Guide (film)

Raju is released from jail. Raju is freelance guide who earns his living by taking tourists to historic sites. One day, wealthy archaeologist Marco comes to the city with his young wife Rosie, the daughter of a courtesan. Marco wants to do some research on the caves outside the city and hires Raju as his guide.

While Marco devotes himself to the discovery of the cave, Raju takes Rosie on a tour and appreciates her dancing ability and innocence. He learns about Rosie's background as a daughter of a courtesan and how Rosie has achieved respectability as the wife of Marco but at a terrible cost. She had to give up her passion for dancing as it was unacceptable to Marco. Rosie tries to commit suicide by consuming poison. Marco, upon learning of the incident, returns to see Rosie and is furious with her. He tells her that her suicide attempt was for dramatic purposes; if it had been serious, she would have consumed more sleeping pills to ensure her death. Upon returning to the caves, Rosie learns that Marco is enjoying the company of a native tribal girl. She is enraged at Marco and they argue. Rosie leaves the caves, and she once again wants to end her life.

Raju calms her down by saying that committing suicide is a sin and that she should live to pursue her dream. With Rosie needing a home, Raju gives her shelter. Rosie is considered a prostitute by Raju's community, which leads to many problems, and his mother and her brother insist that Rosie be kicked out. Raju refuses and his mother leaves him, and his friend and driver also disagree with him. Raju loses his business and the town turns against him. Undeterred by these setbacks, Raju helps Rosie embark on a singing and dancing career, and as she becomes a star, Raju indulges in gambling and drinking.

Marco returns, trying to win back Rosie. His agent asks her to release some jewelry from a safe deposit box. Raju, a bit jealous, does not want Marco to have any contact with Rosie and forges her name on the release of the jewels. Rosie, now believing that a man should not live on a woman's earnings, treats Raju coldly and they drift apart. Raju tells her that it was only with his help that she became famous.

Rosie learns of the forgery release and Raju is convicted, resulting in a two-year sentence. On the day of his release, his mother and Rosie come to collect him, but they are told that he had been released six months ago because of good behaviour. Raju wanders alone in despair and poverty until he finds a wandering group of sadhus with whom he spends a night at a derelict temple in a small town. Raju manages to talk to a woman brought by Bhola into marrying the guy Bhola is suggesting, and convinces Bhola that he is a swami, and Bhola spreads the news throughout the village. Raju assumes the role of village holy man and engages in skirmishes with the local pandits. During a drought, Raju fasts for 12 days to bring rain. His mother, friend and Rosie unite with him and reconcile. The rain comes but Raju dies.

• Dev Anand as Raju
• Waheeda Rehman as Rosie Marco / Miss Nalini
• Leela Chitnis as Raju's Mother
• Kishore Sahu as Marco
• Gajanan Jagirdar as Bhola
• Praveen Paul as Bhola's wife
• Anwar Hussain as Gaffoor
• Rashid Khan as Joseph
• Ram Avtar as Pandit (well-built one)
• Narbada Shankar as a pandit
• Nazir Kashmiri as a villager

Dev Anand was approached by American director Tad Danielewski and writer Pearl Buck for an American film based on the 1958 novel The Guide by R. K. Narayan. Anand declined at first, but agreed to collaborate with Danielewski when he met him again at the 1962 Berlin Film Festival. Anand read the novel and contacted Buck, who invited him to the United States to discuss the project. He then reached Narayan to procure the rights to the book.[10]

The Indian and American production teams clashed, causing Anand to postpone the Hindi version, thereby freeing Chetan Anand to direct the highly acclaimed Haqeeqat (1964). It also presented an opportunity for Vijay Anand to step in, and the film would prove to be a landmark achievement in his career and the Hindi film industry.[10][11]

Buck tutored Waheeda Rehman on her diction for the English part.

The sequence featuring the sond "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai" was shot in the Chittor Fort in Rajasthan.[8] The film's climax was shot in the town of Limbdi, 90 km from Ahmedabad on the Bhogavo River.[12]

The film's music was composed by Sachin Dev Burman, written by Shailendra and sung by Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and Sachin Dev Burman. The soundtrack was listed by Planet Bollywood as #11 on their list of 100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks.[13]

Rafi had originally recorded a song called "Hum Hi Mein Thi Na Koi Baat, Yaad Na Tumko Aa Sake, Tumne Hume Bhula Diya, Hum Na Tumko Bhula Sake", but later this song was replaced by "Din Dhal Jaaye".

The film was selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[14]

Guide received a leading 9 nominations at the 14th Filmfare Awards and won 7 awards, becoming the most-awarded film at the ceremony. Guide was also the first film to win all 4 major awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.

The ceremony also proved to be controversial, as S. D. Burman, who was nominated for Best Music and Lata Mangeshkar, who was nominated for Best Playback Singer for "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", both lost their respective awards to Shankar-Jaikishan and Mohammed Rafi (for "Baharon Phool Barsao"), both for Suraj, despite being highly favored for winning in their respective categories.

Author R. K. Narayan disliked the film adaptation of his novel. Reviewing the English version of the film for the magazine Life, he called it "The Misguided Guide."[15]

In a review of the American release in The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther praised the cinematography as "... a succession of colorful views of sightseeing spots, busy cities, temples, dusty landscapes and crowds," but lamented that "... the development of the narrative continuity is so erratic and frequently slurred–so clumsy and artless, to be plain-spoken–that both story and emotion are vague."[6]

• List of submissions to the 38th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

• The Guide (Modern Classics). Penguin Books. 2010. ISBN 978-0-14-341498-8.

• Guide at IMDb
• The 30 Must See Indian Films, Selected By Utpal Datta ( Film critic ). – Lens Eye, Neither tomorrow nor today, it's now 30 Must see Indian Films selected by Critic Utpal Datta