Madhumati - 1958

A masterpiece from the masters, the 1958 Hindi film Madhumati is a real classic in the history of Indian cinema. The film, based on a story penned by Ritwik Ghatak, one of the prominent Indian directors who directed the course of the Indian parallel cinema, was directed by Bimal Roy, one among the most acclaimed directors of Indian cinema. Ghatak along with Rajinder Singh Bedi drafted the script for the film. It was the only celluloid collaboration between Roy and Ghatak.

The film stars Dilip Kumar, Vyjayantilmala, Pran and Johny Walker in lead roles. It was also one of the early Hindi films that dealt with the theme of reincarnation. Madhumati inspired a good number of films in Bollywood and other regional films in India including the 1988 Rishi Kapoor film Janam Janam and the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om by Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan.

The film is also remembered for its superb music composed by Salil Choudhury. Some of the hit songs from this film are ‘Suhana Safara Aaj Mausam,’ and ‘Aajare Pardesi.’