Azaad (1955 film)
| Azaad | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | S. M. Sriramulu Naidu |
| Produced by | S. M. Sriramulu Naidu |
| Written by | Story based on a novel by Namakkal Kavignar Va. Ramalingam Pillai |
| Starring |
Dilip Kumar Meena Kumari Pran Om Prakash |
| Music by | C. Ramchandra |
| Cinematography | Sailen Bose |
| Edited by | G. Veluswamy |
Production company | |
Release date | 7 January 1955 |
| Language | Hindi |
Azaad (lit. Free) is a 1955 Bollywood film produced and directed by Sriramulu Naidu S.M. It was the top grossing Hindi film in the year of its release, and one of the biggest Hindi film hits in the decade. In addition, Dilip Kumar won his third Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his work in this movie.
C. Ramchandra was the music director. Hit songs from the movie include 'Aplam Chaplam' sung by Lata and Usha Mangeshkar, and 'Na Bole Na Bole' sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The movie was a remake of director's own 1954 Tamil movie Malaikkallan.
Plot
After her widower dad, Kedarnath, passes away, Shobha goes to live with her father's friend Charandas and his wife Shanta, who had their son go missing as a child. Years later, Shobha is now matured and Charandas scouts for a suitable groom. A wealthy man, Sunder, would like to marry Shobha, but the family detests him. Then one night Shobha is abducted. The Police are informed but their search is in vain. A few days later, they get wind that Shobha may be in Sunder's custody, and a search proves to be in vain. Then Shobha returns home and tells them that she was rescued by a wealthy man named Azaad, housed in a mansion, looked after very well, and brought back home all in one piece. They subsequently find out that the wealthy man is none other than a notorious bandit named Azaad. They are even more shocked when Shobha informs them that she wants to get married to Azaad. Will Charandas and Shanta permit her to marry a bandit?
Cast
- Dilip Kumar ... Azaad / Abdul Rahim Khan / Kumar
- Meena Kumari ... Shobha
- Pran ... Sunder
- Raj Mehra ... Police Inspector
- Murad ... Jagirdar
- Om Prakash ... Head Constable Motilal
- Achala Sachdev ... Shanta
- Shammi ... Janki
- S. Nazir ... Chander
- Badri Prasad ... Charandas
- Deepa ... Paro
- Sai ... Chanda (as Sayee)
- Subbalaxmi ... Gopi (as Subbulakshmi)
Soundtrack
According to author, musicologist and film critic Rajesh Subramanian, it is revealed that composer Naushad was first offered the film. He refused when producer S. M. Sriramulu Naidu insisted that the songs had to be composed in a week. C Ramchandra was roped and the melodies were composed in record time. According to a book published by Raju Bharatan, film director Naidu requested Naushad to compose 10 tunes within 30 days, for which he would get his "due payment". To this, the great maestro is reported to have said: "Naidusaab, yeh koi baniye ki dukaan samjha aapne? Ek gaana nahi milega aapko tees din main". (Naidusaab, do you think this is a baniya store? You will not get even one song in 30 days.) (source: rediff.com)
The music was composed by C. Ramchandra and the songs were written by Rajendra Krishan
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radha Na Bole Na Bole Re, Ghunghat Ke Phat Na Kholey Re | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 2 | Kitna Haseen Hai Mausam Kitna Haseen Safar Hai | Lata Mangeshkar, C. Ramchandra |
| 3 | Ja Ri Ja Ri O Kari Badariya | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 4 | Aplam Chaplam Chap Laiteri Duniya Ko Chod | Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar |
| 5 | Kitni Jawan Hai Raat | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 6 | O Balliye Balliye | Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar |
| 7 | Dekho Ji Bahar Aayi Baghon Me Khili Kaliyan | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 8 | Kabhi Khamosh | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 9 | Marna Bhi Mohabbat Mein (Qawwali) | Raghunath Jadhav & Party |