Bimal Roy's eerie romantic thriller. Review on Madhumati

When Bimal Roy decided to try his hand at something different, a supernatural entertainer this time, he was scoffed at the idea by the Hindi film Industry, coming after his earlier sensitive masterpieces like Do Bhiga Zameen (1953), Biraj Bahu (1954) and Devdas (1955). But Bimal Roy had a reason for this, none of his earlier films made much money and he wanted to make a sure hit film with a time tested formula..

And when Bimal Roy released his latest film with such a conventional story the critics were silenced.The final film remains one of his most enduring cinematic efforts. In fact that very year Bimalda came up with another lightweight film again starring Dilip Kumar, Yahudi (1958) , which incidentally was also a huge success at the box-office. And then he turned once again to films that had subjects that were close to his heart. He came up with Sujata , his most loved film, which I will review at a later date...

The story of Madhumati

The story begins with Devendra (Dilip Kumar) , driving down a hilly road , with his friend to the railway station to receive his wife and child .They meet with a minor accident, as there is a land slide, and , they are forced to spend the night at an old Haveli (Mansion) with a care taker .Even as he sets his eyes on the mansion, Devendra begins to feel that everything was familiar with the Place. As he goes round the huge mansion , he spots a Portrait of a man and he begins to remember things that are unconnected to his life at present but yet seem familiar. As he delves deeper into his memory , he is able to recall flashbacks of his previous life, where the mansion had played a major role...Now he recounts his story to his friend and the caretaker of the mansion. Anand( Dilip Kumar) as he was called in his previous birth, comes to Shyamnagar Timber Estate as a manager. As he wanders about the hill side sketching the enchanting nature, the streams and the tribals leading their simple lives amidst the glory of nature, he meets a beautiful tribal girl Madhumati (Vyjayantimala) and falls in love with her.He wins over her father and they plan to get married.

Madhumati is being pursued by Ugranarayan (Pran) the Evil owner of the Timber estate who owns the Mansion. He watches the two lovers getting close and warns Anand not to have anything to do with the tribals. But Anand remains firm in his feelings for Madhumati, which angers Ugranarayan and he decides to take revenge on the lovers. When he gets an opportunity, he sends Devendra away on work to a nearby city, with Devendra reluctantly, leaving after asking his aide Charandas (Johny walker) to take care of Madhumati. But Ugranarayan has planned everything before hand , knowing Charandas's weakness for drinks , he gets him drunk and kidnaps Madhumati.

My views about the film

Madhumati has often been criticized as one of Bimal Roy's most lightweight films following the good old Hindi film formula in its choice of theme and contents. But one&