''Nagin'' is a 1954 Indian

Hindi-language Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has bee ...

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

, directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal, and written by

Rajendra Krishan Rajinder Krishan Duggal (6 June 1919 – 23 September 1987) also credited as Rajendra Krishan, was an Indian poet, lyricist and screenwriter. Biography Rajinder Krishan was born in a Duggal family at Jalalpur Jattan on 6 June 1919, in Gujrat D ...

, Hameed Butt and

Bijon Bhattacharya Bijon Bhattacharya ( bn, বিজন ভট্টাচার্য; 17 July 1906 – 19 January 1978) was an Indian theatre and film actor from West Bengal. He was an eminent playwright and dramatist. Bhattacharya was born in 1906 at Farid ...

. It stars

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...

and

Pradeep Kumar Pradeep Kumar (born Sital Batabyal; 4 January 1925 – 3 November 2001) was an Indian actor who is recognized for his work in Hindi, Bengali and English-language films. Career When Kumar was 17 years old, he decided to take up acting. He sta ...

, and has a hit musical score by

Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...

. This film was partly produced in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. The film was a

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

and highest-grossing film of 1954. Moreover, it established the career of

in Hindi film industry.

Synopsis

Two

Adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The t ...

tribes (Nagi & Ragi) are in conflict for the local economic rights. The daughter of the Nagi tribe's chief, Mala (

), vows to kill the son of the Ragi tribe's chief, Sanatan (

), as revenge. Trespassing in the enemy territory, she is mesmerized by the music of a flute (played by the musician

Kalyanji Virji Shah Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...

). Coming closer, she finds out that the player is Sanatan. They fall in love, but find it difficult to appease the enmity between the two tribes and to resist the attempts of the villain Prabir (

Jeevan Jeevan is an Indian sub-continent first name meaning 'life' or 'bringer of life', that may be used by males or females. The name originates from the Sanskrit language but is more often used as a Nepalese language name, a Sikh or a Hindu name. Alte ...

) to marry Mala.

Cast

... MalaNagin (1954 film) on Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation website
Retrieved 10 February 2022 *

... Sanatan *

... Prabir * Mubarak... Dhopal - The Nagi Chieftain *

Ruby Mayer Ruby Myers (1907 – 10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana, was an Indian silent film actress of Jewish ancestry, from the community of Baghdadi Jews in India. In her heyday she was one of the highest paid actresses of h ...

... Mala's Mother (as Sulochana) *

I. S. Johar Inder Sen Johar(16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984), better known as I. S. Johar, was an Indian actor, writer, producer and director, who excelled in comedic roles. Early life Inderjeet Singh Johar was born on 16th February, 1920 in Talagang ...

* Krishna Kumari (Hindi Actress) * Hiralal

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was composed by

. It included thirteen tracks, including the hit "Man Dole Mera Tan Dole", whose "Been music" was performed by Kalyanji on the

clavioline The clavioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, a forerunner to the analog synthesizer. It was invented by French engineer Constant Martin in 1947 in Versailles. The instrument consists of a keyboard and a separate amplifier and speaker ...

and by Ravi on the

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

(both once worked under Hemant Kumar's direction and later became independent music directors).Carlo Nardi (July 2011). "The Cultural Economy of Sound: Reinventing Technology in Indian Popular Cinema". ''Journal on the Art of Record Production'', Issue 5
. It was released under E.P. and L.P.

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts ne ...

s by The Gramophone Company of India, now known as

Saregama Saregama India Ltd. (Saregama refers to the first four notes of the Indian musical scale); formerly known as The Gramophone Company Of India Ltd. is India's oldest music label owned by the RP- Sanjiv Goenka Group of companies. The company ...

. The lyrics were written by

References

External links

* 1954 films 1950s Hindi-language films Films scored by Hemant Kumar Films about snakes Films about shapeshifting {{1950s-Hindi-film-stub