Sadhna (1958 film)

Sadhna (Hindi: साधना; Urdu: سادھنا‎; translation: Realize, also transliterated as Sadhana) is a 1958 Black-and-white Social guidance Hindi film produced and directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Sunil Dutt in the lead with Leela Chitnis, Radhakrishan, Manmohan Krishna, Uma Dutt and Ravikant, forming an ensemble cast. The story, screenplay and dialogue was penned by Mukhram Sharma. The film revolves around Rajini (Vyjayanthimala), a prostitute, and her love affair with a professor (Sunil Dutt).[1]

Sadhna
Directed byB.R. Chopra
Produced byB.R. Chopra
Written byMukhram Sharma
StarringVyjayanthimala
Sunil Dutt
Leela Chitnis
Music byDatta Naik
CinematographyM. N. Malhotra
Edited byPran Mehra
Distributed byB. R. Films
Release date
1958
Running time
137 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box office₹1.6 Crore ($224,000)

Theme

The film has a theme on the rehabilitation of prostitutes, which was then a controversial topic.[2] Furthermore, the film also questioned society's view of prostitution.[3]

Synopsis

The story revolves around professor Mohan, who lives with his ailing mother and his mother would like him to get married, but he was opposed to this. Suddenly, his mother loses consciousness and is not expected to live long and the only way the son has to save her is to get married. So he brings a woman, Rajini, who is then introduced to his mother. Now his mother's health improves and his mother is so pleased with Rajini that she even gives her the family jewels. Then the mother and son receive the shattering news that the Rajini is actually a prostitute.

Plot

Professor Mohan (Sunil Dutt) is a morally upright, honest young man living with his beloved mother (Leela Chitnis), who is single-minded in her pursuit of one goal. Mohan teaches literature and poetry at a nearby college. During one lesson about a nobleman who has fallen for a prostitute, he makes his feelings about dancing girls quite clear. Not long after, his mother, who is running a fever, falls down the stairs in their home and is unconscious. The doctor is called, injections are given, the neighbors all come crowding in, and much shaking of the head ensues, but she finally regains her senses long enough to say this, that she wants him to get married. The doctor pronounces his judgment that with the medication, she will get better; but the packed-in neighbors are much more gloomy. They all file out, still muttering amongst themselves. One of the neighbors, Jeevan (Radhakrishan), has creditors hounding him, and he sees a little opportunity to make some money. He tells Mohan that he knows a girl who might be persuaded to pose as his fiancee for a few days, but her father will probably want money. Mohan, of course, is willing at this point to do anything, and agrees to give Jeevan whatever he wants. Jeevan goes to see Champa bai, a local prostitute. He negotiates a price with her for posing as Mohan's fiancee for the evening. She puts on a demure sari and he takes her to see his mother and meet Mohan. His mother wakes up long enough to bless her before falling back into a deep sleep. Champa, for her part is unimpressed by either mother or son and mocks them when she gets home. Jeevan gives her money, which is promptly pocketed by the brothel owner Lallubhai. The next day, Mohan's mom asks to see "Rajani" again, and Mohan asks Jeevan to bring her again that evening—Jeevan has told Mohan that she is the daughter of a distant relative. In any case, Champa/Rajani is bowled over by the expensive jewelry that Mohan's mom shows her as the family bride-to-be. She decides to forgo her fee, to Jeevan's dismay, in favor of pretending to have real feelings for Mohan until she can find an opportunity to steal it. She soon does, as one day Mohan's mom gives her the bridal sari and jewelry to take home and try on. She puts on her finery for her customers that evening, and they make fun of her. She flees in humiliation and the jewels she put on so happily moments before now feel like they are scalding her. Her customers sing a lively qawwali to try and coax her out. But when she emerges, this time in her dance costume, they laugh at her again and she realizes that she means nothing to them, they don't think of her as a person with feelings or emotions. The next day, subdued, she brings back the jewelry and bridal sari to Ma, who is recovering nicely. Ma's warm greeting and kind affection makes her feel even worse. Meanwhile, Mohan has fallen for Rajani, and he wants to speak to her father. Jeevan puts him off, and he returns home to find Rajani there. He expresses his affection gently, and she tells him that she is not worthy. She leaves sadly, and the next evening refuses to dance for her customers. Lallu's threats don't move her either, and she throws him out after an impassioned speech about how he has been living off her earnings for years. He goes, but vows that he will make her dance in the bazaar. She goes to see Jeevan and makes him promise that he won't tell Mohan the truth about her, not because she thinks she has a future with him, but because she can't bear to become a lesser woman in his eyes. Soon after that, Mohan sees Rajani walking in the street. When he calls her name, she flees, and he follows her to her house. Mohan is horrified and angry. He tells his bewildered mother that he will never see Rajani again.

Cast

Crew
Art Department
  • Sant Singh as the Art director
  • R.G. Gaekwad as the assistant art director
Sound Department
  • Jaywant S. Worlikar as the Audiographer
  • S. N. Modi as the assistant audiographer
  • S. N. Sharma as the assistant audiographer
Makeup Department
  • Shanker Ram Jadhav as the Make-up artist
  • Ram Singh as the assistant make-up artist
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Camera and Electrical Department
Editorial Department
  • Abba Joshi as the film processing
  • Krishnan Sachdeva as the assistant editor
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Other crew

Production

Casting

For the lead role of Champa bai, who is a prostitute, the initial consideration for that role was actress Nimmi, but she hesitated to enact a role of a prostitute and rejected the offer, which was instrumental in her career decline by the late 1950s.[4][5] Later, actress Vyjayanthimala, who previously worked with B.R. Chopra in Naya Daur (1957), agreed to be part of the film immediately after hearing the script from the director.[6] Furthermore, Yash Chopra, the younger brother of B.R. Chopra, was an assistant director during the making of Sadhna. B. R. Chopra later gave him his break as a director the next year with Dhool Ka Phool (1959).[7]

Soundtrack
Sadhna
Soundtrack album by
Datta Naik
Released1958
RecordedMinoo Katrak
GenreFilm soundtrack
LabelThe Gramophone Company of India
ProducerDatta Naik
Datta Naik chronology
Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke
(1957)		 Sadhna
(1958)		 Dhool Ka Phool
(1959)

The film's soundtrack was composed by Datta Naik, who had a break through this album. Later on, he composed some of the best Bollywood songs in the film Dhool Ka Phool (1957) and Aag Aur Daag (1970).[7]

The lyrics were provided by Sahir Ludhianvi and the vocals were provided by Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Bhupinder Singh, Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle.[8]

No.SongSingersPicturizationLength (m:ss)LyricsNotes
1"Aurat Ne Janam Diya Mardon Ko"Lata MangeshkarFeaturing actress Vyjayanthimala05:48Sahir Ludhianvi
2"Kahoji Tum Kya Kya Kharidoge"Lata MangeshkarMujras on actress Vyjayanthimala04:10Sahir Ludhianvi
3"Aaj Kyon Humse Parda Hai"Mohammed Rafi, Bhupinder Singhfeaturing actress Vyjayanthimala04:59Sahir Ludhianvi
4"Tora Manva Kyon Ghabraye"Geeta DuttFeaturing actress Vyjayanthimala, Leela Chitnis and Sunil Dutt04:34Sahir LudhianviFemale version
5"Tora Manva Kyon Ghabraye"Mohammed RafiFeaturing actress Vyjayanthimala, Leela Chitnis and Sunil Dutt04:34Sahir LudhianviMale version
6"Sambhal Aye Dil"Mohammed Rafi, Asha BhosleFeaturing actress Vyjayanthimala and Sunil Dutt03:27Sahir Ludhianvi
7"Aise Vaise Thikane Pe Jana Bura Hai"Lata MangeshkarFeaturing the lead pair05:53Sahir Ludhianvi

Reception

Critical

Sadhna received largely positive reviews from the critics and was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year. Vijay Lokapally from The Hindu said: "Among the great movies made on the subject of helpless women versus society, Sadhna holds its own for its realistic portrayal and treatment of a subject, so aesthetically documented by Chopra and Vyjayanthimala".[9] While actress Vyjayanthimala was praised by the reviewer, whose performance was described as "gorgeous when she entertains the clients at her kotha" and "stunningly restrained when she assumes the character of a prospective wife".[9] Adding to that, "she slips in and out of the two challenging and contrasting roles with élan, a remarkable feat for an artiste who was only 22 and hardly 10-films old when she signed to play this difficult but decisive role in her dazzling career" and concluded that "the movie is all about Vyjayanthimala's skills as a dancer and an actor[...]is captivating in her dancing numbers[...]The Filmfare Award for Best Actress that year could not have gone to anyone else even though she was also nominated in the same category for Madhumati."[9]

Similarly, Rediff's reviewer Dinesh Raheja has commented that "Sadhna was quite progressive in its approach, boldly dealt with a prostitute's love story with a literature professor[...]it dared to portray not just the often seen tragic trajectory of a prostitute's life and times, but a happy ending as well".[7] Furthermore, Raheja added that, "Though Chopra's narrative style is conventional, he needs to be commended for attempting a reformist tale".[7] The music director Datta Naik and the lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi were praised for their involvement, especially for "Aurat Ne Janam Diya Mardon Ko", described as "crowning glory" and "hair-raising" song of the film.[7]

Commercial

At the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed around ₹16,000,000 with a net of ₹8,000,000, thus becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1958 with a verdict of "hit" at Box Office India.[10] According to Ibosnetwork.com, the film had grossed at about 8,000,000 and its adjusted to inflation gross is about ₹ 2,134 million.[11] The film was the third direct box office hit film for the B. R. Films banner after Ek hi Raasta and Naya Daur (1957), and the sixth consecutive hit of B.R. Chopra as director after Afsana, Shole and Chandni Chowk.[12] After Sadhna, which made Chopra financially the most-viable banner, the top heroes and heroines were prepared to work with him at half their remuneration for the box office guarantee offered by his banner.[13]

Awards
Ceremony Award Category Nominee Work Outcome Ref.
Filmfare Awards 6th Filmfare Awards Best Movie B. R. Chopra Nominated [14]
[15]
[16]
Best Director
Best Actress Vyjayanthimala Won
Best Supporting Actress Leela Chitnis Nominated
Best Story Mukhram Sharma Won
Best Lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi "Aurat Ne Janam Diya" Nominated
gollark: You can absolutely compare the economy of Sri Lanka and developed place #something. We have many metrics for this.
gollark: Dismissing problems because other things have problems is the problem.
gollark: The problem there is not the comparing though!
gollark: I did retroactively.
gollark: You can compare things without it also implying "we should immediately do whatever the 'better' thing does".

References
  1. Indo-Asian News Service (5 November 2008). "B.R. Chopra - master of socially relevant filmmaking". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  2. Press Trust of India (6 November 2008). "B.R.Chopra made socially relevant films". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  3. Press Trust of India (19 April 2008). "Festival of B R Chopra's film inaugurated". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  4. Karan Bali. "Nimmi". Upperstall.com. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  5. Dinesh Raheja (13 February 2003). "Petite powerhouse Nimmi". Rediff. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  6. Dinesh Raheja (6 May 2002). "Vyjayanthimala: Bollywood's dancing queen". Rediff. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  7. Dinesh Raheja (29 June 2002). "Sadhana: a reformist tale". Rediff. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  8. "Sadhna (1958)". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  9. Vijay Lokapally (13 December 2008). "Blast From The Past: Sadhna 1958". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  10. "Box Office 1958". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  11. "Sadhna". Ibosnetwork.com. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  12. Times News Network (6 May 2002). "Part-II: Big B in Rs 25-cr BR Chopra film". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  13. Subhash Chheda. "1958: Year that was". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  14. "The Winners 1958". Indiatimes. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  15. "The Nominations - 1958". Indiatimes. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  16. Dinesh Raheja (6 May 2002). "Vyjayanthimala: Bollywood's Dancing Queen". Rediff. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
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