Chandni Chowk (film)

Chandni Chowk is a 1954 classic Muslim social drama film directed by B. R. Chopra.
The music was composed by Roshan with lyrics written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, Saifuddin Saif, Kamil Rashid, Shailendra and Raja Mehdi Ali Khan.
Story was by D. P. Berry with screenplay by I. S. Johar and dialogue written by Kamil Rashid. Produced by Prince Hira Sinh of Baria and Goverdhandas Aggarwal under the banner of Hira Films. The director of photography was Keki Mistry. The film starred Meena Kumari, Shekhar, Jeevan, Agha, Achala Sachdev and Smriti Biswas.
The main hero Shekhar was one of the less appreciated lead actors of the 1940s and 1950s but has been cited as a "master of realistic portrayals" usually cast in "mid-budget films".
The story involves a Nawab belonging to the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi in the early 1920s, who gets "tricked into marrying his daughter to the gardener's son". In October 2015, Deepa Gahlot mentioned the film in her book 50 Films that Deserve a New Audience.

Plot

The film is set in the early 1920s in the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi. Nawab Safdarjung has a young daughter Zarina, whom he's keen to get married off. One of the applicants for her hand in marriage is the young Nawab Akbar of Lucknow. After the wedding takes place, Nawab Safdarjung is informed by Ibrahim Beg that Akbar is, in fact, the gardener's son. The plot to introduce Akbar as a Nawab was conceived by Ibrahim to teach the arrogant Nawab a lesson when he refused his newly rich neighbour, Yusuf's proposal to marry Zarina, by haughtily declining it for him being a mere vegetable vendor. Angry on learning about the subterfuge, the Nawab calls off the marriage. Zarina however, decides to go to her in-laws' house as she now considers Akbar her husband. Akbar leaves for Egypt in the hope of earning money. He finds a job there and soon gets entangled with a dancer Noorie, who falls in love with him. Noorie creates grave misunderstandings in Zarina's life when she reads Zarina's letter to Akbar. She sends off a wire informing the in-laws that Akbar is dead. Finally, Noorie dies telling Akbar about the misunderstanding created, and Akbar returns home to his bride.

Cast

Meena Kumari as Zarina
Shekhar as Akbar
Jeevan as Ibrahim
Agha as Yusuf
Sunder as Kallan
Kumar as Nawab Safdar Jung
Yashodra Kathju as Shabnam
Tun Tun
Smriti Biswas as Noorie
Pratima Devi as Akbar's mother
Achala Sachdev as Begum
Krishna Kumari as Laila
Ramma Sharma as Suraiya
Kammo as Dancer
Srinath as Arif
Abbas Ajmeri as Zaman Khan
Manmohan Krishna as Mirza
Naaz as Young Zarina
Romi as Young Akbar

Box office

B. R. Chopra had shifted to Bombay from Lahore, where he edited the Cine-Herald. In Bombay, Chopra joined Shri Gopal Pictures as a producer. Chopra's first film as a director, Afsana was a big hit running for over twenty-five weeks. Chandni Chowk, Chopra's third directorial venture was also a big success at the box office, which gave him the impetus to start his own film company B. R. Films in 1956.

Soundtrack

The film's music director was Roshan, who went on to compose music for films such as Barsat Ki Rat and Taj Mahal, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the latter film. With lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kamil Rashid, Shailendra, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Saifuddin Saif. The film's credits however, name only Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shailendra and Raja Mehdi Ali Khan as the lyricists. The playback singing was provided by Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Mukesh, Shamshad Begum and Usha Mangeshkar.