Gumnaam

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Gumnaam
Directed byRaja Nawathe
Produced byN. N. Sippy
Written byCharandas Shokh
Dhruva Chatterjee
Based onAnd Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
StarringManoj Kumar
Nanda
Helen
Pran
Madan Puri
Mehmood
Music byShankar-Jaikishan
CinematographyK. H. Kapadia
Edited byD. N. Pai
Production
company
Prithvi Pictures
Distributed byUltra Films
Release date
24 December 1965
Running time
145 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box officeest. 2.6 crore ($5.46 million)

Gumnaam (translation: Anonymous) is a 1965 Indian Hindi-language mystery film directed by Raja Nawathe and produced by N. N. Sippy. Released in India on 24 December 1965, the film stars Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Helen, Pran, Madan Puri and Mehmood. The film is a loosely inspired adaptation of the 1939 mystery novel And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.[1]

The film came to wider attention in the English-speaking world when its opening song "Jaan Pehechan Ho" (a Hindi-Urdu phrase roughly translated as "we should get to know each other") was included in the opening credits of Ghost World and used in the 2011 commercial The Date for Heineken. The song was sung by Bollywood music legend Mohammed Rafi. The lead dancer in the song as shot in the film was Laxmi Chhaya. The psychedelic choreography was done by Herman Benjamin, who also sang the song as picturised in the film.

Plot[edit]

The film begins off in good, time-honoured crime-riddled way; on a dark night, wealthy Seth Sohanlal, stepping drunkenly out of a nightclub, is run down by a speeding car. Seth Sohanlal dies right there on the sidewalk and the scene moves to a seedy room overlooking the nightclub. This room is occupied by Khanna (Hiralal) who gives a hefty wad of currency notes to an unseen man being hired by him to murder Seth Sohanlal. Khanna then sets about making a series of telephone calls - to a doctor, whom he tells that a medical certificate will have to be made; to a mysterious young girl, whom he tells that the will needs to be sent to the "right place"; and to another man, whom he tells that the will will reach him the next morning - but in no case does the audience see whom Khanna is speaking to. Khanna then telephones Seth Sohanlal's niece, Asha (Nanda), and breaks the news of her uncle's death. The loud sobs and shrieks of a devastated Asha get amplified when she hears some gunshots at the other end of the line as another faceless figure in a long coat and hat has entered Khanna's room and shot him point-blank. Khanna drops dead with his blood dripping strangely onto the receiver of the dangling telephone.

A few days later, it is announced at a nightclub that the seven winners of a "lucky draw" held earlier that evening have won a free fortnight-long trip to an unspecified destination abroad and will be going in a chartered airplane. These fortunate people are Barrister Rakesh (Pran), Dharamdas (Dhumal), Kishan (Manmohan), Kitty Kelly (Helen), Dr. Acharya (Madan Puri), Madhusudan Sharma (Tarun Bose), and finally, someone whom the audience has encountered earlier, Asha, though she now seems more composed. Soon, these seven people are in their chartered airplane, off for their vacation abroad, when the pilot announces that they are having to make an emergency landing at an anonymous remote island due to some technical issues. The pilot also tells the seven passengers and the only flight attendant who is on board, Anand (Manoj Kumar), that they are free to explore the area of the island while the repairs are going on. However, as soon as Anand and the seven passengers alight from the airplane, the pilot shockingly dumps their bags out and the airplane takes off without them, leaving them all stranded on the island. At the same time, a mysterious, unseen woman begins singing an eerie song on the island without the woman ever being visible. The eight people follow the direction of the woman's voice and finally arrive at a vast and spooky mansion. The mansion seems to be unoccupied except for a comical South Indian lungi-clad butler (Mehmood), who is in charge of the mansion and has been weirdly expecting the arrival of the castaways. The butler also knows each of these people by name and has been given a letter listing all of these people except Anand.

Further, everyone discovers that the butler has a diary which, besides containing a daily expense account, also contains a message addressed to the entire group, accusing each of these people of having conspired to kill Seth Sohanlal and passing a death sentence on them. There is instant consternation, disbelief and fear for the people now having to pay up with their own lives and the mysterious woman begins singing the song again. That night, Anand goes on a recce of his fellow guests' rooms, peering in through the keyholes, when he witnesses Rakesh having fallen in love with Kitty and flirting with her; Dr. Acharya clinging his hands to a bottle of poison; and Dharamdas hiding a fearsome-looking dagger under his pillow. Anand is caught out in his night-time perambulations by Kishan but neither says anything to the other, while the butler's suspicious actions indicate the presence of an unknown person in the mansion. The next day passes uneventfully, but at dinnertime, everyone is worried as Kishan is nowhere to be found in the mansion. Following dinner, Anand and Asha together go searching for Kishan through the ruins scattered across the island with a torch as well as a gun that Anand has mysteriously brought with him when the two are shocked to stumble onto Kishan, stabbed to death. Anand discovers a bit of half-smoked cigar and a letter addressed to the group next to Kishan's dead body. The letter states that Kishan was the driver of the car and the man hired by Khanna that ran down Seth Sohanlal and that is why he is now been killed.

At the same time, Anand reveals that the dagger used to murder Kishan was none other than the one which Dharamdas had hidden under his pillow, causing everyone to immediately corner Dharamdas and try to get him to confess to Kishan's murder, but Dharamdas pleads his innocence. The very next evening, the innocence of Dharamdas is proved when Anand and Asha stumble onto his strangled dead body in the courtyard of a ruined church and the mysterious woman begins singing another verse of her creepy song. Anand concludes that the culprit is among them and it becomes clear that everyone was connected to Seth Sohanlal; Rakesh wrote Seth Sohanlal's will on Khanna's orders, while Kitty was Seth Sohanlal's private secretary who sent his will to Rakesh on Khanna's instructions, though neither knew about the other. The next day, Anand notices Rakesh hiding an axe and becomes suspicious of his intentions. Just then, Dr. Acharya appears exclaiming that Sharma has been apparently killed with an axe and another letter addressed to the group is discovered next to his apparent dead body. The letter states that Sharma was Khanna's co-conspirator in Seth Sohanlal's murder and that is why he is also now been killed. Now only three men - Anand, Rakesh and Dr. Acharya - and two women - Asha and Kitty - are left alive and terrified on the island along with the butler.

That night, Dr. Acharya catches the butler acting suspiciously and learns his secret before a scuffle ensues between them both. In the presence of Asha and Kitty, a stabbed Dr. Acharya enters the dining room, utters Anand's name and breathes his last. Anand and Rakesh accuse each other of Dr. Acharya's murder while Asha begins questioning her faith in Anand. The next day, Kitty goes for a walk by herself and is strangled to death by a rope. Rakesh and Asha, who have been searching for Kitty, are shocked to discover her dead body and Anand's hat next to it. Rakesh witnesses Anand running away from the crime scene and begins pursuing him but loses his trail. In a fit of rage, Rakesh tries to rape Asha in the mansion in the middle of the night. Asha escapes from Rakesh but runs into him again as Rakesh collapses dead with two daggers in his back. The lights in the mansion are switched off, which indicates that the killer has arrived and that Asha is next. The killer approaches Asha and she falls unconscious in fear before the killer carries Asha to a secret room. After she regains consciousness, Asha discovers that the killer is none other than Sharma, who reveals that he had only employed the butler to make the necessary arrangements on the island, and posing as one of the castaways, he killed Kishan and Dharamdas. He then convinced Dr. Acharya to declare him dead on the pretext that it would help him investigate the killer, and later killed Dr. Acharya as well with Kitty and Rakesh.

Just then, Anand appears at the scene and reveals that he is actually an undercover police inspector on the mission to nab Sharma, an escaped convict whose real name is Madanlal. Madanlal reveals to Anand and Asha that Khanna and Seth Sohanlal were his partners in smuggling, but he was betrayed by them after being arrested by the police. Khanna also had Seth Sohanlal killed to usurp the share of his money, but Madanlal escaped from prison and murdered Khanna. He then ensured that his targets "won" the lucky draw held at the nightclub and decided to take the trip to murder Khanna's remaining five assistants too. Madanlal then ties up both Anand and Asha and plays the game of Russian Roulette with them. However, the butler secretly arrives and releases Anand, who attacks Madanlal as he is about to shoot Asha with the only bullet. In the ensuing scuffle, Madanlal escapes from the mansion and runs towards the seashore but an airplane full of police officers lands on the island and Madanlal is arrested for his crimes. The "ghost" woman who sings the ominous song turns out to be the butler's mentally-ill sister (Naina). The film ends with Anand, Asha, the butler and his sister leaving the ill-fated island on the airplane.

Cast[edit]

Cameo Appearances[edit]

  • Laxmi Chhaya as the masked dancer in "Jaane Pehchane Ho" song
  • Hiralal as Khanna (Seth Sohanlal's murderer)
  • Naina as the butler's mentally-ill sister

Soundtrack[edit]

Script error: No such module "Album ratings".

Critic Shahid Khan rated the soundtrack 9 out of 10 stating, "Gumnaam is sometimes unfairly overlooked but I believe that it is one of Shankar-Jaikishan's best albums."[2]

Song Singer(s) Notes
"Jaan Pehechan Ho" Mohammed Rafi Picturised on Laxmi Chhaya and choreographer Herman Benjamin;[3] features in the opening credits of Ghost World. Also featured on the CD Bollywood Steel Guitar,[4] a compilation by various released in 2008 by the Sublime Frequencies record label.
"Gumnaam Hai Koi" Lata Mangeshkar Cover version of the title song by Henry Mancini of the film Charade.[5]
"Ek Ladki Hai Jisne Jeena Mushkil Kar Diya" Mohammed Rafi Picturised on Manoj Kumar and Nanda
"Jaane Chaman Shola Badan" Mohammed Rafi and Sharda Picturised on Manoj Kumar and Nanda
"Peeke Hum Tum Jo" Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar This comical song was picturised on Nanda and Helen
"Gham Chhodke Manaao Rang" Lata Mangeshkar Picturised on Helen. Also known as "Iss Duniya Mein Jeena Ho Toh Sunlo Meri Baat".
"Aayega Kaun Yahaan" Sharda Unused in the movie, this song was included on the soundtrack album.
"Hum Kaale Hain To" Mohammed Rafi Picturised on Helen and Mehmood

According to film expert Rajesh Subramanian, a cold war prevailed between Mehmood and Manoj Kumar during the making of the film. Kumar tried to convince the director to discard the song "Hum kaale hain toh kya hua", which has picturised on Mehmood, from the film. However, it was kept and went on to become a hit and one of the highlights of the film. An English-language version of the song titled "The She I Love", sung by Mohammed Rafi, was also recorded.[citation needed]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

Gumnaam became a box office hit. It was the 8th highest-grossing film in India in 1965, grossing 2.6 crore.[6] This was equivalent to $5.46 million in 1965,[n 1] and is equivalent to US$Error when using {{Inflation}}: NaN/calculation error please notify Template talk:Inflation. million or 275 crore[8] in 2016.

Awards and nominations[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. 4.7619 Indian rupees per US dollar in 1965[7]

References[edit]

  1. https://m.cinemaexpress.com/stories/trends/2017/nov/22/aboard-the-mystery-train-3207.amp
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named pb
  3. "Trivia time #33". Memsaabstory.wordpress.com. 14 December 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  4. "Bollywood Steel Guitar". Amazon.com. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  5. TRIPATHI, ABHISHEK (8 September 2020). Indian Film Music and The Aesthetics of Chords. Zorba Books. p. 109. ISBN 978-93-90011-48-3.
  6. [1]
  7. "PACIFIC Exchange Rate Service : Foreign Currency Units per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1950-2016" (PDF). Fx.sauber.ubc.ca. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  8. "Yearly Average Rates". Ofx.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  9. "1st Filmfare Awards 1953" (PDF). Deep750.googlepages.com. Retrieved 30 January 2018.

External links[edit]

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