Tarana (1951 film)
Tarana (transl. Song) is a 1951 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film produced and written by K. S. Daryani and directed by Ram Daryani. The film stars Madhubala and Dilip Kumar for the first time together, along with Shyama and Jeevan.[1]
| Tarana | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Poster | |
| Directed by | Ram Daryani |
| Produced by | K. S. Daryani |
| Written by | D. N. Madhok |
| Screenplay by | K. S. Daryani |
| Story by | Dwarka Khosla |
| Starring | Madhubala Dilip Kumar Shyama Gope Jeevan |
| Music by | Anil Biswas |
| Cinematography | Kumar Jayant |
| Edited by | M. D. Malekar |
Production company | Krishin Movietone |
| Distributed by | Krishin Movietone |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | est. ₹7.5 million |
Anil Biswas wrote the music for the film and one of the popular numbers was the duet "Seene Mein Sulagte Hain Arman", sung by Talat Mehmood and Lata Mangeshkar.[2]
Tarana was a major commercial success and received praise from critics for its love sequences and Madhubala's performance.[3] It was also with the same film that Kumar and Madhubala began a highly-publicised affair that lasted for nearly six years.[4]
Plot
After a plane crash, Dr. Motilal (Dilip Kumar), is left stranded in a small village, where he is given shelter by a blind old man called Surdas and his playful, young daughter Tarana (Madhubala). During the course of their stay, the Motilal falls for the charms of the innocent Tarana. Moti even helps Surdas regain his eyesight by means of an operation.
Meanwhile, Moti's father has promised him in marriage to Sheela, an affluent rich girl from the city without Moti's knowledge. A rich villager, Totaram wants to marry Tarana and is unhappy about Tarana's relationship with Motilal. When they go out for sightseeing, Totaram spreads false rumours about Tarana that she has defiled herself going out with the 'pardesi' (foreigner) Motilal.
While out sightseeing, Moti falls ill and collapses to the ground, much to Tarana's horror! A heavy thunderstorm ensues as well! Tarana helps Moti, and they take refuge from the heavy rain in a small village barn. Totaram gathers the villagers, and they head to the barn along with Tarana's father Surdas. When Surdas opens the door, he finds Moti and Tarana inside, and presumes that Tarana has indeed defiled her character! Moti is beaten up by the villagers and chased away.
Totaram further maligns Tarana's reputation by claiming that she is pregnant, and bribes the village nurse Kaneshi to testify to this fact. He even requests Surdas to marry her off to him, and that he'd take the "blame". Surdas really believes that his daughter is characterless and that she has betrayed him. In rage, he burns the entire house with Tarana inside. A guilty Totaram admits that Tarana is innocent and that he spread ill rumours about her and Moti. A heartbroken Surdas realises his mistake and tries to rescue Tarana from the fire, but is killed. Moti comes back in search of his beloved Tarana, only to find her house burning down to ashes!
Thinking that she his dead, Moti returns to the city in despair. It is then that Sheela, the girl his father engaged him to, comes to his aid and helps him return to a normal life. He becomes a very successful doctor and tries to accept Sheela, but is unable to. However, his sweet memories with Tarana keep plaguing him day after day.
He still believes in heart that Tarana is alive. He feels her presence somewhere around him. But he still agrees to his father's wish of marrying Sheela, though his heart is not at peace.
On the day of his wedding with Sheela, Moti runs away from the wedding and goes back to the old barn where he last saw Tarana. He is overjoyed to find her alive! Tarana thinks that he is already married and refuses to talk to him. But on learning the truth that he isn't married, she is elated!
Moti and Tarana are happily united, thus proving that true love always wins.
Cast
- Madhubala as Tarana
- Dilip Kumar as Dr. Motilal
- Shyama as Sheela
- Jeevan as Diwansaheb
- Gulab
- M. Kumar as Surdas (as Kumar)
- Dewaskar
- Girdhari
- Chandu
- Vikram Kapoor
- Gope as Toteram 'Totey'
Production
Tarana is largely remembered as the film's lead actors, Madhubala and Dilip Kumar are believed to have become romantically involved during the making of the film. Reportedly Madhubala sent a pink rose to Kumar, which he accepted and later also wrote a letter to her.[4] There began an affair that the two continued for many years before breaking up due to a scandalous court case.[5]
Soundtrack
Film Companion had placed Tarana's album at #37 in "Bollywood's Top 100 Albums".[6]
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Lyricist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Nain Miley, Nain Huwe Bawre" | Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mehmood | Prem Dhawan |
| 2 | "Bol Papihe Bol" | Lata Mangeshkar, Sandhya Mukherjee | Prem Dhawan |
| 3 | "Mohse Rooth Gayo Mora Savariya" | Lata Mangeshkar | D. N. Madhok |
| 4 | "Yun Chhup Chhup Ke Mera Aana" | Lata Mangeshkar | D. N. Madhok |
| 5 | "Beimaan Tohre Nainwa" | Lata Mangeshkar | D. N. Madhok |
| 6 | "Seene Mein Sulagte Hain Armaan" | Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mehmood | Prem Dhawan |
| 7 | "Wapas Le Le Yeh Jawani" | Lata Mangeshkar | |
| 8 | "Ek Main Hoon Ek Meri" | Talat Mehmood | |
| 9 | "Woh Din Kahan Gaye Bata" | Lata Mangeshkar | D. N. Madhok |
Reception
Critical reception
Tarana was well-received by critics. Baburao Patel, the editor of Filmindia magazine, wrote in his review: "Ram Daryani has directed the picture very well and shows plenty of imagination in love sequences.[3] Both [Dilip Kumar and Madhubala] have lived their roles and their romantic sequences seem to take a hues from the real canvas of life." Madhubala's performance prompted Patel to refer it to as her finest at that time.[7]
Release and box office
Tarana created a huge hype even before its release, as it starred two of India's most popular stars (Madhubala and Kumar). The news of them becoming romantically involved further escalated the film's pre-release popularity.[3][4] The time Tarana was being distributed and publicised, Krishin Movietone promoted it with the tagline: 'Watch Madhubala and Dilip Kumar together for the first time.'[7]
Tarana attracted huge crowds on being put to exhibition. The film, praised by audience, soon ended up being the sixth most successful Indian film of 1951.[8] Its box-office success led Kumar and Madhubala doing three movies together: Sangdil (1952), Amar (1954) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960).[3]
In a commemorative article written by Filmfare, it was stated that Tarana was one of Madhubala's "best roles".[9]
References
- Tilak Rishi (2012). Bless You Bollywood!: A Tribute to Hindi Cinema on Completing 100 Years. Trafford Publishing. pp. 101–. ISBN 978-1-4669-3963-9. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- Ganesh Anantharaman (January 2008). Bollywood Melodies: A History of the Hindi Film Song. Penguin Books India. pp. 29–. ISBN 978-0-14-306340-7. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- Akbar, Katijia (1 April 2011). I Want to Live: The Story of Madhubala. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 978-93-81398-21-0.
- Spirogis, Jeremy (13 February 2020). "Flashback – When Madhubala had proposed to Dilip Kumar in addition to Premnath!". Sahiwal. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- "Blast from the past: When BR Chopra sued Madhubala". filmfare.com. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- Nair, Vipin (3 October 2017). "#37 Tarana: Top 100 Bollywood Albums". Film Companion. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- Lanba, Urmila (30 June 2019). The Thespian: Life and Films of Dilip Kumar. Vision Books. ISBN 978-93-86268-31-0.
- "Highest Grossing Hindi Movies of 1951". IMDb. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- "Remembering Madhubala through her movies". filmfare.com. Retrieved 12 January 2021.