Baiju Bawra (film)

Baiju Bawra
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVijay Bhatt
Written byZia Sarhadi
Screenplay byR. S. Choudhury
Story byRamchandra Thakur
Produced byVijay Bhatt
Shankar Bhatt
StarringBharat Bhushan
Meena Kumari
CinematographyV. N. Reddy
Edited byPratap Dave
Music byNaushad
Production
company
Prakash Pictures
Distributed byPrakash Pictures
Release date
  • 5 October 1952 (1952-10-05)
Running time
155 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box office₹1.25 crore (equivalent to ₹135 crore or US$16 million in 2023) [1]

Baiju Bawra (lit. 'Crazy Baiju') is a 1952 Hindi musical romantic drama film directed by Vijay Bhatt. Produced by Prakash Pictures, with story by Ramchandra Thakur and dialogues by Zia Sarhadi, Baiju Bawra was a musical "megahit" which had a mighty 100-week run in the theatres.[2] Bhatt's decision to make a film based on classical music was met with scepticism by the Indian film industry due to its "lack of mass appeal", but the film and music turned out be an "overwhelming success".[3][4]

The film's music director was Naushad,[4] who had become popular giving folk-based music in films such as Rattan, Anmol Ghadi, Shahjehan (1946) and Deedar (1951). With Bhatt's Baiju Bawra, Naushad introduced a classical component in Hindi film songs.[5] The soundtrack was based on classical ragas, such as Puriya Dhanashree, Todi, Malkauns, Darbari and Desi.[6] The lyricist was Shakeel Badayuni, a Naushad discovery. For Baiju Bawra, Badayuni had to forgo Urdu, and write lyrics in pure Hindi, with songs such as the bhajan "Man Tadpat Hari Darshan Ko Aaj" becoming popular.[7]

The film starred Bharat Bhushan as Baiju, with Meena Kumari playing his love interest Gauri. Meena made her acting debut in Bhatt's Leatherface (1939) as a six-year-old. Surendra portrayed Tansen, one of the Navratnas in Akbar's court. Kuldip Kaur played the role of the dacoit queen Roopmati.[8] The rest of the cast included Bipin Gupta, Manmohan Krishna, B. V. Vyas and Baby Tabassum.[4]

The film merges the legend of Baiju Bawra with the historic setting of Mughal Emperor Akbar's court in India.[9] Baiju (Bhushan) is the son of a musician who also grows up to be a musician. He comes to believe that Tansen, the famed musician at the court of Akbar, is responsible for his father's death. The movie then follows Baiju's attempt to avenge his father's death by challenging Tansen to a musical duel.

Even though there were many changes in the storyline from the original life of Baiju Bawra, the film was both a commercial and critical success and catapulted both its lead actors into stardom. Meena Kumari became the first-ever Filmfare Best Actress Award winner in 1954, the first of four Best Actress trophies she won in her career.[10] The film's music director, Naushad, also received the inaugural Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj"; this was Naushad's first and only Filmfare Award win. It was ranked #13 in the list of 20 greatest Indian films by BFI in 2002.[11]

  1. ^ "Box Office 1952". Box Office India. 22 September 2012. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ^ Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen (10 July 2014). "Baiju Bawra (1952)". Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. pp. 325–. ISBN 978-1-135-94318-9.
  3. ^ Iyengar, Krishnaraj Iyengar (30 July 2015). "The Classical Connection". The Hindu (newspaper). Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference upperstall was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Ganesh Anantharaman (January 2008). "Part I-First Generation Composers-The Pioneers-Naushad Ali". Bollywood Melodies: A History of the Hindi Film Song. Penguin Books India. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-14-306340-7.
  6. ^ K. Moti Gokulsing; Wimal Dissanayake (2013). "Music in mainstream Indian cinema by Premendra Mazumder". Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. pp. 260–. ISBN 978-1-136-77284-9.
  7. ^ Anantharaman2008, p. 111
  8. ^ Ayaz, Shaikh. "Sixty Years of Baiju Bawra". openthemagazine.com. Open Media Network Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  9. ^ Sumita S. Chakravarty (2011). National Identity in Indian Popular Cinema, 1947–1987. University of Texas Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-292-78985-2.
  10. ^ "Romancing The Reel". Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  11. ^ "BFI | Features | South Asian Cinema | A Guide to South Asian Cinema | 50 essential South Asian films | Top 10 Indian Films". 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2021.