Howrah Bridge (1958 film)

2021-06-11T17:33:18Z

2409:4053:200A:57A6:8A4:1017:DE29:EB42: Added inflation adjusted gross

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Howrah Bridge
| image = Howrah Bridge 1958 film poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Shakti Samanta]]
| producer =
| writer = Ranjan Bose
| screenplay =
| narrator =
| story =
| based_on =
| starring = [[Ashok Kumar]]<br />[[Madhubala]]
| music = [[O. P. Nayyar]]
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio =
| distributor = Shakti Films
| released = 15 June 1958
| runtime = 153 minutes
| country = [[India]]
| language = [[Hindi]]
| budget =
| gross = {{INRConvert|1.1|c|year=1958}}
}}
'''''Howrah Bridge''''' is a [[List of Bollywood films of 1958|1958]] Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[Crime-thriller|crime thriller]] film directed by [[Shakti Samanta]]. It starred [[Ashok Kumar]], [[Madhubala]] in pivotal roles. The music for the film was composed by [[O. P. Nayyar]].

The plot focuses on Prem Kumar, a businessman from [[Rangoon]], who travels to [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] to try and track down his brother's murderers.

''Howrah Bridge'' was a major critical and commercial success upon its release, and has become a [[cult film]] over years. It has been specially noted for its soundtrack, which consists the chartbusters "[[Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu]]" and "Aaiye Meherbaan". The former was re-used in the 1988 film ''[[Salaam Bombay!]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Archived copy|url=http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=9854|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215152817/http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=9854|archive-date=15 February 2009|access-date=9 December 2008}}</ref>

==Plot==
Prem Kumar ([[Ashok Kumar]]) and his elder brother Madan ([[Chaman Puri]]) are looking after a successful business of their father in Rangoon. But Madan suddenly disappears with the family heirloom, a dragon embedded with precious stones and reaches Calcutta to sell it off. He falls prey to the designs of a few smugglers and pays with his life. Prem's father urges him to get back the heirloom and Prem in disguise of Rakesh comes to Calcutta from Rangoon. There he meets his father's trusted tangewala Shyamu ([[Om Prakash]]) who takes him to a hotel run by John Chang ([[Madan Puri]]) but then he is swiftly taken over by the seductress Edna ([[Madhubala]]) to her uncle Joe's ([[Dhumal (actor)|Dhumal]]) hotel, where he is looked after by her. Edna falls for him and reveals that her uncle, John Chang and their friend Pyarelal ([[K. N. Singh]]) are into illegal business. Having got a clue from Edna, Prem chases the culprits until finally he is framed by Pyarelal in the murder of John Chang.

Ultimately Prem gets his heirloom and his love and now wife Edna.

==Cast==
* [[Ashok Kumar]] as Prem Kumar / Rakesh / Vikram
* [[Madhubala]] as Edna
* [[K. N. Singh]] as Pyarelal
* [[Madan Puri]] as John Chang
* [[Om Prakash]] as Shyamu Tangewala
* [[Dhumal (actor)|Dhumal]] as Uncle Joe
* [[Sunder (actor)|Sunder]] as Bhikharilal 'Bhiku'
* [[Kammo]] as Chhamia
* [[Brahm Bhardwaj]] as Prem & Madan's Father
* [[Chaman Puri]] as Madan
* [[Nirmal Kumar]] as CID Officer
* [[Mehmood (actor)|Mehmood]] as Wedding Dancer
* [[Minoo Mumtaz]] as Wedding Dancer
* [[Helen (actress)|Helen]] as Dancer In Song "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu"

== Production ==
In 1957, Samanta had a car accident in which he was severely injured. He spent many days in the hospital, and eventually developed the story of ''Howrah Bridge'' lying on the hospital bed. Soon after being discharged, Samanta contacted his friend and actor [[Ashok Kumar]] and narrated the story to him; Kumar liked it and agreed to the film.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=U|first=Saiam Z.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JSVCCwAAQBAJ&q=Madhubala+shakti+ashok+nargis+nimmi&pg=PT146|title=Houseful The Golden Years of Hindi Cinema|date=2012|publisher=Om Books International|isbn=978-93-80070-25-4|language=en}}</ref>

A problem came up when Samanta told Kumar that he wants to cast a "[[TopNotch|top-notch]]" actress in the role of Edna. He had previously considered [[Nargis]] and [[Nimmi]], but found them unfit for the character. He also had [[Madhubala]]'s name in his mind, but her price was too high for the financially unstable Samanta. It was then when Kumar came in to help him. Kumar, who had previously worked with Madhubala in ''[[Mahal (1949 film)|Mahal]]'' (1949) and ''[[Ek Saal (1957 film)|Ek Saal]]'' (1957), went to her house and told her the film's story. Madhubala took an immediate liking to the character of a [[Cabaret|cabaret dancer]], something which she had not before. Upon learning that Samanta is reluctant to cast her due to her fees, she reduced it from {{INR}}2,00,000 to just {{INR}}1.25.<ref name=":1" />

Except the climax, all other scenes of the film in which [[Howrah Bridge]] is shown were actually shot somewhere else, according to Madhubala's biographer [[Mohan Deep]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Deep|first=Mohan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DCVlAAAAMAAJ&q=Madhubala+foot+howrah+bridge|title=The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala|date=1996|publisher=Magna Books|language=en}}</ref>

''Howrah Bridge'' was Samanta's first release under his banner Shakti Films, which he had set up in 1957.<ref name=":2" />

== Soundtrack ==
The music was composed by [[O. P. Nayyar]] and lyrics were written by [[Qamar Jalalabadi]] and [[Hasrat Jaipuri]]. Upon the film's release, the soundtrack became very popular and was one of the biggest reasons of the film's success. The iconic number "[[Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu]]", sung by [[Geeta Dutt]], brought fame to [[Helen (actress)|Helen]], who was only 19 at the time. Another evergreen song of the album was "Aaiye Meharban", sung by [[Asha Bhosle]], picturised on [[Madhubala]].

Here is the list of all songs which appeared in ''Howrah Bridge'':'' ''
{|class="wikitable"
! Song !! Singer
|-
| "Aaiye Meharban"
| '''[[Asha Bhosle]]'''
|-
| "Yeh Kya Kar Dala Tune"
| '''[[Asha Bhosle]]'''
|-
| "Dekhke Teri Nazar Bekarar Ho Gaye"
| '''[[Asha Bhosle]]''', [[Mohammed Rafi]]
|-
| "Gora Rang, Chunariya Kali, Motiyonwali"
| '''[[Asha Bhosle]]''', [[Mohammed Rafi]]
|-
| "Mohabbat Ka Hath, Jawani Ka Palla, Subhanallah"
| '''[[Asha Bhosle]]''', [[Mohammed Rafi]]
|-
| "Main Jaan Gayi Tujhe Saiyan"
| [[Shamshad Begum]], [[Mohammed Rafi]]
|-
| "Eent Ki Dukki, Paan Ka Ikka"
| [[Mohammed Rafi]]
|-
| "[[Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu]]"
| [[Geeta Dutt]]
|-
|}

== Release ==
=== Critical reception ===
[[File:A still of Madhubala and Ashok Kumar from Howrah Bridge.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Madhubala]] and [[Ashok Kumar]] in ''Howrah Bridge'']]
The reviews of ''Howrah Bridge'' were predominantly positive, with Samanta's direction, Madhubala's performance and Nayyar's music being particularly praised. [[Uma Vasudeva]] of ''Thought'' found the film to be "western" due to its music and sets and Madhubala "beautiful most of the times".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=15YcAQAAMAAJ&q=howrah+bridge+Madhubala&pg=RA21-PA19|title=Thought|date=1958|publisher=Siddhartha Publications|language=en}}</ref> ''[[ThePrint|The Print]]'' took notice of the soundtrack and called "Aaiye Meherbaan" a showstopper.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Pothukuchi|first=Madhavi|date=2020-02-02|title=OP Nayyar's music turned Howrah Bridge from a movie to a whole mood|url=https://theprint.in/features/reel-take/op-nayyars-music-turned-howrah-bridge-from-a-movie-to-a-whole-mood/357215/|access-date=2020-08-29|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref> It concluded, "O. P. Nayyar's music turned ''Howrah Bridge'' from a movie to a whole mood."<ref name=":0" /> [[Shoma Chatterji|Shoma A. Chatterjee]] lauded Samanta's direction and called ''Howrah Bridge'' "one of the best crime thrillers on the [[Hindi]] screen".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Chatterji|first=Shoma A.|date=2016-04-09|title=Shakti Samanta|url=https://upperstall.com/profile/shakti-samanta/|access-date=2021-02-09|website=Upperstall.com}}</ref>

=== Box office ===
''Howrah Bridge'' grossed {{INR}}1.1 crore, with a net of {{INR}}0.55 crore to emerge as the ninth highest-grossing Indian film of 1958. According to ''[[Box Office India]]'', the film was one of the most commercially successful films of the year.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-09-22|title=Top earners of 1958|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=164&catName=MTk1OA==|access-date=2020-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922022104/http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=164&catName=MTk1OA==|archive-date=22 September 2012}}</ref>

Samanta established himself as a leading director with the humongous success of ''Howrah Bridge.'' He had later said in an interview: "[The film] made a lot of money from re-print of the records and ... did really well, I came to be recognized as a hit film maker from ''Howrah Bridge'' onwards."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-04-08|title='In Aradhana, Sachin Karta Gave Me My Life's Biggest Hit': In Conversation with Shakti Samanta|url=https://learningandcreativity.com/silhouette/shakti-samanta-interview/|access-date=2020-12-08|website=Silhouette Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0051747|Howrah Bridge}}
* [https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b729e8a75 Howrah Bridge] at [[British Film Institute|BFI]] Film & TV Database

[[Category:1958 films]]
[[Category:Indian crime films]]
[[Category:Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:1950s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Films directed by Shakti Samanta]]
[[Category:Films scored by O. P. Nayyar]]
[[Category:Films featuring an item number]]
[[Category:Hindi-language crime films]]

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Howrah Bridge (1958 film)