chaudhvin ka chand
when it comes to epic romances, chaudhvin ka chand has to feature on the list .
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this cast list of who was in chaudhvin ka chand includes both lead and minor roles. (19 items )
mili khaak mein mohabbat - guru dutt, mohd. rafi, chaudhavin ka chand song
what sets ‘chaudhvin ka chand’ apart? the classical romanticism that the song demanded found expression in the ‘period’ scene - setting and cast .
chaudhvin ka chand cast list, listed alphabetically with photos when available. this list of chaudhvin ka chand actors includes any chaudhvin ka chand actresses and all other actors from the film. you can view additional information about each chaudhvin ka chand actor on this list, such as when and where they were born. to find out more about a particular actor or actress, click on their name and you' ll be taken to page with even more details about their acting career. the cast members of chaudhvin ka chand have been in many other movies, so use this list as a starting point to find actors or actresses that you may not be familiar with .
this intensity of dutt’s is evident in chaudhvin ka chand – and not just because of the internal conversations he has with himself towards the end .
chaudhvin ka chand - chaudh ...
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this entry was posted in film, hindi, review and tagged bollywood, chaudhvin ka chand, guru dutt, hindi, johnny walker, rehman, waheeda rehman. bookmark the permalink .
chaudvin ka chand ho, ya aaftaab ho jo bhi ho tum khuda ki kasam, lajawab ho zulfein hain jaise kaandhe pe baadal jhuke hue aankhen hain jaise maey ke pyaale bhare hue masti hai jisme pyaar ki tum, woh sharaab ho chaudvin ka chand ho... chehra hai jaise jheel mein khilta hua kanwal ya zindagi ke saaz pe chhedi hui ghazal jaane bahaar tum kisi shaayar ka khwaab ho chaudvin ka chand ho... hothon pe khelti hain tabassum ki bijliyaan sajde tumhari raah mein karti hain kaikashaan duniya - e - husno - ishq ka tum hi shabaab ho chaudvin ka chand ho ...
from the original soundtrack guru dutt films private ltd. on label :
hindustani film: chaudhvin - ka - chand
℗ 1978 the gramophone co. of india ltd. eclp 5432 regular
the book, chaudhvin ka chand: the original screenplay, archives the screenplay of this classic movie. it also offers interviews with the cast and crew, including its beautiful heroine, wadeeda rehman .
chaudhvin ka chand ’s success also gave an enormous fillip to the hindi film genre known as the' muslim social'. this nomenclature simply specifies that the lead characters in the film are muslim .
from the film chaudhvin ka chand. breathtakingly beautiful melody and imagery - as popular now as 48 years ago when the film was made. sung by mohammed rafi, written by shakeel badayuni and music by ravi
“chaudhvin ka chand” is a potpourri of beautiful music, festive episodes, and a whole lot of heartache and poetry. it is the representative guru dutt feature of the bollywood golden age not to be missed .
the song chaudavin ka chand was sampled in the international song
my g
by ali the son of abdul from the album raja .
well said about the title song! it can' t get more romantic than chaudhvin ka chand :) i haven' t seen the film. not too sure if i can get its dvd in the uk (maybe lovefilm ?) .
but this isn’t about chaudhvin ka chand the film – no better than your average romance - drama flick. this isn’t about the song per se either. it’s about the song - sequence on screen and the beauty who made it so irrevocably magical .
compilation, translation, essays and interviews: dinesh raheja and jitendra kothari. excerpted from chaudhvin ka chand: the original screenplay, rs 595, p ublished by om books international, with the publishers' permission. an initiative of vinod chopra films pvt ltd .
in chaudhvin ka chand, director m sadiq presented the film' s milieu by lavishing detail of cultural traits in dress and language and endorsing the employment of ghazals (the title song), qawwalis (sharma ke na yunhi pardanasheen) and high - flown urdu in the dialogue .
with color films starting to become popular in mainstream indian cinema during the late 1950s, dutt had the title song and one of the nautch girl dance songs reshot in color. the version of chaudhvin ka chand that i saw, however, was entirely in black - and - white .
in the early 1960s some eccentric genius put everything together: song, cast, photography, scene - setting. and the song - sequence ‘chaudhvin ka chand’ from the hindi film of that name became – and stayed – one of the most haunting romantic song - sequences in hindi cinema history .
the film was hugely successful at the box office. the inordinate success of this guru dutt production helped set into motion several staples of hindi films. though ostensibly a romance, chaudhvin ka chand ’s thematic nucleus explored the deep emotional connection between the two friends - – aslam and pyaare miyan .
but putting that aside, chaudhvin ka chand is an engaging, enjoyable film, so little wonder perhaps that it won three filmfare awards on its release in 1960 (best art director – black and white, best lyricist and best playback singer, the latter for mohammad rafi for the title song) .
not related to chaudhvin ka chand, but it was a sad, sad, day for every true cricket fan today. gaddafi stadium is beautiful, and so is lahore. a salute to the cops who lost their lives while ensuring the safety of the sri lankan cricketers. long live cricket. peace .
he took to making commercial films like chaudvin ka chand (1960) and sahib bibi aur ghulam (1962). the films were a success at the box office but his heart wasn’t in cinema any more .
the film was made in a time when technicolor was just introduced in indian film making. a trend was popular those days in which some important or dramatic scenes would be shot in colour and the rest in black and white. in this film, the title track chaudhvin ka chand sequence got this chance. see more »
there’s something soulful about guru dutt. chaudhvin ka chand, or full moon as it appears on urltoken, is the third of his films i’ve seen and in each one the actor brings an intensity, but also a sense of sadness, to his characters – even in a fun and frothy film like mr & mrs ’55 .
but, finally, the story concentrated on the characters' emotional lives, and the film' s huge success testifies to the commonality of emotional impulses among all human beings everywhere. chaudhvin ka chand and mughal - e - azam were both released in 1960 and they certainly brought the appeal of the muslim social back into audience consciousness .
the true efflorescence of this genre began after chaudhvin ka chand was released in june 1960 - – mughal - e - azam thronged theatres just two months later in august, 1960, and barsaat ki raat (with madhubala playing shabnam and bharat bhushan playing aman hyderabadi) completed the hat - trick when it was released after another two months, in october 1960 .
bhargav: amazon in the uk has it. so does lovefilm. of course, you could add it to your list for the next trip to southall! ;) i think you' ll like chaudhvin ka chand. have you seen any other films by guru dutt? pyaasa (1957) is one i' d definitely recommend, very very highly .
mohd rafi awaz ka frishta tha jo asman say zameen per aya hazaroun khubsoorat gaany lakhooun lougon kay liea ga ker wapas chala gia, per apni awaz ka aisa jadu jaga gia, kon my ka lal dunya main asa hay jo assay ganay gaye rafi sahib, tu bay misal hay teri tareef kia karoun, rafi sahib aap per tu rag aur raagnian bhi fakhar kertian hain, music, poetry, acting, in sub per aap ki awaz galib aa jati hay, aap amer hain, app ka her gaana amer hay, jab tak suraj chand rahay ga rafi tera nam ...
‘chaudhvin ka chand’ as a song - sequence went further. it matched the classical romance setting with the actors (the ever - romantic - ever - longing dutt and the incurably gorgeous waheeda). here, several other ‘hits’ fall short. the voices of the actors, their persona, demeanour and the scene - setting do not match the otherwise glorious music, lyrics and singers .
i stu, bled across your blog through twitter. i like this review a lot. chaudhvin ka chand is not a filmi masterpiece like pyaasa or kaagaz ke phool but it is a wondrous feast for waheeda - worshippers and also one of johnny walker' s most meaningful roles. i was delighted to read your assessment of his merits - any johnny walker fan is ok with me .
there are some who leave behind an indelible mark despite their short lives. guru dutt was one such man who strode on earth but for a while but left behind giant footprints. time and sight and sound both named him as amongst the best directors of all times. films like pyaasa and chaudhvin ka chand are taught in cinema schools worldwide and are counted as among the 100 best films of all time ...
hitherto, there had been the occasional film that explored the nature of male friendship, including the successful barsaat (1949) and naya daur (1957), but chaudhvin ka chand ratcheted up the degree of the story’s commitment to the bonds of friendship. aslam places their friendship even higher than his wife, and pyaare is so shamed by his inadvertent wooing of his friend’s spouse that he prefers to embrace death than face him .
hi hashmat, and thank * you * so much for your visit and comment! it' s such an honor. saghir sir' s work was brilliant, and you' re absolutely right about his work living on too. the dialogue in chaudhvin ka chaand was sheer genius !
chaudhvin ka chand is a treat all around. four stars and then some for a beautifully executed film. it has its issues, but it is thoroughly enjoyable and nothing short of quality entertainment once the viewer appreciates and accepts the melodrama for what it is. if you have seen other works by guru dutt and waheeda rehman, you know how good they can be. if you have yet to see them, what are you waiting for ?
‘ chaudhvin ka chand’ as a song is one of the most lilting romantic ballads in the history of romantic ballads. music, lyrics and singer come together so much like a trinity. it’s impossible to tell father, from son, from spirit. it’s impossible to tell which came first, which second and which third. they’re fused, as if inseparably. of course ‘kabhi kabhi mere dil mein’ and several songs from indian (not just hindi) cinema, also boast of this mystical fusion .
the composer of tunes like chaudhvin ka chaand, neele gagan ke tale and aye meri zohra jabin dies at 86renowned music director of yesteryears, ravi shankar sharma, popular called as ‘ravi’ passed away in mumbai late wednesday night, according to family sources. he was 86 and had been ailing since some time when he breathed his [ … ]
dozens of pretty to good - looking actresses have ‘sung’ in memorable classical romance song - sequences in hindi cinema over the last 60 to 70 years. not one comes close to the immaculate waheeda. if anything she’s the one challenging her own rank with appearances in pyaasa, kaagaz ke phool, sahib bibi aur ghulam. but in no other song - sequence is she as radiant as she is in ckc. . but in no other song - sequence is she as radiant as she is in ‘chaudhvin ka chand’ .
when a man looks upon his new bride under the moonlight, he is tempted to admit that her beautiful face is “like the lotus that is blooming in the lake” or “like an ode that has been plucked on the instrument of life. ” guru dutt and mohammed sadiq’s classic hindi film about the then - muslim city of lucknow, “chaudhvin ka chand, ” is full of poetic depictions of that ultimate love in a man’s life, but more poignantly, it teaches us how to give up that great love when following one’s own convictions .
before aishwarya rai enchanted us in “devdas”, there was that starlet waheeda rehman, who was “the dream of a poet”, playing the beautiful wife, the woman at the center of the love triangle. before the shahrukh khan of today showcased his talents in “kal ho naa ho” and “my name is khan”, there was the original star of the golden age of bollywood cinema, guru dutt, whose films such as “pyaasa” and “kaagaz ke phool” prepared him to delve into the theme of friendship vs. love in this film translated as “full moon”. before “slumdog millionaire”, there was a 1960 gem called “chaudhvin ka chand”, and after it, indian movie history changed forever .
yeh lucknow ki sarzameen, yeh rang - roop ka chaman, yeh husn - o - ishq ka chaman (this city of lucknow. this garden of colour and beauty, this land of grace and gallantry) sadiq also adeptly showcased the characters' religio - cultural identity in the tehzeeb (etiquette) and customs of pyaare miyan' s palatial house as well as the middle - class households of his friends aslam and shaida (johnny walker) .
much of what makes today’s bollywoo films so enjoyable was pioneered or given widespread acclaim by “chaudhvin ka chand”. among those elements is the comic stock - character of the third of the best friends, mirza shaiza, played by johnny walker, who bumbles his way into every brothel and bar he could find. in one scene, he tries to get up at home, but can’t, and we soon find out about how he’s living at home with mother. in another scene, he dresses up as a pauper to secretly take pictures for his friend the nawab. in the process, he hilariously catches a corrupt policeman! johnny walker would go on to bring his squeaky voice and pointed moustache to other dutt films like “baazi” and “pyaasa” .
director: mohammed sadiq cast: guru dutt and waheeda rehman lyrics: shakeel badayuni music: ravi voice: mohammed rafi song awards: filmfare best male playback award for mohammed rafi singing the title track filmfare best lyricist award for shakeel badayuni writing of the title track chaudhvin ka chand (1960) was directed by mohammed sadiq. a production of guru dutt, the film centers on a love triangle between guru dutt, rehman and waheeda rehman. the setting is the city of lucknow in northern india, where islamic culture flourished. two of the three best friends who live in this city have fallen in love with the same woman named jameela unknowingly. aslam (guru dutt) and nawab (rehman) are the two friends caught in this love triangle with jameela (waheeda rehman). an integral part of any guru dutt film, comic relief was provided by johnny walker who plays mirza masaraddik shaiza .
i looooooove the songs from this movie especially chaudhvin ka chaand - rafi is divine and the picturisation is perfect. for some reason, every time this played on tv i only managed to catch the ending and a few parts here and there. so, i know the story and most of the problems with the script that you mentioned! i do intend to watch the whole movie sometime soon, and hopefully watching it in its entirety, the plot - holes wont bother me so much. or maybe just watching waheeda + guru dutt + rehman + johnny walker will distract me from them! ; - )
other than the ending, the climax of the film occurs when aslam finds out that the woman his best friend has been obsessing over is his wife jameela. he runs down a flight of steps at the port to enter a surreal desolated landscape where he sings another mohammad rafi song, “mili khak main mohabbat”. this is where indian dramatic cinema is at its best. dutt, who had just looked longingly at his friend, now realizes he must choose one of two loves. he looks back at the bridge where he came from as well as to the barren landscape. the camera zooms slowly to dutt as he sings of his disappointment, and as the scene progresses, the camera roams around the symbolic landscape, sometimes watching the singer behind bushes, sometimes behind the ruins of buildings. the freshly created chaos is magnified by dutt’s lyrics and expression—a mix of contemplation and sadness at the inevitability of life. here, we feel that he must give up that great love of “chaudhvin ka chand ho” by following his convictions and give it up to his best friend .
dutt’s masterful understanding of the cinema as a mode of expression is captured in the song he sings to rehman in the moon song “chaudhvin ka chand ho”. in it, the camera follows aslam as he slowly approaches his subject, his new bride. just as he sings of her hair being like clouds “bent over your shoulders”, the screen captures the skies and the heroine’s shoulders as she cowers over the balcony. just as dutt sings of her eyes like “the containers of liquor are full”, we get the first close up of rehman and sense her dashing beauty. like many sections of the film, especially during the singing, the audience looks at the protagonist through camouflage like shadows, bamboos, or opened tiles, as if we are merely glimpsing into the form of beauty without actually experiencing it. we are reminded of the ever - present moon as dutt skillfully pans towards rehman, and again when the camera sinks below the building to show just how her face is like the lotus in the lake. dutt’s skillful manipulation of this scene is pure poetry, just like the poetry that he is singing .
bollyviewer: i' d love to know what you think of it after you watch it in its entirety. i' m quite confident the four outstanding acting talents will distract you from the plot holes! i really enjoyed the screen time johnny walker got. of the movies i' ve seen him in, it' s probably the most i' ve seen him get. and he truly makes it tick. and the songs, oh, yes, they' re brilliant! anonymous [ 1 ]: i' ll take that as a compliment! i do have this tendency to try to appreciate music for what it' s aimed at (time and place). that baba seghal song is effective where it' s supposed to be. and so is each and every song in chaudhvin ka chand, except that these songs are way, way, waaaay more special, of course! it is my belief that a good dance track is much more of a commodity than a well written track. but, of course, i am not free of bias. anonymous [ 2 ]: i have yet to see delhi - 6. had it planned for this past weekend, but life got in the way. this coming weekend has to be it! have you seen it? did you like / dislike it ?
no lyrics are available right now. the lyrics will be added in due course .
on all movie pages, a list of all the songs from that particular movie are there with basic information about the movie .
further, you can click on any name or category in the above list to see list of songs of that particular person or category .
oh duniya ke rakhwaale | mohammad rafi | k. j. yesudas | hindi song
rang aur noor ki baraat. . mohammed rafi _ sahir ludhianvi _ gazal with a tribute to madan mohan by lata .
पंख होते तो उड़ आती, तुझे दिल का दाग़ दिखलाती रे. . lata _ hasrat jaipuri _ ramlal. . a tribute
o door ke musafir. . udan khatola 1955 _ rafi _ shakeel b _ naushad. . a tribute
hum dono (1961) - abhi na jaao chhodkar ke dil abhi bhara nahin. avi. flv
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the setting is the city of lucknow in northern india, where islamic culture flourished. two of the three best friends who live in this city have fallen in love with the same woman named... see full summary »
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the setting is the city of lucknow in northern india, where islamic culture flourished. two of the three best friends who live in this city have fallen in love with the same woman named jameela unknowingly. aslam and nawab are the two friends caught in this love triangle .
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@ qilinmelb: not sure if wrote correctly. you are absolutely right. in those
over usa. mohd rafi forecast something after the demise of s. d. b. so songs
i am this generation & i miss him. all the munnis & sheila cannot move me
to the level 1 note of rafi saab voice does. the light left this world the
quality, range, control, emotion & effortlessness. like all great people he
a very good song. waheeda looks so fairy like. the lyrics. . the lyrics to
capable i will leave it alone. no words. the same goes for the voice that
sings these words. that is rafi. what diction what clarity. guru dutt
as the encyclopedia of indian cinema notes, the film “pivots around the islamic practice of purdah, which forbids women to show their face to men outside their immediate family. ” in fact, the film richly expands and complicates this basis in a cultural practice by constructing an extended study in vision and veiling, treated in both comic and tragic variations that structure the film’s plot of misidentifications and misunderstandings as well as its rich stylistic pattern of blocked and obscured views. recent film critics invested in the power and erotics of the gaze would do well to discover this veritable treatise on the subject of focused looks and momentary glimpses, which intersects the essential looking of cinema itself with the specific visual conventions of muslim india .
the unfolding of the plot moves from the misidentifications of shakesperian comedy to the misunderstandings of well - intentioned people that result in tragedy. the nawab’s ailing mother is anxious to see her son married, and has arranged his marriage; still seeking his briefly glimpsed beatrice, he asks his poor friend aslam (guru dutt) to marry the girl his mother has secured – who is of course jamila. the film will then trace the series of errors and obligations that complicate this situation and results in the three friends understanding the prices they have paid attempting to insure one another’s happiness. the film’s long - delayed revelation, when the nawab finally realizes that the woman he desires is his best friend’s wife, is a brilliant sequence that shifts our attention between visual perspectives (as well as external and internal voices) that are intricately composed through reflections in mirrors. the scene summarizes the film’s catalog of visual structures as well as the moral consequences that they generate .
if the extended misunderstandings seem implausible (despite their grounding in a social system that isolates men and women from casual contact), the emotions that link the characters to one another and motivate their attempts to perform extreme sacrifices feel plausible and real. although jamila is central to the plot, the film concentrates on the obligations of male friendship (
this film’s ostensible “happy ending” for a couple is outweighed by the painful cost of such joy. (one continually senses that the three friends at the center of the film are playing out their off - screen, longtime affection as well: johnny walker’s comic role is especially tempered by moments of convincing affection for his suffering friends .) friendship forces these fellows to take action by acting: attempting to play the part of the wayward husband that will allow the wife he adores to divorce him and marry his best friend, aslam’s joyless visits to a brothel make him resemble
, a story of self - destruction that guru dutt’s own life seemed to sadly replay .) shaida, on the other hand, approaches his roles – and costume changes – with great relish, disguising himself as a elderly holy man to photograph women in the bazaar, and finally donning the uniform and self - important mannerisms of a police inspector .
as in all guru dutt films, the song sequences are notable highlights, featuring the voices of perhaps hindi cinema’s three greatest playback singers, lata mangeshkar, asha bhosle, and mohammad rafi, the latter shifting effortlessly between guru dutt’s heartfelt and johnny walker’s comic songs. two numbers are given special treatment by being filmed in color (see note below), and guru dutt’s tendency to advance his story through songs, with the rhythm of music and editing in collaboration, is as strong as ever. for example, the first major number ,
… (“why do these women adjust their veils? ”) cuts between the nawab and women peering at one another while the lyrics comment upon this action (and the tradition of purdah), all within a tightly organized interchange of sound and image. if this film doesn’t finally achieve the overall impact of an earlier masterpiece like
, the technical skills that made guru dutt one of the masters of hindi cinema’s golden age, and unsurpassed in the art of song picturization, are still on display in this penultimate work .
the sequence is simple enough: the film’s producer, guru dutt, plays aslam, alone with his new bride jameela, played by waheeda rehman .
it doesn’t matter if you don’t know urdu or hindi (although it won’t hurt to understand the lyrics). it doesn’t matter if you’ve never heard of the great rafi or the others. if you watch and listen to the song - sequence, with the silent reverence it deserves, it will charm .
‘kabhi kabhi mere dil mein’, for instance, sounds heavenly through speakers. the trinitarian theory works splendidly. on screen? it’s less than perfect. it demanded a classical romance ‘period’ scene - setting and didn’t get one. it demanded classical - romantic actors and didn’t get any .
but most importantly, the central character of the sequence is waheeda. this is where it leaves other ‘very good’ or ‘great’ classical romance song - sequences behind .
dutt knew. all he had to do was point the camera – waheeda shone regardless. she shone in spite of anything or anyone in the frame. especially with little or no make - up or ornaments on .
there would be no full moon, no dazzling sun, no jameela, without waheeda .
opening shot: a full - screen glimpse of a sleeping waheeda. moonlight and shadow tease each other – and us .
next, we see guru dutt. he’s speechless at first. no music, no words, nothing to aid him. helpless, he sighs. then aid comes as a wave – in music and words. and he pays tribute in the purest tareef tradition .
the camera creeps like a moonbeam toward waheeda, stealthily, anxious that any sound beyond the song itself, might rudely wake her .
at first her face is turned ever so slightly upward, away. then, still asleep she turns gently, slowly toward us .
that’s when dutt musters enough strength to sing as the camera alternates between worshipper and worshipped .
then: jo bhi ho tum khuda ki kasam, la - jawaab ho [ whatever you are…. ]
in the classical tradition khuda ki kasam (‘by god’ or ‘i swear by god’) is used exceptionally. among conservative communities, almost never, because whatever follows isn’t just accurate or fact but the highest truth. anyone using such a prefix in vain invites the highest punishment. so, it’s no small thing when dutt uses it with the utter confidence that he’s right, indisputably right. as it happens, those are the moments in the sequence when he shuts his eyes, almost as if closing them to anything but the truth, almost as if the angelic perfection he sees is beyond bearing .
dutt’s closed eyes in the song - sequence ask conflicting questions that the film doesn’t. he asks: isn’t it madness to leave such blinding grace unveiled, unprotected? aren’t even the most precious flowers guarded by branch or thorn? but then again, he asks: isn’t it madness for such beauty to be hidden at all ?
the word la - jawaab doesn’t have a precise translation. not one that does justice anyway. but roughly it means: that which doesn’t have a suitable reply or that which is matchless, incomparable .
rightly, waheeda offers no comfort, no reassurance, no answer. unlike some other song - sequences, where the object of worship starts questioning or answering the worshipper, in word or song or both, she remains wordless throughout .
if you’ve only ‘listened’ to the song before, i don’t blame you. but you wouldn’t just ‘listen’ to the full moon, would you ?
one video - link of the song - sequence on youtube offers a modest english translation. purists will naturally shrink in horror; they’re right. no translation, no matter how scholarly, comes close to the original lyrics. still, it’s manna to the uninitiated who don’t understand hindi or urdu .
to dutt, we can only offer humble gratitude: ‘madman’ all right, but somehow genius as well. he, more than anyone else, seemed to have grasped and captured so intuitively on camera, the magnificent waheeda – repeatedly and forever .
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( 1959), which at the time was such a commercial and critical disaster that it ended dutt’s career as a film director. with
, however, dutt, still in the roles of producer and lead actor, came back with a big hit that reestablished his reputation. from today’s perspective, i would say that this film does not contain the searing expressionism characteristic of dutt’s greatest films, like
– it is much lighter in weight, which perhaps accounts for why it went down better with the public at the time. nevertheless, there are some virtues and interesting characteristics of
one of the interesting aspects of the film is its socially contextual subject matter. set in lucknow, in the midst of its substantial and cultured muslim sector of society, the film can be considered what in indian genre parlance is termed a “muslim social”. in this case it rather deftly takes on some social matters with generally light - hearted brush strokes .
, the south asian muslim practice of restricting women from interacting with any men apart from their own close family members. in this tradition, when women go out of their homes, they must wear burqas and face veils that keep them completely covered from view. of course in such circumstances, young men are often interested in getting glimpses of women’s faces behind those veils, but they often wind up with very limited information. this problem lies as the heart of
, dutt had much of his production partners again. this included cinematographer v. k. murthy and screenwriter abrar alvi. partly in consideration of the “muslim social” subject matter, dutt recruited veteran mohammed sadiq to direct the film, although dutt presumably had a strong influence in the film’s direction, as well .
and, again, dutt’s cast included two of his favorites, waheeda rehman and johnny walker (badruddin jamaluddin kazi). whether just from built - up experience or for some other reasons, i think their performances in this film were more natural and narratively engaged than in dutt’s earlier films .
of particular note is the film’s music. although dutt' s usual musical composer s. d. burman had disconnected from dutt after
, dutt hooked up with another outstanding composer in ravi (ravi shankar sharma, not the famous sitar player ravi shankar). to convey the sufi - oriented
music associated with lucknow, dutt used urdu poet and lyricist shakeel badayuni. together with the playback singers (mohammad rafi, lata mangeshkar, geeta dutt, and asha bhosle), they produced music that greatly enhanced the story and fit perfectly with it. in particular, i found the lyp - syncing to be outstanding – the best i have seen (and heard) in connection with indian playback songs .
obscures and entangles two men friends who fall in love with the same woman. these things happen all the time in many contexts, and i find them invariably excruciatingly painful, because there is no possibility of a mutually satisfying resolution. such anguish was only intensified in the honor - bound circumstances of upper - level lucknow society .
male (or manly) bonding (mb) and loyalty among close male friends. this is regarded in some quarters as a special virtue that defines a man’s character and sense of self. in this context women are viewed not as soul mates but as possessions that can even by traded in order to cement male bonding .
selfless love (sl). this is the dissolution of self and the immersion in the beloved .
at various points in the film, mb and sl are shown in high relief. with these elements in the background, the story progresses through six phases .
pyare mohan (played by rehman) is a wealthy young aristocrat and generally referred to with the honorific “nawab” (i will use that reference in the following) .
shaida (johnny walker) is the wayward son of a prominent police inspector. as usual with johnny walker roles, this outrageously effeminate character’s presence is primarily for comic relief .
aslam (guru dutt) is a young businessman whose parents have passed away. he was financially rescued by the nawab and almost adopted into his privileged family .
they are so closely tied by male bonding (mb) that shaida at one point in the story refers to the three of them as one life in three bodies .
early on, shaida and the nawab are at a bazaar / fair, where women in attendance are completely covered in their burqas. by chance, however, the nawab catches a brief glimpse of a momentarily uncovered young woman, jamila (waheeda rehman) and becomes instantly infatuated. later at an all - woman birthday party at the nawab’s house for his sister, he spies on the young ladies from an adjacent room and notices with delight that his new beloved is in attendance .
at the party the girls sing an engaging and meaningful song about how hejab - clad women are perpetually readjusting their veils, while interested men stealthily look on and yearn for more .
“tell those in love not to provoke moon - faced beauties... . tell them to keep away from beautiful women. should they be pleased, they will give you love... should they be cross, there could be carnage. “
an underlying theme to the song is that were it not for those onlookers, beauty itself would have no meaning .
the nawab’s friends (under mb pressure to help), as well as one of his maids, seek to find the identity of the girl he loves, but the first of a series of misidentifications in the film takes place. since noone but the nawab has caught a glimpse of her, the only evidence they have is a torn piece from the girl’s veil that the nawab had picked up. the wrong girl is identified, and because of purdah, the nawab’s only option is to send his emissaries (aslam and shaida) to the family to issue a marriage proposal .
up to this point the film has basically been a light - hearted farce. but now things get complicated. the nawab’s mother has arranged for him to get married to a young woman that neither she nor the nawab has seen. but, of course, the nawab wants to marry the woman he saw in the bazaar, so he wants to get out of this arrangement. so he exerts his male - bonding (mb) pressure on aslam to marry this yet - unseen girl that his mother has arranged for him. the viewer is probably not surprised that this woman turn out to be jamila, the very girl that the nawab pines for .
at the wedding of aslam and jamila, the bride is completely covered, so one, including the nawab, can identify as the girl the nawab wants. aslam is delighted with his bride, whom he only sees face - to - face after the ceremony. there is a memorable performance of the title song when the newly married couple are finnaly alone in the bedroom, and this is the highlight of the film. meanwhile the nawab learns that the girl aslam and shaida had earlier identified for him is the wrong one .
now there are more shenanigans in attempts to locate the right girl for the nawab (even though we know that the one he wants is at home with aslam). shaida dresses up as a bearded beggar and goes to the bazaar to find the woman, but again a mistake is made. this time they wind up thinking that aslam’s sister is the girl the nawab wants .
meanwhile we see that the naughty shaida is in love with a nautch girl, tameezan (minoo mumtaz) who sings, dances, and gives favors for a price .
the nawab is now convinced that aslam’s sister is the one he is after. he goes to their house to deliver some ceremonial gifts, and by chance, sees jamila. there is a shock of recognition on the nawab’s part and further confusing events, but eventually it dawns on aslam that his new wife, whom he now loves passionately, is the girl that the nawab has been seeking. he confirms this by showing a picture of his wife (and not telling who it is) to the nawab, who immediately grabs it and, to aslam’s horror, kisses it passionately. aslam rushes out of the house and sings a song of despair, moaning
aslam is now faced with a horrible (and for me, incredible) dilemma. he loves and is devoted to his wife, but he feels his loyalties to the nawab require that he give his wife to the nawab. this is mb at its extreme .
the only solution aslam can come up with is to feign being an unfaithful and derelict husband by going to brothels. this will force his wife to divorce him, and make her available to the nawab. naturally, when aslam goes to a brothel, it turns out, by chance, to be tameezan’s quarters. although aslam is only faking it and is not actually doing anything with tameezan, everyone else is fooled. when shaida learns of aslam’s activities, he is disturbed, but then his mb instincts take hold, and he says ,
if he likes tameezan, she' s his. i think if a friend can' t make this little sacrifice, he' s no good .
among these men, women are little more than prized possessions. meanwhile jamila’s brothers, having heard of aslam’s supposedly dissolute ways, threaten to kill him in order to uphold family “honor”. when jamila learns of their plans, she confronts them with almost an ode to selfless love (sl) :
“if he comes home late at night, i’ll wait all night for him... . then i’ll feed him like a slave... . press his legs till he sleeps. that’s how i’ll attain heaven... . “
“i’m his servant, not his wife... i can lay down my life for one smile from him. “
the film’s final section is highly melodramatic. aslam feels that if all else fails, his mb duty requires him to commit suicide. and eventually the nawab learns, just before his wedding is to take place (to aslam’s sister), that aslam’s wife is the woman he wants. to heighten the dramatic tension, the presentation moves into parallel action, with scene switches back and forth between the preparations for the wedding ceremony and anguished activities elsewhere .
i’ll leave it to you to watch the film and see how it all ends up .
’s plot, there are a number of things i like about the film. in particular, i liked how the film took on the problematic nature of the purdah practice and demonstrated how keeping the visibility of women hidden from their potential fiances is a fully dysfunctional practice, even when everyone is trying to play the game according to its crazy rules .
another appealing aspect was the music, which complemented the story. there were several songs – all sung with playback singers, but realistically presented – that i particularly liked :
the party song (mentioned above) about why and how women wear veils .
the song at aslam’s wedding featuring johnny walker’s (shaida’s) extravagant dancing and horn - tooting .
two songs at separate points in the film by the nautch girl, tameezan .
jamila’s sad song when aslam starts coming home late – “my master seems to have changed” .
the titular “full moon” song, which was the best of all of them [ 1 ] .
in addition some of the performances were memorable. guru dutt and johnny walker present engaging characters who are good - hearted and well - intentioned, despite being hamstrung by social conventions of male - bonding.
chaudhvin ka chand is a 1960 urdu/hindi feature film directed by mohammed sadiq . a production of guru dutt , the film centers on a love triangle between guru dutt , rehman and waheeda rehman , and features music by ravi . farida jalal makes a guest appearance in the film , her debut . after the disastrous box-office performance of kaagaz ke phool , this was a highly commercially successful comeback film for guru dutt which saved guru dutt 's production studio from ruins . 
chaudhvin ka chand is a 1960 urdu/hindi feature film directed by mohammed sadiq. a production of guru dutt, the film centers on a love triangle between guru dutt, rehman and waheeda rehman, and features music by ravi. farida jalal makes a guest appearance in the film, her debut. after the disastrous box-office performance of kaagaz ke phool, this was a highly commercially successful comeback film for guru dutt which saved guru dutt's production studio from ruins.
chaudhvin ka chand is a 1960 urdu/hindi feature film directed by mohammed sadiq. a production of guru dutt, the film centers on a love triangle between guru dutt, rehman and waheeda rehman, and features music by ravi. farida jalal makes a guest appearance in the film, her debut. after the disastrous box-office performance of kaagaz ke phool, this was a highly commercially successful comeback film for guru dutt which saved guru dutt's production studio from ruins.