>Jellysandwich0 at 13:09, 2 October 2021

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{{short description|1942 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Basant
| image = Poster de Basant (1942).jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Amiya Chakrabarty]]
| producer = [[Bombay Talkies]]
| writer =
| screenplay = Amiya Chakrabarty
| story = Amiya Chakrabarty
| based_on =
| starring = [[Mumtaz Shanti]]<br> [[Madhubala]]<br>Ulhas<br>[[Kanu Roy]]
| narrator =
| music = [[Pannalal Ghosh]]
| cinematography = R.D. Mathur
| editing = R.G. Gope
| studio =
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1942|07|29|df=y}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Patel |first1=Baburao |author-link1=Baburao Patel |title=Devika Rani makes 'Basant' a Sparkling Entertainment |url=https://archive.org/details/filmindia194208unse/page/n673/mode/1up |access-date=17 September 2021 |work=[[Filmindia]] |publisher=New York The Museum of Modern Art Library |date=1 September 1942}}</ref>
| runtime = 146 minutes
| country = India
| language = Hindi
| budget =
| gross = {{Estimation}} {{INR}}0.8 crore ({{Estimation}} {{INR}}235 crore as of 2016)
}}
'''''Basant''''' ({{Translation|Spring}}) is a [[List of Bollywood films of 1942|1942]] Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[Romantic musical|romantic musical film]] directed by [[Amiya Chakravarty (director)|Amiya Chakrabarty]], produced by [[Bombay Talkies]] and starring [[Mumtaz Shanti]] and [[Madhubala]] along with Ulhas. It revolves around Uma (Shanti), who is left to dance on stage for money when her husband (Ulhas) abandons her.

''Basant'' marked the Hindi film debut of Shanti, who was already a celebrated star in [[Punjabi cinema|Punjabi]] film industry.<ref>{{Cite web|last=says|first=Pritha Chakrabarti|title=Mumtaz Shanti – Interview – Cineplot.com|url=https://cineplot.com/mumtaz-shanti-interview/|access-date=2020-08-08|language=en-US}}</ref> However, the film is largely remembered as the first screen appearance of Madhubala, who played an uncredited role of daughter to Shanti and later became a leading star in the 1950s and early 1960s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bali|first=Karan|date=2000-02-14|title=Madhubala|url=https://upperstall.com/profile/luminary/madhubala/|access-date=2020-08-08|website=Upperstall.com}}</ref>

The film was theatrically released on 29 July 1942 and was praised by critics for the performances of actors, music and direction. It was major box office success and the highest-grossing film of 1942.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2013-10-14|title=Boxofficeindia.com|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=121&catName=MTk0MC0xOTQ5|access-date=2020-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014094402/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=121&catName=MTk0MC0xOTQ5|archive-date=14 October 2013}}</ref> The film had a 76-week run in the theatres.<ref name="Dawn" /> As of 2021, ''Basant'' remains one of the fifty highest-grossing Indian films in the history (when adjusted for inflation).<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2006-04-22|title=Biggest BLOCKBUSTERS ever|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/alltime.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422165153/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/alltime.htm|archive-date=22 April 2006|access-date=2021-01-24}}</ref>

== Plot ==
[[File:Basant (1942).webm|thumb|x220px|''Basant'']]
Uma and her brother Babul are two downtrodden servants who dream of becoming singing-and-dancing stars on the stage. They attract the attention of the impresario Janaki Prasad, which leads to Uma marrying his spoilt and envious younger brother, Nirmal. A self-absorbed Nirmal sets out to make his own fortune and soon after their wedding, abandons Uma and their infant daughter, which is named Manju. When Nirmal returns to find his wife is working on the stage, he abducts Manju and disappears again. After a further 10 years of unhappy stage stardom of Uma, the family is reunited and the happy ending sees her return to being a housewife in accordance with her husband's wishes.

==Cast==
[[File:Mumtaz Shanti, Madhubala et Ullhas dans Basant (1942).jpg|thumb|180px|[[Mumtaz Shanti]], [[Madhubala|Baby Mumtaz]] and Ulhas in ''Basant'' ]]
* [[Mumtaz Shanti]] as Uma
* Ulhas as Nirmal
* [[Mumtaz Ali]] as Babul, Uma's brother
* [[P. F. Pithawala]] as Janaki Prasad, Nirmal's brother
* [[Suresh (Hindi films actor)|Suresh]] as Babul, Uma's brother (child role)
* Jagannath as Meena's Father
* [[Kamlabai Gokhale|Kamala]]
* [[Kanu Roy]] as House Rent Collector
*
*
* [[Esther Victoria Abraham|Pramila]] as Meena
* [[Madhubala|Baby Mumtaz]] as Manju (uncredited)

==Soundtrack==
The music of the film was composed by [[Pannalal Ghosh]] with lyrics penned by P. L. Santoshi.
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#ff9; text-align:center;"
! Track# !! Song !! Singer(s)
|-
| 1 || "Hua Kya Qusoor Jo Hamse Door" || [[Amirbai Karnataki]]
|-
| 2 || "Kanta Lago Re Sajanwa Mose" || [[Parul Ghosh]], H. Khan Mastana
|-
| 3 || "Tumko Mubarak Ho" || [[Suresh (actor)|Suresh]], Parul Ghosh
|-
| 4 || "Ummeed Unse Kya Thi" || Parul Ghosh
|-
|}

==Box office==
[[File:Basant (1942) Publicity poster.jpg|thumb|250px|Publicity poster of ''Basant'']]
At the end of its threatical run, ''Basant'' did a gross collection of {{INR}}80 lakhs, with a nett of {{INR}}40 lakhs. It became the highest-grossing film of 1942, and also the highest-grossing film of all time.<ref name=":0" /> ''Basant's'' record was broken the next year by ''[[Kismet (1943 film)|Kismet]],'' which stars [[Ashok Kumar]] and [[Mumtaz Shanti]] in the lead roles.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-10-16|title=Boxofficeindia.com|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=147&catName=MTk0Mg==|access-date=2020-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016214548/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=147&catName=MTk0Mg==|archive-date=16 October 2013}}</ref>

== Madhubala ==
[[Madhubala]], then Mumtaz, was spotted by [[Himanshu Rai]] when she was searching for work in film industry, along with her father Ataullah Khan. Rai soon cast her in ''Basant'' at a fee of {{INR}}500 per month. Though she was uncredited in the film but Mumtaz became the financial backbone of her family after the film' release. She found work in other films as a child artist where she was credited as ''Baby Mumtaz''. In 1947, five years after Rai's demise, his ex-wife and actress [[Devika Rani]] rechristened Mumtaz as ''Madhubala'', literally meaning "honey belle", and also groomed her as a new leading lady.<ref name="Dawn">{{Cite web|last=Noorani|first=Asif|date=2019-02-10|title=Flashback: Fifty Years Without Madhubala|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1462968|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-17|website=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Basant (film)}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0138315|title=Basant}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121103053631/http://ww.smashits.com/basant/songs-7810.html Songs]

[[Category:1942 films]]
[[Category:1940s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Pannalal Ghosh]]
[[Category:Films directed by Amiya Chakravarty]]
[[Category:Indian musical drama films]]
[[Category:1940s musical drama films]]
[[Category:1942 drama films]]

Basant (film) - Revision history

>Jellysandwich0 at 13:09, 2 October 2021