Baiju Bawra

Baiju Bawra (1952)

During the reign of Akbar the Great, a young singer sets out to avenge his father's death and challenges the killer to a musical duel.

Date of release
1952-10-05
TMDB
6.3 / 10 (7)
Runtime
2h 45m
Genres
Music, Drama, Romance
Director
Vijay Bhatt

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 2 · Nominations: 0. Including: Filmfare Award for Best Actress; Filmfare Award for Best Music Director

Baiju Bawra 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. 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".

Production

Vijay Bhatt had earlier made religious classics such as Bharat Milap (1942) and Ram Rajya (1943), with Ram Rajya being the only film Mahatma Gandhi watched. Bhatt's interest in literature and music compelled him to make a film about Tansen and the folk-legend singer Baiju Bawra as the main focus. A revenge theme was brought in with a love story and some comic interludes.

Bhatt's decision to make a film based on Indian classical music was met with scepticism by the film industry due to its "lack of mass appeal", with his friends referring to him as "Viju Bawra" (Viju Crazy/Insane). Vijay Bhatt was the first to use two "classical giants on a common platform for path-breaking duets" twice. Ustad Amir Khan with Pandit D. V.

The film was shot at Prakash Pictures studio at Andheri East in Bombay. According to Ayaz, nobody working on the sets "felt that they were working on a film that would become a milestone". The song sequence of "Tu Ganga ki Mauj" was shot at a river in Dahisar, near Bombay. The film took a year for completion.

The original choice for the cast were Dilip Kumar as Baiju and Nargis as Gauri. Bhatt's option for Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari in the main roles was a matter of financial deliberation and continuity of dates required for the shooting.

Meena Kumari, earlier called Mahjabeen Bano, started her acting career at the age of four in Vijay Bhatt's film Leatherface (1939). Her name was changed by Bhatt to Baby Meena in 1940. She acted in several films as a child star including Bhatt's Ek Hi Bhool (1940). Meena Kumari's first adult role was in Bachchon Ka Khel (Child's Play) (1946) directed by Raja Nene.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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