Mr. & Mrs. '55

Mr. & Mrs. '55 is a 1955 Bollywood film by director Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt stars alongside Madhubala, supported by Lalita Pawar, Johnny Walker and Jagdeep in this socially critical romantic comedy set in contemporary Bombay. The films music is by O. P. Nayyar and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri

Synopsis

Preetam (Guru Dutt), a struggling cartoonist, meets Anita (Madhubala) at a tennis match, where she is watching her favorite tennis star. Anita, a wealthy and westernized heiress is controlled by her feminist aunt, Sita Devi (Lalita Pawar). Sita is suspicious of men, and cultivates her attitudes in Anita. However, to receive her fortune, her father's will decrees that Anita must marry within one month of turning 21. Sita Devi doesn't agree with this, and tries to set Anita up with a sham marriage which will soon lead to divorce, thereby giving her both freedom and a fortune. Sita hires Preetam to marry Anita, but doesn't know that the pair have already met. Preetam is kept from Anita after their marriage, but he kidnaps her and takes her to the traditional house of his brother.

While at the house, Anita befriends Preetam's sister-in-law, and begins to see the merit in becoming a traditional Indian wife. Preetam is worried that he has lost Anita, and expedites their divorce by providing false, incrimiating evidence to the court. Preetam then leaves mumbai, heartbroken. Anita now recognizes her feelings for Preetam and rushes to meet him at the airport. In the end, the couple is reunited.

Trivia

• Cartoons in the movie are drawn by famous cartoonist R. K. Laxman.^[1]
• Both of the film's leading stars Guru Dutt and Madhubala died at a relatively young age in the 1960s. It is surmised that Guru Dutt committed suicide in 1964 at the age of thirty-nine but some believe it was accidental overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol. Madhubala died four years later in 1969 of a heart ailment at the age of 36.

References

External links

• Mr. and Mrs. 55 at the Internet Movie Database