Pradeep Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in Nagin (1954) - climactic sequence in lush Gevacolor

Filmistan’s dance-cum-musical romance, “Nagin,” directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal and starring vivacious Vyjayanthimala and Pradeep Kumar in the romantic leads, was premiered in Bombay at the luxurious Liberty Cinema on Friday, December 24th, 1954.

Based on a highly improbable story by Bijou Bhattacharya and scripted by Hamid Butt, with dialogue and lyrics by Rajinder Krishan, “Nagin” has a music score by Hemant Kumar. Dances are the highlights of this film and they have been designed and directed by Sachin Shanker, Hiralal and Yogen Desai.

Superbly mounted, the film has excellent production values throughout its length. Special mention should, however, be made of Fali Mistry (Shyama’s husband) who was responsible for pleasing photo­graphy throughout the film and the exqui­site Gevacolor sequences at the end. Sharing the credits with Fali Mistry for the climactic sequence in lush Gevacolor is Ram Kumar who designed the imaginative sets. Kudos should also go to Sayed Ahmed and G. J. More who are responsible for the black and white decor in the rest of the picture.

In spite of these redeeming factors which were smuggled into the picture with an eye on the box-office, “Nagin” is a deplorable pro­duction from a studio which won acclaim recently with such a thought-provoking film as “Nastik”.

The story is neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring, and defies classification. It has neither habitat nor locale, in spite of the claim by the producers that the two pivotal characters in the film belong to tribes “living in the hilly districts of India”. In fact the film is the crea­tion of wild imagination and Nandlal Jaswant­lal fails to rescue the hackneyed plot from the triteness in spite of this.

The fantastic story revolves round a boy and a girl belonging to rival tribes of snake catchers who deal in the poison extracted from the reptiles. Their love incurs the wrath of the warring tribes and in the ensuing turmoil the Nagin is bitten by a snake sent to kill her lover. She is, however, restored to life by him when he brings the venomous creature to cure her, and they live happily ever after.

Vyjayanthimala in the title role puts over a commendable performance besides looking ravishingly beautiful as the belle of the hills. Her dancing, too, is very graceful, specially in those eye-filling colour sequences and delight­ful ballets towards the finish.

Pradeep Kumar is unimpressive in a role -poorly etched and directed, and Jeevan as the jilted lover thirsting for the blood of the hero is theatrical throughout.

Mubarak, the old-timer, in spite of his out­landish costume and poorly-written role, is res­ponsible for an excellent characterization as the stern but kind-hearted father. The rest of the characters are lost in the scenic trappings.

Hemant Kumar’s musical score is in keep­ing with the theme and the songs have a rare lilt and may prove popular.

As mentioned earlier, the piece-de-resis­tance of the film are the superbly conceived and dexterously designed ballet sequences, a delec­table appendage to a depressingly poor film (Filmfare Magazine, 1955)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1954, Genre – Musical/Fantasy, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Filmistan,  Director – Nandlal Jaswantlal, Music Director –Hemant Kumar, Cast - Pradeep Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Jeevan, Sulochana, Krishna Kumari, I. S. Johar, Mubarak

Dilip Kumar in Filmistan's Shabnam (1949) - has a "Yo! Ho! Ho! and a bottle of Rum" look

This latest Filmistan picture running to crowded houses at Roxy for many weeks now is a picture which does credit to S. Mukerji the producer, who gave us in the past pictures like Kangan, Bandhan, Naya Sansar etc. There are no less than ten songs, several dance numbers in which the selection of artistes has been made very discreetly with a certain eye on the box office. The result is a picture to which sex starved thirsty humanity will throng. Though the picture has fine settings, beautiful costumes, good comedy, pleasing photography, excellent sound recording, yet an idealist or utilitarian reviewer cannot help feeling that all this skill and equipment would have been harnessed much better, social and patriotic purpose by Filmistan Ltd.

The picture lacks a well-connected story. Indeed it is all disjointed and unbelievable episodes come one after another on an astonishing scale. One cannot get away from the idea that those responsible for the production happened to see Chandralekha and having been impressed by its phenomenal success could not get over the temptation of imitating some scenes or ideas therefrom or at least taking inspiration from there. The flashback technique has been effectively used, yet all things considered Shabnam can be rated as fine entertainment but disappointing pictorial story.

Kamini Kaushal has been at her best in this picture, particularly before interval. Light hearted acting, grace of body and features, and understanding, easily place her above everybody. After his performance in Andaz Dilip Kumar has raised certain expectations but it must be said that he does not fulfill them in Shabnam. Mubarak and Jeevan are as satisfactory as ever. Paro and Cuckoo who are responsible for the dance numbers and do very good work indeed and even there, the palm must go to Paro who excels Cuckoo in spite of the latter’s better looks and presentability. We, however want to emphasize that Filmistan Ltd. must employ their resources capacity and superior talents to much more important social and patriotic purpose as entertaining the masses cannot alone be sufficient function for men like Messrs. Chuni Lall and Shashadhar Mukerji (The Motion Picture Magazine, September 1949)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1949, Genre – Musical/Costume, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Filmistan,  Director – B. Mitrai, Music Director –S. D. Burman, Cast - Paro, Mubarak, Cuckoo, Haroon, Kamini Kaushal, Dilip Kumar, Jeevan, Rajendra Singh, Shyama