Albela is a 1951 Bollywood musical comedy film directed by and starring Bhagwan Dada and Geeta Bali.[1] A Hindi classic, it was the third highest-grossing film at the Indian Box Office in 1951 and its soundtrack by C. Ramchandra was acclaimed.[2][3]

Albela
Directed byBhagwan Dada
Written byEhsan Rizvi
Screenplay byBhagwan Dada
Story byBhagwan Dada
Produced byBhagwan Dada
StarringBhagwan Dada
Geeta Bali
CinematographyShanker A. Palav
Edited byG. G. Patil
Music byC. Ramchandra
Production
company
Distributed byBhagwan Art Productions
Release date
  • 1951 (1951)
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

The film was later dubbed in Tamil as Nalla Pillai (Tamil: நல்லப் பிள்ளை) in 1953.[4]

Plot

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Day-dreamer and Artist, Pyarelal, lives a poor lifestyle in Bombay with his retired dad; housewife mom; married brother, Mohan and his wife, Malti; and unmarried sister, Vimla. It is now time for Vimla to get married, her dad has saved a thousand Rupees, while Mohan has made arrangements for six hundred more, and Pyarelal is asked to arrange for four hundred. Instead Pyarelal brings home one hundred rupees, informing his family that he has been fired from his job, and will be unable to raise any more money. An argument ensues, and Pyarelal is asked to leave. He leaves, swearing only to return when he is a famous and wealthy man. He meets with a pretty actress, Asha, both fall in love with each other, and he starts acting in theater, and achieves quick success. He starts sending money and gifts home to his parents, and hopes that they will be pleased with his success. Then one day when he feels that he has achieved his success, he returns home - only to find out that the money and gifts he has been sending home are missing; his mom has passed away; his dad and sister are missing, believed to be begging in the streets; his sister's marriage has been canceled; his brother cannot support himself; and his sister-in-law, has a dark deep secret that she cannot tell anyone.

Cast

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  • Geeta Bali as Asha
  • Bhagwan as Pyarelal
  • Badri Prasad as Pyarelal's Father
  • Sundar as Theatre Owner
  • Pratima Devi (Hindi actress) as Pyarelal's Mother
  • Dulari as Malti
  • Bimla as Vimla
  • Usha Shukla
  • Nihal
  • Maruti as Drummer
  • Shyamu
  • Baburao as Malti's brother

Soundtrack

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The music director of the film was C. Ramchandra and the soundtrack was acclaimed, cited as a "classic".[3][5] The film features several westernized songs such as Shola Jo Bhadke and Ye Deewana, Ye Parwana which are said to have "employed cabaret type dance/choruses featuring bongo drums, oboes, clarinets, trumpets, saxophones, etc."[6] C.Ramachandra as Chitalkar himself sang most of the male songs in the movie while Lata Mangeshkar sang all the female songs. Apart from the highly popular Western-style songs, the movie also had classic melodies like "Dheere se aaja re ankhiyan me", "Balama bada nadan re" etc. The soundtrack "Qismat Ki Hawa Kabhi Naram" was used in Ludo, a 2020 Indian black comedy crime film written and directed by Anurag Basu[7] in the opening credits, climax scenes & a few other parts. The original video parts from the film were also used in opening credits.

Hindi Songs

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No. Song Singers Lyrics Length (m:ss)
1 "Dil Dhadke Nazar Sharmaye" Lata Mangeshkar Rajinder Krishan 03:07
2 "Dheere Se Aaja Ri Ankhiyon Mein" Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 03:21
3 "Shola Jo Bhadke" Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 03:31
4 "Shaam Dhale Khidki Tale" Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 03:42
5 "Balma Bada Nadan Re" Lata Mangeshkar Rajinder Krishan 02:57
6 "Deewana Parwana" Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 04:58
7 "Bholi Soorat Dil Ke Khote" Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 03:54
8 "Qismat Ki Hawa Kabhi Naram" Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 03:53
9 "Haseenon Se Muhabbat Ka Bura Anjaam" Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 02:59
10 "Diwana Aagaya" Lata Mangeshkar & Mohammed Rafi Rajinder Krishan 03:07
11 "Teri Yaad Ne Mara" Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar Rajinder Krishan 03:44

Tamil Songs

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No. Song Singers Lyrics Length (m:ss)
1 "Nenjam Thidukkena Nilai Thadumaari" P. Leela 03:07
2 "Egaandha Raajaa Nee Aanandhame" P. Leela 03:21
3 "Joraka Paadi Anbaaka Aadi" T. M. Soundararajan & M. S. Rajeswari 03:31
4 "Aaambale Nee Jannal Kitte" A. M. Rajah & P. Leela 03:42
5 "Priyamaai Mahaaraajaa" P. Leela 02:57
6 "En Aasai Raadhaa Nee Aanandhame" A. M. Rajah & P. Leela 04:58
7 "Thozhi Un Kann Edhiril Kodi" T. M. Soundararajan & M. S. Rajeswari 03:54
8 P. Leela 03:35
9 "Oh Paattaali Antho Paavi Nee" A. M. Rajah 03:53
10 A. M. Rajah 02:59
11 "Mai Vizhi Mel Paaindhu Odiye" A. M. Rajah & P. Leela 03:07
12 "Mani Aditthadhanaal Anda Tikku Tikku Tikku" A. M. Rajah & P. Leela 03:44

References

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  1. ^ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1999). Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema. British Film Institute. ISBN 9780851706696. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  2. ^ Box Office India. "Top Earners 1951". boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  3. ^ a b Sruti. P.N. Sundaresan. 2000.
  4. ^ "Film Albela dubbed in Tamil".
  5. ^ Journal of the Indian Musicological Society. Indian Musicological Society. 1988. p. 81.
  6. ^ Cinema vision India. Siddharth Kak. 1982. p. 61.
  7. ^ "'Ludo' Just Gave Us the Perfect Soundtrack for 2020 with the 1950s' Song 'Qismat Ki Hawa'". 13 November 2020.
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