Taxi Driver (1954 film)

Taxi Driver is a 1954 Hindi movie produced by Navketan Films. The film was directed by Chetan Anand and stars his brother Dev Anand, Dev's wife-to-be Kalpana Kartik and Johnny Walker. The film was written by Chetan himself, along with his wife Uma Anand and his other brother Vijay Anand. The film's music director was S. D. Burman and the lyrics were written by Sahir Ludhianvi.[1]

Taxi Driver
Poster
Directed byChetan Anand
Produced byDev Anand
Written byVijay Anand
Screenplay byChetan Anand
Story byUma Anand
Vijay Anand
StarringDev Anand
Kalpana Kartik
Johnny Walker
Sheila Ramani
Music bySachin Dev Burman
Sahir Ludhianvi (lyrics)
CinematographyV. Ratra
Edited byM. D. Jadhav Rao
Production
company
Distributed byNavketan Films
Release date
5 November 1954
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Plot

Mangal (Dev Anand) is a taxi driver who is called "Hero" by his friends because of his altruistic habits. He is a driver who drives a cab by day, then at night listens to the seductive club dancer Sylvie (Sheila Ramani) who has feelings for him. One day, while assisting another taxi driver, Mangal comes to the assistance of a damsel in distress, Mala (Kalpana Kartik), who is being molested by two thugs. Mangal gallantly rescues her, and attempts to take her to her destination, but to no avail, as the person she is looking for is Ratanlal, a music director, and he has moved out. The next day, Mangal and Mala again attempt to seek Ratanlal but the entire day is spent in vain. Mala starts living in Mangal's tiny apartment and both become attracted to each other. When Mala finds out about Sylvie, she decides to leave him. He goes in search of her, but in vain. Meanwhile, Ratanlal hires Mangal's taxi to go to some place. Due to certain circumstances, Mala returns to Mangal. Mangal takes Mala to Ratanlal's place and she is accepted there. Subsequently, she becomes a famous singer with the help of her music director friend.

Will Mangal ever get a chance to tell about his love for Mala? What will Sylvie's reaction be?

Legacy

Dev Anand's taxi in the movie was a 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster 4-Door Sport Sedan.

Cast

Soundtrack

All the songs[2] were composed by Sachin Dev Burman and the lyrics were penned by Sahir Ludhianvi.

# Title Singer(s) Duration
1 "Jayen To Jayen Kahan" (Talat) Talat Mahmood 03:32
2 "Dil Jale To Jale" Lata Mangeshkar 02:44
3 "Jayen To Jayen Kahan" (Lata) Lata Mangeshkar 03:12
4 "Chahe Koi Khush Ho" Kishore Kumar, Johnny Walker 03:05
5 "Aye Meri Zindagi Aaj" Lata Mangeshkar 06:31
6 "Jeene Do Aur Jiyo" Asha Bhosle 02:53
7 "Dil Se Milake Dil Pyaar Kijiye" Lata Mangeshkar 02:56
8 "Dekho Mane Nahi" Asha Bhosle, Jagmohan Bakshi 02:54

Awards
  • Filmfare Best Music Director Award for Sachin Dev Burman - for the Talat Mehmood version of the song- "Jayen To Jayen Kahan"- This song was also the second song to top the then popular Binaca Geetmala.

Trivia

Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik married secretly during lunch break at the shooting of this film.

Sarita Devi who plays the character of Mangal/Hero's bhabhi, played the role of Shabri in TV series Ramayan 30 years later.

References
  1. Ranjan Das Gupta (1 November 2008). "Blast From The Past: Taxi Driver 1954". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  2. "Taxi Driver (1958): Lyrics and videos of songs". Retrieved 5 March 2016.
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