The Mysticsm of Madhumati
Ritu
stars. Here is a write-up on Bimal Roy's all time great Madhumati.
I've put my comments on the write-up followed by my initials and ****
along with the text (how I wish one could format the text here!)
Enjoy!
Ritu
http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/mar/21dinesh.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------
I like some films because they appeal to the intellect; some because
they beguile the senses. The mystical Madhumati belongs to the latter
category.
This Bimal Roy classic of song, dance and images is thick with
atmosphere and evokes a mood that sweeps me along without my finding
it essential to process it all in the brain first.
****
RC I think that was the appeal of a lot of olden films. The lyrical
nature of b/w photography and the emphasis on mood.
*****
CREDITS
Producer Director Music Director Stars
Bimal Roy Bimal Roy Salil Chowdhary Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala
Madhumati is tinged with whimsy. In its primeval tale of
reincarnation, there is retribution and eternal love. Roy, a poet of
light and shadow, draws you in with sheer lyricism. Cinema here is
more than just the telling of a story.
*********
RC: Bimal Roy's films, like Guru Dutt always had a strong visual
appeal though unlike Guru Dutt he did not always romanticise his
subject. Guru Dutt made even sorrow look beautiful.. Bimal Roy was
more realistic. The scene where Nutun poisons her patient in Bandini
is a good illustration on this aspect of Bimal Roy's photography..
Madhumati ofcourse was very lyrical.
********
This ghost story employs genre staples like stormy nights. The film
begins with Devendra (Dilip Kumar) stopping at a haveli [mansion] on a
windswept night because a landslide has stopped him in his bid to
fetch his wife from the railway station.
Devendra finds the huge mansion eerily familiar, there is a
dimly-remembered painting, too. Soon, we are in the midst of a
flashback about Devendra's earlier life as Anand, the manager of the
surrounding estate.
Anand is an artist and, on an excursion to the surrounding hills and
valleys, encounters a tribal girl Madhumati (Vyjayanthimala) dancing
and skipping in the lush, beautiful countryside. Anand falls for
Madhumati's elemental appeal.
Roy tantalisisngly captures the titular character's will o' the wisp
quality. In the famous Aaja re pardesi number, an intrigued Anand gets
only glimpses of the blithe spirit singing. The entire song shows
Madhumati in long shots with a close-up only at the end.
******************
RC : The waterfall is captured really well in this song.. brilliant
camerawork!. Though while watching the film I was pretty surprised to
find out that Madhumati was not a ghost but a normal girl. For me this
song somehow did not gel in the situation.
**************************
Or see Madhumati's dance number Zulmi sang aankh ladi. Towards the end
of the song, she is singing in the background while chorus girls
momemtarily eclipse her. After the first girl passes by, Madhumati is
shown still singing behind; but when the second girl passes, Madhumati
has disappeared.
Anand and Madhumati's love story is shadowed by Madhumati's
premonition of doom when the omens spell catastrophe at a tribal
ceremony. Anand's boss and the owner of the timber estate Ugranarayan
(Pran) hatches a plot to rape Madhumati. To escape from Ugranarayan's
clutches, Madhumati plunges to her death from the roof of his haveli.
The beautiful Madhumati is shown as a seemingly ineluctable part of
the nature around her. When the rich, rapacious villain seeks to
violate Madhumati, it is perhaps an extension of his exploitation of
the natural habitat around him and his disruption of the life of the
tribals.
********************
RC : Another notable thing about this film is a lot of outdoor
photography. I believe it's the kumaon hills that they have captured.
And the best part is that despite b/w the outdoors look really
captivating.
******************************
Later, a distraught Anand is amazed when he comes across Madhavi, the
mirror image of Madhumati. Anand convinces the lookalike, Madhavi to
pose as Madhumati and trap Ugranarayan into confessing his crime.
When Madhavi fails to keep the appointment, Madhumati comes back from
the dead, instead! In a scene that would make the Sphinx blink with
emotion, Madhumati, now a polymorphous presence, finally extracts
revenge on her tormentor. Anand, too, chooses to fall from the same
place where the hapless Madhumati had killed herself. The lovers are
finally united in death.
...And seemingly in life too.
True love has the power to obliterate spatial and temporal boundaries.
After the flashback, Devendra is reunited at the railway station with
his wife Radha --- Madhumati reincarnated.
Madhumati is the grandmother of such famous reincarnation films as
Milan, Mehbooba, Karz, Karan Arjun, Kudrat and Janam Janam.
Roy proves adept at the chill skill, creating some unforgettable
cinematic images like Madhumati running fleet-footed through the
woods.
Cinematographer Dilip Gupta also creates and lingers on small but
evocative images like the dappled, arcane patterns formed on the
ground by the sunlight filtering through the trees. Capturing
something as tenuous as a mood is tricky business but the
black-and-white photography helps. Bright, brazen colours would have
washed the film off some of its mystique.
****************
RC: The patterns he's captured on the water are even more amazing in
Aaja Re Pardesi. That was what attracted me to it's picturisation in
the first place
**********************************
The music and the tonal correctness of the performances hold us in
thrall. Because of the reincarnation angle, Dilip Kumar played two
roles as Devendra and Anand, while Vyjayanthimala gets to enact three
roles as Madhumati, Madhavi and Radha.
Dilip Kumar's convincing turn at befuddlement, earnestness and
fascination anchors our belief in the film's events.
Vyjayanthimala did not have a lot to do in terms of conventional high
drama but she had to evoke the mood of the film as Madhumati, the
mysterious maid of the mist. She does that well with that enigmatic
quality, that incandescent glow, those dances (especially Daiyya re
daiyya), and the grace with which she moved.
*********************
RC: I personally feel that Vyjanthimala was miscast in this role. She
tried to look innocent but she looked imbecile to me. She had too much
intelligence on her face to play the innocent Madhumati.. half the
charm of the film goes for me because even though Dilip Kumar
convinces Vythanthi does not. Though when I sat to think as to which
actress in those days could play this role I really did not have a
concrete answer. Nalini Jaywant? Madhubala? Waheeda?.. I don't have
answers. But I know it's NOT Vyjanthi
**********************************
Sidelights:
* After socially-relevant films like Do Bigha Zameen, even the Kishore
Kumar starrer Naukri, Bimal Roy was criticised for what was seen as a
surrender to overt commercial considerations in Madhumati (a belief in
superstitions, a Johnny Walker track). But gratifyingly, Madhumati
proved to be Roy's biggest hit ever.
* Roy reshot the theme song Aaja re pardesi because he was not happy
with the results.
* Top drawer talents were involved: Hrishikesh Mukherjee's editing,
Rajinder Singh Bedi's dialogues and noted Bengali director Ritwick
Ghatak's story.
* Dilip Kumar had two releases in 1958 --- Madhumati and Yahudi. Both
were directed by Bimal Roy.
* In 1958, Vyjayanthimala was nominated twice for the Filmfare Awards
for two hits released within a month of each other --- Madhumati and
Sadhna. She won for Sadhna.
The Music:
Famous songs from Madhumati:
Song Singers
Aaja re pardesi Lata Mangeshkar
Zulmi sang aankh ladi Lata Mangeshkar
Ghadi ghadi mera dil Lata Mangeshkar
Daiyya re daiyya re Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey
Dil tadap tadap ke Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh
Suhana safar aur yeh mausam Mukesh
Toote huey khwabon ne Mohammed Rafi
Jungle mein mor nacha Mohammed Rafi
Hum haal-e-dil sunayenge Mubarak Begum
* Madhumati is Salil Chowdhary's tour de force. The songs are
perennial hits. Suhana safar aur yeh mausam haseen is still played at
dandiya functions.
* Even Johnny Walker's song Jungle mein mor nacha was popular while
Mubarak Begum's Hum haal-e-dil sunayenge is a burnished gem. Of
course, the crown belongs to Lata's crystalline rendition of Aaja re
pardesi. More than a decade later, Hrishikesh Mukherjee made Jaya
Bhaduri, sing this song in the climax of Guddi.
**********************
RC
Zulmi sang aankh ladi is another not so celebrated gem from this film.
It sounds amazingly fresh even today
**************************
* Word wizard Shailendra, as usual, captured the heart of the film
with some simple, heartfelt lyrics in the theme song:
Main deeye ki aisi baati
Jal na saki
Jo bujh bhi na paati
Aa mil mere jeevan saathi
*********************************
RC: or
Mein Nadiya phir bhi mein pyaasi
bhed yeh gehra baat zara si
aa mil mere jeevan saathi
***************************************
Deepaks
However among all actors, perhaps Pran merits more attention, even if he did
similar portryals in many films - he was terrific. When I had first watched
the film more than three decades ago, I was afraid to look at him in his
scenes!
Ritu
> I loved Vyjanthimala in this film - I thought she was perfect!
her particularly in this role?
>
> However among all actors, perhaps Pran merits more attention, even if he did
> similar portryals in many films - he was terrific. When I had first watched
> the film more than three decades ago, I was afraid to look at him in his
> scenes!
Pran is a brilliant actor. I wonder if he ever got his due. He could
be as menacing as he could be amusing and intense. In Madhumati, Jis
desh mein ganga behti hai.. he was at this menacing best.. then there
were the comic villian roles like Munimji and Half Ticket (I prefered
Pran to Kishore in this film). Pran's turn around to become a good man
in Manoj Kumar's Upkar left the viewers who hated him for 2 decades
crying as he sang 'Kasme vaade pyaar wafa sab'. Truly brilliant.
Vis-a-vis Madhumati, I notice that Bimal Roy worked a lot on his
characterizations. A lot of the credit for Pran's menacing performance
would go to him as well. He created the ambience for all of Pran's
scenes. The camera work, the background music they all sort of
accentuated the tension when Pran was present in the scene.
Cheers
Ritu
Shishir Yerramilli
> The Music:
> Famous songs from Madhumati:
> Song Singers
> Aaja re pardesi Lata Mangeshkar
> Zulmi sang aankh ladi Lata Mangeshkar
> Ghadi ghadi mera dil Lata Mangeshkar
> Daiyya re daiyya re Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey
is daiyya re daiyya re the same song as 'bichchua'?I dont remember
the lyrics but I first saw the picturisation even though it was not
scary,I got goosebumps as there was something odd and out of place
about that sequence.
Deepaks
"Ritu" <rc0...@rediffmail.com>
askedews:8777cccd.02032...@posting.google.com...
> "Deepaks" <sunil....@tin.it> wrote in message
news:<Zpgn8.22526$S52.7...@news2.tin.it>...
> > I loved Vyjanthimala in this film - I thought she was perfect!
> Hey, that's interesting. Are you a fan of Vyjanthimala or did you like
> her particularly in this role?
>
That made me think! :-)
No, at that time I didn't particularly like Vyjanthimala - but then I have
to seriously think to remember her movies that I had seen at that time and I
can't recall too many except for Jewelthief and Amrapali. I liked her in
Sadhana though.
Ritu
> >
> > The Music:
> > Famous songs from Madhumati:
> > Song Singers
> > Aaja re pardesi Lata Mangeshkar
> > Zulmi sang aankh ladi Lata Mangeshkar
> > Ghadi ghadi mera dil Lata Mangeshkar
> > Daiyya re daiyya re Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey
>
> is daiyya re daiyya re the same song as 'bichchua'?I dont remember
> the lyrics but I first saw the picturisation even though it was not
> scary,I got goosebumps as there was something odd and out of place
> about that sequence.
Yes.. it's the same song. The lyrics are 'Daiyya re daiyya re chad
gayo papi bichua'.. it's a delightful adaptation of Assamese folk
music by Salil Chowdhry.
And you are right.. there is a premonition of doom in the entire
film.. one keeps waiting for something wrong to happen.
Ritu
Shishir Yerramilli
> yshi...@hotmail.com (Shishir Yerramilli) wrote in message news:<370a0b0.02032...@posting.google.com>...
> > >
> > > The Music:
> > > Famous songs from Madhumati:
> > > Song Singers
> > > Aaja re pardesi Lata Mangeshkar
> > > Zulmi sang aankh ladi Lata Mangeshkar
> > > Ghadi ghadi mera dil Lata Mangeshkar
> > > Daiyya re daiyya re Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey
> >
> > is daiyya re daiyya re the same song as 'bichchua'?I dont remember
> > the lyrics but I first saw the picturisation even though it was not
> > scary,I got goosebumps as there was something odd and out of place
> > about that sequence.
>
> Yes.. it's the same song. The lyrics are 'Daiyya re daiyya re chad
> gayo papi bichua'.. it's a delightful adaptation of Assamese folk
> music by Salil Chowdhry.
of like a cello!) he used after the chorus went 'hai re hai re' ,it
was truly haunting.
> And you are right.. there is a premonition of doom in the entire
> film.. one keeps waiting for something wrong to happen.
>
Yes, now understated horror like Madhumati which relies on mood and
atmosphere is real horror.Rubbish like Ramsay brothers films and
Friday the 13th series is only comical.
> Ritu
Cricfan
>
> Yes.. it's the same song. The lyrics are 'Daiyya re daiyya re chad
> gayo papi bichua'.. it's a delightful adaptation of Assamese folk
> music by Salil Chowdhry.
> And you are right.. there is a premonition of doom in the entire
> film.. one keeps waiting for something wrong to happen.
>
> Ritu
Thanks for the article. I've not seen the film for years. I have
a friend who regards its music as one of the best ever (in Hindi
films).
As for me, I always felt, 'What if Rafi had sung Suhana Safar" instead
of the out of tune Mukesh? That song sounds good inspite of Mukesh :-)
Cheers
Arun
yeskay
IYMHO, may be. That's not fair to Mukesh. He was a decent singer much
better than Manna Dey / Mahedra Kapoor.
Ritu
> rc0...@rediffmail.com (Ritu) wrote in message news:<8777cccd.02032...@posting.google.com>...
>
> >
> > Yes.. it's the same song. The lyrics are 'Daiyya re daiyya re chad
> > gayo papi bichua'.. it's a delightful adaptation of Assamese folk
> > music by Salil Chowdhry.
> > And you are right.. there is a premonition of doom in the entire
> > film.. one keeps waiting for something wrong to happen.
> >
> > Ritu
>
> Thanks for the article. I've not seen the film for years. I have
> a friend who regards its music as one of the best ever (in Hindi
> films).
not outgrown it like I did for a lot of the music of those times I
used to listen to initially (Tumsa nahin dekha kinds). It has a very
strong folk base with bits of Indian classical and western classical
thrown in. Salil Chowdhry was a master at that.
>
> As for me, I always felt, 'What if Rafi had sung Suhana Safar" instead
> of the out of tune Mukesh? That song sounds good inspite of Mukesh :-)
Hmmm.. I agree... Mukesh's USP was sad pathos filled songs. He sounded
insipid at best in the rest of the stuff. I don't care much for Suhana
Safar but he is quite adequate in 'Dil Tadap tadap ke'. Infact to
speculate how would have Kishore or Manna Dey sounded in the song?
> yshi...@hotmail.com (Shishir Yerramilli) wrote in message >
>Yes, now understated horror like Madhumati which relies on mood and
>atmosphere is real horror.Rubbish like Ramsay brothers films and
>Friday the 13th series is only comical.
Very true.. the Ramsay horrors are more comedy than anything else. The
film that I rate really high in that category is 'Omen'.. it's one of
the very very few horror films that have stayed with me after the film
got over.
There really aren't too many Hindi films in that category. Hemant
Kumar made a couple in the 60's like Kohra(based on Rebecca) and Bees
Saal Baad(based loosely on the 'Hounds of Baskerville') but somehow
they weren't all that scary.
-Ritu
>
> Cheers
> Arun
Balaji A.S. Murthy
>
>Very true.. the Ramsay horrors are more comedy than anything else. The
>film that I rate really high in that category is 'Omen'.. it's one of
>the very very few horror films that have stayed with me after the film
>got over.
Ah Omen. Interesting that the movie achieved such chilling effects without a
single scene of gore. Truly a remarkable movie.
- Balaji
Shishir Yerramilli
I would also like to add that 'Omen' had a great soundtrack by
Jerry Goldsmith,I have never heard a church choir sound so ominous!The
70's were definitely one of the golden ages in Hollywood.It would
appear that uncertainty,pessimism and a trasient social structure
would stimulate creativity.I liked Omen but I felt The Exorcist was
much better.I watched it in Baghdad(my father used to work there) when
I was about 8,beleive you me,there is no other place in the world
which has such an apocalyptic feel to it .I am not saying this just in
hindsight ,even when I was young I could sense a tension and unease
about the place,no its not because of fascist style government but
part of the reason is that its a very ancient place and 'religion' in
that area never got beyond black magic and superstition even after the
influx of Christianity and Islam.Nevertheless this mood of Iraq was
captured wonderfully in the first 15 minutes of Exorcist which was
filmed in Mosul ,northeastern Iraq.I apologise for the divergence from
the topic!
Anant Rege
"Shishir Yerramilli" <yshi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:370a0b0.02032...@posting.google.com...
> bmu...@yahoo.com (Balaji A.S. Murthy) wrote in message
news:<a7vof6$8...@news.or.intel.com>...
> > In article <8777cccd.02032...@posting.google.com>,
rc0...@rediffmail.com says...
> > >
> > >Very true.. the Ramsay horrors are more comedy than anything else. The
> > >film that I rate really high in that category is 'Omen'.. it's one of
> > >the very very few horror films that have stayed with me after the film
> > >got over.
> >
> > Ah Omen. Interesting that the movie achieved such chilling effects
without a
> > single scene of gore. Truly a remarkable movie.
> >
> > - Balaji
>
> I would also like to add that 'Omen' had a great soundtrack by
> Jerry Goldsmith,I have never heard a church choir sound so ominous!The
> 70's were definitely one of the golden ages in Hollywood.It would
> appear that uncertainty,pessimism and a trasient social structure
> would stimulate creativity.I liked Omen but I felt The Exorcist was
> much better.
I feel it other way round. I have always enjoyed the clean, 'hint of horror'
films rather than 'on your face screaming' type of horror movies. IMO Omen
was a classic where as Exorcist makes me puke. :-) Hindi films have been
copying Hollywood for ages, most of the times failing. Some of the copies
are real good like Manoranjan (from Irma la duce). Very rarely the copy has
been even better than the original. Actually I can think of only one
example. Aruna and Vikas Desai, in late 70's, decided to use the theme of
Exorcist, that a young girl being haunted by a spirit and made a wonderful
movie called Geharayee. Famous playwriter Vijay Tendulkar wrote the story
and the screenplay for the move. I still remember the opening words that
flashed on the screen when titles stared rolling.
'Those who believe, no explaination is required. Those who don't, no
explaination is possible.'
Sriram Lagoo, Anant Nag, young Padmini Kolhapure and Amrish Puri in brief
role gave great perfomances. I saw both the movies in the same theatre,
Eros in Mumbai, more than 20 years ago. I never felt like seeing Exorcist
again in all these years. I remember Gehrayee fondly till today.
Anant
Ritu
> bmu...@yahoo.com (Balaji A.S. Murthy) wrote in message news:<a7vof6$8...@news.or.intel.com>...
> > In article <8777cccd.02032...@posting.google.com>, rc0...@rediffmail.com says...
> > >
> > >Very true.. the Ramsay horrors are more comedy than anything else. The
> > >film that I rate really high in that category is 'Omen'.. it's one of
> > >the very very few horror films that have stayed with me after the film
> > >got over.
> >
> > Ah Omen. Interesting that the movie achieved such chilling effects without a
> > single scene of gore. Truly a remarkable movie.
> >
> > - Balaji
>
> 70's were definitely one of the golden ages in Hollywood.
The 70's were great but even in Hollywood I think the 40s and 50s(post
war) was the golden era. The films were not so lavish in productions
values but very rich in content and soul.. my opinion totally :-)
>It would
> appear that uncertainty,pessimism and a trasient social structure
> would stimulate creativity.I liked Omen but I felt The Exorcist was
> much better.I watched it in Baghdad(my father used to work there) when
> I was about 8,beleive you me,there is no other place in the world
> which has such an apocalyptic feel to it .I am not saying this just in
> hindsight ,even when I was young I could sense a tension and unease
> about the place,no its not because of fascist style government but
> part of the reason is that its a very ancient place and 'religion' in
> that area never got beyond black magic and superstition even after the
> influx of Christianity and Islam.Nevertheless this mood of Iraq was
> captured wonderfully in the first 15 minutes of Exorcist which was
> filmed in Mosul ,northeastern Iraq.I apologise for the divergence from
> the topic!
Maybe your personal equation with Baghdad elevated Exorcist in your
perception but I somehow also place Omen way way ahead of Exorcist.
Blood and gore at best disgust you and at worst amuse you (Ramsays to
be mentioned in that case). Omen achieved that horror using a small
adorable looking child. It's amazing. The part where he kills his
mother is brilliant. It sends a chill up your spine long after you've
switched the film off. As I said, I am don't really get scared easily,
this is about the only film that managed to do so.
Cheers
Ritu
Shishir Yerramilli
> > > >Very true.. the Ramsay horrors are more comedy than anything else. The
> > > >film that I rate really high in that category is 'Omen'.. it's one of
> > > >the very very few horror films that have stayed with me after the film
> > > >got over.
> > >
> > > Ah Omen. Interesting that the movie achieved such chilling effects without a
> > > single scene of gore. Truly a remarkable movie.
> > >
> > > - Balaji
> >
>
> > 70's were definitely one of the golden ages in Hollywood.
>
> The 70's were great but even in Hollywood I think the 40s and 50s(post
> war) was the golden era. The films were not so lavish in productions
> values but very rich in content and soul.. my opinion totally :-)
I also like 40's and 50's movies,but they were much restricted by
the Eisenhower era Hayes code of censorship.I guess I am one of those
people with 'base instincts'!
>
>
>
> Maybe your personal equation with Baghdad elevated Exorcist in your
> perception but I somehow also place Omen way way ahead of Exorcist.
> Blood and gore at best disgust you and at worst amuse you (Ramsays to
> be mentioned in that case). Omen achieved that horror using a small
> adorable looking child. It's amazing. The part where he kills his
> mother is brilliant.
My favorite scene was the trip to the zoo!
It sends a chill up your spine long after you've
> switched the film off. As I said, I am don't really get scared easily,
> this is about the only film that managed to do so.
I am not saying that The Omen was not a scary movie.But it was a
horror movie only.Also the premise and the theology in the movie were
heavily flawed.The Exorcist was not only a horror movie but also the
story disillusioned priest dealing with problems of faith,the issue of
science vs religion,the relationship between a mother and her
daughter,the presence of evil which goes beyond the explanation of the
bible(the Omen was severely restricted by the Book of Revelations) and
numerous other things I cant remember right now that makes the The
Exorcist much more richer if grosser than the Omen.
Also writer/director Paul Schrader praised as the scariest movie he
has ever seen because ' it was about God and Satan battling over the
body of a little girl'!
>
> Cheers
> Ritu