Bahar
1951 · India · 170 min
- Director
- M.V. Raman
- Producer
- A. V. Meiyappan
- Music
- Sachin Dev Burman
- Production company
- AVM Productions
Cast
What it is about
Lata lives with her parents in a wealthy household, and they hope she will marry Shekhar, a rich young man. She initially agrees, but soon after she meets Vasant Kumar, falls in love with him, and they marry. Heartbroken and angry, Shekhar sets out to look into his rival's past.
How it was made
It is a Hindi remake of the Tamil hit Vazhkai (1949), which ran for 25 weeks in cinemas. A. V. Meiyappan took the project to his company AVM. Vyjayanthimala, who had played the same role in the Tamil and Telugu versions, made her Bollywood debut here and learned Hindi so she could dub her own voice. Pandari Bai was credited as Padmini, a name considered too old-fashioned for Bollywood. The music is by S. D. Burman, with lyrics by Rajendra Krishan.
Reception and legacy
A black-and-white social guidance film, it was a commercial success. According to the available figures, it was the sixth highest-grossing film of 1951 and was rated a box office hit. Its soundtrack was well received, and it is one of the few scores in which Burman used Shamshad Begum as his main singer. It is also remembered for "Qasoor Aapka", one of Kishore Kumar's early hit songs.
Trivia
A different name
Pandari Bai was credited as Padmini, because her original name was considered too old-fashioned for Bollywood.
Her own voice in Hindi
Vyjayanthimala learned Hindi at the Hindi Prachar Sabha so she could dub her own voice for the character.
Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.