Art of Darkness

Madhubalas beauty and a Dev Anand myth lit up Kala Pani.

One fine day,Karan Mehra (Dev Anand) comes face to face with his lifes biggest secret that the father he had long thought dead was actually alive and serving kale pani ki sazaa in a Hyderabad jail for murdering a dancing girl,Mala. When Karan meets his father Shankar Lal,he comes to know that he is innocent and so he embarks on a quest to reclaim his fathers lost honour and bring the guilty to book. This becomes his lifes mission as Karan tells his mother: Har aadmi ki zindagi mein aisa waqt aata hai jab kuch aisa pagalpan hi uska sab kuch ho ke reh jaata hai (There comes a time in every mans life when such madness consumes him).

Raj Khosla directs the pacy thriller based on AJ Cronins novel,Beyond This Place,though the story idea of the Navketan film is attributed to Anand Pal. Khosla,who said in an interview that he gave the film his heart and soul as a mark of gratitude to Dev who had hired him as an assistant director to Guru Dutt in Navketans Baazi,is at his economical best. He cuts to the chase and lays the films plot from the opening scene. V Ratras camera work is commendable not surprisingly,the frames turn luminous whenever Madhubala is on screen. She plays Asha,owner of a guesthouse as well as a reporter at the local daily,Deccan Times. She aides Dev in his mission to bare the truth. Nalini Jaywant puts in a noteworthy performance as the tawaif,Kishori who holds key evidence with which she blackmails Mehra (Anand). Both Dev and Nalini won awards for their roles. Nalini gets to perform some really good mujras in the film especially the flavourful Nazar laagi raja tohre bangle par. In the film though Devs character mocks the Majrooh Sultanpuri lyrics by terming them as nikamme bol jo main hoti raja bela chameliya lipat rehti raja tohre bangle par.. lahaul valla qoovat.. lipat rehti,he mock-shudders in a humourous sequence.

If Devs dalliance with Nalini is all staged,its all lightness and cuteness with Madhubala. The first time he sees her,she has her back turned towards him and is talking on the phone about heavenly bodies chand pe honeymoon,Sputnik etc a definite nod to her beauty no doubt. In a beautiful moment in the film,he holds her face in his hands and asks her quite exasperatedly,Tum itni khoobsoorat kyun ho Asha? (Why are you so beautiful,Asha?) They have their share of fights too only to make up in the song achcha ji main haari. Madhubala owns the screen with her million-dollar expressions and billion-dollar smile.

In his autobiography,Romancing with Life,Devsaab spoke of Madhubala. I remember Kala Pani the most for Madhubala,its leading lady,the most beautiful of all the heroines in the fairyland of films with her natural looks,always as fresh as morning dew,sans heavy make-up,false eyelashes,contact lenses or scanty dresses fashioned by designers to impart artificial glamour that would titillate male curiosity. Her childlike innocence was accentuated by the most noticeable trait of her character,her famous giggle… So you have arrived! Ho- Ho- Ho! I would greet her. And her Yes,I have was always substituted by another giggle. She was forever giggling at the slightest pretext. Many times she would start giggling during a take when the camera was on. The lights had to be switched off indefinitely and tea ordered until she was able to get a hold of herself and rein in her mirth. The great giggler was perhaps laughing at the world around her that did not know that she had a damaged heart,and would die quite young, Dev Anand wrote.

It is believed that the famous Dev Anand story that he was banned from wearing black started during Kala Pania fact Devsaab acknowledged in his autobiography. Kala Pani also gave the world a story about me that has been circulating amongst my fans ever since that I am forbidden to wear black,for women swoon when they see me dressed in that colour. A stupid myth! But I went along with it,humouring my fans. The yarn,perhaps originated from the fact that I wore black throughout Kala Pani. Once,I asked him about it. Was it true? Girls would fall down when they saw you in a black suit?. Devsaab looked at me,smiled the Dev Anand smile,and said,So I have heard.

Kala Pani also owes its longevity to SD Burmans musical score especially the great Rafi song Hum bekhudi main. Dada Burman took his Bengali tune of Ghum bhulechi and Rafi added his own special touch. An all-time favourite,all in all.

Play List

Film: Kala Pani

Year: 1958

Director: Raj Khosla

Cast: Dev Anand,Madhubala,Nalini Jaywant,Sapru,Mukri,Agha,Jankidas

Music: SD Burman

DVD: T Series

Play It Again

l Nazar laagi raja: Asha Bhosle

l Hum bekhudi main: Mohd Rafi

l Dil laga ke: Asha Bhosle

l Jab naam-e-mohabbat le ke: Asha Bhosle