, who returned to ‘Navketan’ after a period
and wrote such great poetry. Jaidev , the assistant music director to Sachin Dev
Burman was given opportunity and probably gave his finest performance. Sadhna,
who later did many glamorous roles was cast appropriately as Dev’s girlfriend
and looked so pretty befitting her role. Nanda as a traditional devoted housewife added to the
strength of the movie. Dev performed
splendidly in a double role , both as a young lover / Army officer and as much married tough Army officer. Vijay Anand
is credited with screenplay and dialogues but his creativity is visible
in each frame of the film. Though in the credits Amarjeet appears as Director it was directed
by Vijay Anand. The film was nominated in ‘Best Director’ category in Berlin Film Festival of 1962 and in ’Best
Actor’ category Filmfare awards.
Screenplay is the soul of this film and
it is a text book for young film makers, there is not a single scene which is
superfluous, not a song which is out of place . The battle scenes are
sufficiently long and impactful and shot professionally . It is a short film compared to the times when
it was made but looks big on the strength of its characters and screenplay.
Though set against the war it is essentially a love story rightly titled
, ‘Hum- Dono’.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें