Howrah Bridge (film)

Howrah Bridge

Film poster
Directed by Shakti Samanta
Written by Vrajendra Gaur
Starring Madhubala
Ashok Kumar
K. N. Singh
Om Prakash
Music by O. P. Nayyar
Distributed by Shakti Films
Release dates
  • 1958 (1958)
Running time
 153 minutes
Country India
Language Hindi

Howrah Bridge is a 1958 film directed by Shakti Samanta. Its name is a reference to Howrah Bridge, which connects Howrah to Kolkata over the Hooghly River. It features the well known Hindi song "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu"which was reused in the film Salaam Bombay!. This song was sung by Geeta Dutt and picturised on Helen. Director Samanta also said that the sensuous club number "Aaiye Meherbaan" picturized on Madhubala was also very memorable.[1] The Music Director is O. P. Nayyar. The songs of this film were penned by the famous lyricist and Urdu poet Qamar Jalalabadi. The film performed "above average" at the box office.[2]

There is an intertextual reference to the song "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" in Karan Johar's 1998 film "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" (just before the song Koi Mil Gaya).

Story

The ex-pat businessman Prem Kumar (Ashok Kumar) rushes to Calcutta from his home in Rangoon when he learns that his brother Madan (Chaman Puri) has been found murdered on the city's famous Howrah Bridge. Before his murder Madan stole their family's priceless heirloom, a jeweled dragon mask, and Prem determines both to recover the mask and bring his brother's killers to justice. With the help of his tanga driver Shyamu (Om Prakash), Prem finds his way into a hotel run by Joe (Dhumal) and one run by Chang (Madan Puri), where he encounters a loose federation of smugglers including Chang, Pyarelal (K.N. Singh), and Joe's niece, the singer Edna (Madhubala). Giving a false name, Rakesh, Prem attempts to infiltrate this underworld by romancing Edna. But Shyamu's servant Bhiku (Sunder) witnessed the murder on Howrah Bridge. His snooping raises Pyarelal's suspicion, and Pyarelal - who is also jealous of Edna's attention - attempts to turn the tables on Prem, framing him for Pyarelal's own crimes.

For a film in the mystery-suspense genre, Howrah Bridge's mystery isn't particularly mysterious, its suspense not terribly suspenseful. We know from the first scenes who committed the murder and stole the artifact, and there is little in the way of twist or surprise to cast doubt on the inevitability of justice being done. The love story, too, would have benefited greatly from subtler handling. It's apparent from the story that Prem's initial interest in Edna is a fabrication, a pretense to get closer to the gang and its activities. By failing to show us a clear turning point where Prem struggles against his pretended feelings becoming real, Howrah Bridge squanders an opportunity for satisfying dramatic tension.

Despite these storytelling flaws, though, Howrah Bridge is engaging and entertaining all the way through. Shadowy cinematography sets an appropriately noirish mood (enhanced by the poorly-preserved film that unfortunately comes out even darker than intended in the DVD). Madhubala is delicious as always. And the city of Calcutta, its skyline dominated by the titular bridge, offers an ever-present, ever-shifting and fascinating backdrop. The film careens through its grimy streets, from seedy immigrant districts to ramshackle waterfront shanties to shady nightclubs. The city's better face is also shown, in the jaunty song "Sunoji yeh Calcutta hai," picturized on Om Prakash driving his tanga past Calcutta's bright parks, historic buildings, and scenic riverbanks.

There is a peculiar air of the exotic in all these scenes of Calcutta as well, and in Madan Puri's stereotypical yet weirdly compelling performance as Chang, with his arched brows and high-pitched, Chinese-inflected Hindi. I don't know whether it's proper to apply the "Orientalist" label to Bombay movie that fetishizes still more eastern locales and types, but whatever name one gives it, I have the impression that exoticism is a significant part of the mood that Howrah Bridge aims to set. The wonderful song "Mera naam Chin Chin Chu," which made a star of Helen, is one of the exotic jewels set front-and-center in this dragon-mask of a film. If nothing else it shows what a difference make-up can make, as the part-Burmese, part-English Helen, who often looks so very western in later appearances, looks perfectly east Asian here, clad in a cheongsam and made up like a porcelain doll.

The rest of the film's numerous songs are magnificent too, and really deserve repeat watchings. From Madhubala's teasingly sexy club number "Aaiye meherbaan" to an enchantingKashmiri dance performed by Mehmood and Minoo Mumtaz, and everything in between, the delightful O.P. Nayyar soundtrack is more than enough to land Howrah Bridge squarely among my favorites. [3]

Cast

Music

References

  1. ↑ http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=9854
  2. ↑ http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=164&catName=MTk1OA==
  3. ↑ Samantha, Shakti. "Howrah Bridge (1958)". Filmy Geek.

Other links

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.