Albela (1951 film)
Albela is a 1951 Bollywood musical comedy film directed by and starring Bhagwan Dada and Geeta Bali.[1] A Hindi classic, it was the third highest-grossing film at the Indian Box Office in 1951 and its soundtrack by C. Ramchandra was acclaimed.[2][3]
| Albela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Bhagwan Dada |
| Produced by | Bhagwan Dada |
| Written by | Ehsan Rizvi |
| Screenplay by | Bhagwan Dada |
| Story by | Bhagwan Dada |
| Starring | Bhagwan Dada Geeta Bali |
| Music by | C. Ramchandra |
| Cinematography | Shanker A. Palav |
| Edited by | G. G. Patil |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Bhagwan Art Productions |
Release date | 1951 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
The film was later dubbed in Tamil as Nalla Pillai (Tamil: நல்லப் பிள்ளை) in 1953.[4]
Plot
Day-dreamer and Artist, Pyarelal, lives a poor lifestyle in Bombay with his retired dad; housewife mom; married brother, Mohan and his wife, Malti; and unmarried sister, Vimla. It is now time for Vimla to get married, her dad has saved a thousand Rupees, while Mohan has made arrangements for six hundred more, and Pyarelal is asked to arrange for four hundred. Instead Pyarelal brings home one hundred rupees, informing his family that he has been fired from his job, and will be unable to raise any more money. An argument ensues, and Pyarelal is asked to leave. He leaves, swearing only to return when he is a famous and wealthy man. He meets with pretty actress, Asha, both fall in love with each other, and he starts acting in the theater, and achieves quick success. He starts sending money and gifts home to his parents, and hopes that they will be pleased with his success. Then one day when he feels that he has achieved his success, he returns home - only to find out that the money and gifts he has been sending home are missing; his mom has passed away; his dad and sister are missing, believed to be begging in the streets; his sister's marriage has been canceled; his brother cannot support himself; and his sister-in-law, has a dark deep secret that she cannot tell anyone.
Cast
- Geeta Bali as Asha
- Bhagwan as Pyarelal
- Badri Prasad as Pyarelal's Father
- Sundar as Theatre Owner
- Pratima Devi (Hindi actress) as Pyarelal's Mother
- Dulari as Malti
- Bimla as Vimla
- Usha Shukla
- Nihal
- Maruti as Drummer
- Shyamu
- Baburao as Malti's brother
Music
The music director of the film was C. Ramchandra and the soundtrack was acclaimed, cited as a "classic".[3][5] The film features several westernized songs such as Shola Jo Bhadke and Ye Deewana, Ye Parwana which are said to have "employed cabaret type dance/choruses featuring bongo drums, oboes, clarinets, trumpets, saxophones, etc."[6] C.Ramachandra as Chitalkar himself sang most of the male songs in the movie while Lata Mangeshkar sang all the female songs. Apart from the highly popular Western style songs, the movie also had classic melodies like "Dheere se aaja re ankhiyan me", "Balama bada nadan re" etc...
Soundtrack
The music was composed by C. Ramchandra.
Hindi Songs
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length (m:ss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dil Dhadke Nazar Sharmaye" | Lata Mangeshkar | Rajinder Krishan | 03:07 |
| 2 | "Dheere Se Aaja Ri Ankhiyon Mein" | Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 03:21 |
| 3 | "Shola Jo Bhadke" | Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 03:31 |
| 4 | "Shaam Dhale Khidki Tale" | Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 03:42 |
| 5 | "Balma Bada Nadan Re" | Lata Mangeshkar | Rajinder Krishan | 02:57 |
| 6 | "Deewana Parwana" | Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 04:58 |
| 7 | "Bholi Soorat Dil Ke Khote" | Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 03:54 |
| 8 | "Qismat Ki Hawa Kabhi Naram" | Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 03:53 |
| 9 | "Haseenon Se Muhabbat Ka Bura Anjaam" | Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 02:59 |
| 10 | "Diwana Aagaya" | Lata Mangeshkar & Mohammed Rafi | Rajinder Krishan | 03:07 |
| 11 | "Teri Yaad Ne Mara" | Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar | Rajinder Krishan | 03:44 |
Tamil Songs
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length (m:ss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Nenjam Thidukkena Nilai Thadumaari" | P. Leela | 03:07 | |
| 2 | "Egaandha Raajaa Nee Aanandhame" | P. Leela | 03:21 | |
| 3 | "Joraka Paadi Anbaaka Aadi" | T. M. Soundararajan & M. S. Rajeswari | 03:31 | |
| 4 | "Aaambale Nee Jannal Kitte" | A. M. Rajah & P. Leela | 03:42 | |
| 5 | "Priyamaai Mahaaraajaa" | P. Leela | 02:57 | |
| 6 | "En Aasai Raadhaa Nee Aanandhame" | A. M. Rajah & P. Leela | 04:58 | |
| 7 | "Thozhi Un Kann Edhiril Kodi" | T. M. Soundararajan & M. S. Rajeswari | 03:54 | |
| 8 | P. Leela | 03:35 | ||
| 9 | "Oh Paattaali Antho Paavi Nee" | A. M. Rajah | 03:53 | |
| 10 | A. M. Rajah | 02:59 | ||
| 11 | "Mai Vizhi Mel Paaindhu Odiye" | A. M. Rajah & P. Leela | 03:07 | |
| 12 | "Mani Aditthadhanaal Anda Tikku Tikku Tikku" | A. M. Rajah & P. Leela | 03:44 |
References
- Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1999). Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema. British Film Institute. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- Box Office India. "Top Earners 1951". boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- Sruti. P.N. Sundaresan. 2000.
- "Film Albela dubbed in Tamil".
- Journal of the Indian Musicological Society. Indian Musicological Society. 1988. p. 81.
- Cinema vision India. Siddharth Kak. 1982. p. 61.