| Kismet | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gyan Mukherjee |
| Produced by | Bombay Talkies |
| Written by | Gyan Mukherjee |
| Starring | Ashok Kumar Mumtaz Shanti Shah Nawaz |
| Music by | Anil Biswas Kavi Pradeep (lyrics) |
| Cinematography | R.D.Pareenja |
| Release date(s) | 1943 |
| Running time | 143 min. |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Kismet is a 1943 Indian Hindi film, written and directed by Gyan Mukherjee and produced by Bombay Talkies [1] during the second world war period, while it was in a succession battle between Devika Rani and Sashadhar Mukherjee after owner Himanshu Rai's death. The film is one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema [2]
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The movie came with some bold themes for the first time in Indian Cinema showing an anti-hero character and an unmarried girl getting pregnant. The movie also has the distinction of first 'double-role' played by any Indian actor.
The lost and found crime drama, had screenplay by Niranjan Pal and the film stars Ashok Kumar, as a pickpocket and trying to be con man who ends up falling in love, with Mumtaz Shanti. He is wrongfully jailed while trying to help his sweetheart but fate (Kismet) comes to his rescue. In between he encounters his enemy's long lost innocent son (also played by Ashok Kumar) who helps him in clearing his name.
The film went on to become a major success, at a theatre in Calcutta it ran for three years, and gave Indian cinema its first title of superstar, Ashok Kumar [3]. According to the numbers, it has been given the status of All-Time Blockbuster. In the decade of 1940s, this movie made the most money. Its net gross came to Rs.10 million in 1943, which in today's date is equivalent of Rs.632 million. This record was beaten in 1949 by Barsaat.
The music of the film is by Anil Biswas, where he introduced 'Full chorus' for the first time in Hindi cinema [4]. The film gave memorable hits like, the patriotic, Door Hato O Duniyawalon Hindustan Humaara hai ("Go away outsiders, India is ours"), the sad Ghar Ghar Mein Diwali and a soothing lullaby, Dheere Dheere Aa, which was a duet between, Amirbai Karnataki and Ashok Kumar, which added to the success of the film, which is still known as one of his finest works [5].
In the patriotic song, Door hato O Duniya walon ("Go away outsiders, India is ours"), penned by 'Kavi Pradeep', a negative reference to Japan was used, Tum na kisike aage jhunkna, German ho ya Japani, this allowed it to get pass through heavy British censorship of the time [4][6], though the people understood the hidden meaning and the song; backed by the uplifting score by Anil Biswas, it became an instant hit, amidst the atmosphere of rising nationalistic fervour [7], though the British authorities, soon realised their mistake, and wanted to ban the film, and an arrest warrant was issued for the film's lyricist, Pradeep, who had to immediately go underground, to avoid arrest [8].
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