Nargis Movies
Nargis was a major Indian star during the '40s and '50s recognized for her charisma, tremendous dignity, great intelligence, and ability to play a variety of roles ranging from shy coquettes to westernized women. Her most famous role was that of a courageous peasant woman who defies all in her endeavors to preserve her self-respect -- even to the point of killing her son to protect the honor of the other women in her community -- in Mehboob Khan's 1957 classic Mother India. Nargis was born in northern India, but was raised in Bombay. When she was 14 her mother, a courtesan, forced her to become an actress -- Nargis herself had dreamed of becoming a doctor. After enduring the stigma of being involved with the cinema she became a major star after beginning a personal and professional partnership with filmmaker Raj Kapoor. She and Kapoor worked together on some of India's greatest films including Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955). Their romantic entanglement provided fans with hours of gossipy entertainment as Kapoor was a married man. After marrying actor/producer Sunil Dutt in 1957, Nargis retired from films to raise her children and to volunteer for charitable work. She still remained active in the film industry using her friendship with Indira Ghandi to help lobby for better conditions for filmmakers. In 1980 she became a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1959
A typical Indian melodrama about misunderstanding and consequent suffering, Lajwanti looks at the misfortunes of a married woman and her daughter. The woman decides to have a friend of the family, an artist, paint her portrait as a gift to her husband. But her husband, in a rush to judgment, deduces that she is having an affair with the man and throws her and their daughter out of the house. As the years go by, the woman and daughter manage to survive and then the husband finally realizes what he has done. His attempts to win back his wife are all the more difficult because his daughter has very much turned against him. As in most Indian films, the action and melodrama are highlighted by multiple song and dance numbers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nargis
- 1957
This patriotic Russian historical epic recounts the life and times of 15th-century explorer Pardesi (Oleg Streeshenov). The hero is shown going to India at great personal risk, in hopes of establishing a trade agreement between the Indians and his own people. Most of the film is a travelogue, with the actors playing second fiddle to the Indian landscape. For all its pomp and splendor, Pardesi emerges more as a kiddie-matinee entertainment than a film for grown-ups. On this level, however, it succeeds, despite its attenuated 116-minute running time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Oleg Strizhenov, Nargis, (more)
- 1956
Jagte Raho (Under Cover of Night) was selected from literally hundreds of candidates as one of India's two entries in the 1957 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. In search of water, a rural man gets into trouble with the Bombay police when he wanders into the wrong house. The rest of the film details his slapstick efforts to avoid arrest. This very thinnish continuity is held together by the charisma of star Raj Kapoor, who only occasionally overplays his hand. Despite its essentially Indian appeal, Jagte Raho played well before viewers of all nationalities. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Raj Kapoor
- 1951
Bengalese director Nitin Bose directs this arch romantic melodrama about the unfortunate fate of a lad who fell for the wrong girl. The film opens with the poor Shamu (Dilip Kumar) and the beautiful Mala (Nargis) prancing in the sun dabbled meadows of young love. Then Mala's wealthy father gets wind of the affair, and following an ugly horse-riding accident has Shamu and his mother evicted from their hovel. While the accident left Shamu blind, the trauma of losing their house ends up killing his mom. Later, a talented eye-surgeon is moved to tears by the songs of Shamu, who is now a street performer. When the doctor restores Shamu's vision, the lad quickly learns that the surgeon is married to none other than his true beloved Mala. Shamu promptly gauges his own eyes out rather than endure the sight of his love with another. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dilip Kumar, Nargis, (more)
Indian film icon Raj Kapoor directs this Oedipal family drama centering on Raju (Kapoor), the disaffected son of renowned Judge Raghuath (played by the director's father Prithvaraj Kapoor), who finds himself on the street pursuing a life of crime. Soon he runs into Jagga (K. N. Singh), the untouchable criminal who brought shame on his mother. Though he plots to kill both Jagga and Raghuath, Raju saves his real father, restoring his father's love for the lad and at the same time winning the heart of his one and only love Rita (Nargis). ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nargis, Raj Kapoor, (more)
Raj Kapoor directs this meditation on love. Pran (Kapoor), a wealthy lad with a poetic soul, is passionately in love with impoverished country lass Reshma (Nargis). When she attempts to run away with Pran -- over the objections of her traditionalist father -- she slips and falls into a river, and apparently drowns. As Pran and his womanizing buddy Gopal (Premnath), who just cruelly dumped another girl, Neela (Nimmi), are driving through the country, they are more than a little surprised to see Reshma about to be married to a fisherman (K.N. Singh). Pran runs off the road and wrecks his car, halting the wedding, and eventually marries Reshma. Gopal is crushed and penitent when he learns that Neela committed suicide. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Future Bollywood master Raj Kapoor makes his directorial debut with this loosely autobiographical drama. The film centers on Kewal (Kapoor), a lad hailing from the country who has a gruesome self-inflicted scar across his face and a passionate yearning to build a theater. After his father brutally casts him out of the house, Kewal scrapes together some money and builds a theater, which eventually features his beloved, the beautiful singer Nimmi (Nargis). Featuring heavy usage of expressionistic light and camerawork, the film recalls the Bombay Talkie films of Franz Osten. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
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