''Samay Bada Balwan'' is a

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 ** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

social moral drama film produced and directed by

Sohrab Modi Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include '' Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi V ...

. Modi had sold his studio a year earlier but tried to revive the Minerva Movietone banner by producing this film. The music director was

Usha Khanna Usha Khanna (born 7 October 1941) is an Indian music director in Hindi cinema. She is the third female music director to enter the Hindi film industry, after Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi and is one of the most commercially successful music d ...

with lyrics written by

D. N. Madhok Dina Nath Madhok (22 October 1902 – 9 July 1982) was a prominent lyricist of Bollywood in the 1940s to 1960s. He started his career with the 1932 film ''Radhey Sham''. He wrote over 800 songs in his career spanning four decades and was regarded ...

. This was the only film in which Modi used Usha Khanna as a music composer. Mehtab acted together again with Modi in ''Samay Bada Balwan'' in a supporting role as Modi's wife. This was to be the last acting role of her career. The film starred Sohrab Modi, Mehtab,

Aruna Irani Aruna Irani (born 3 May 1946) is an Indian actress, who has acted in over 500 films throughout Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, playing mostly supporting and character roles. She has won two Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting ...

, Sailesh Kumar, Shahida,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and Helen. The film was a moralistic drama about valuing relationships irrespective of the hardships people face. The story follows the reversal of fortunes Uttam (Sohrab Modi) faces, first the failure in his business, and then the improvement again, showcasing people's response to him along the way.

Plot

Uttam (

) is a rich cotton merchant who lives in a mansion with his wife Damyanti ( Mehtab). Uttam's younger brother Ram (Sailesh Kumar), who is engaged to Seth Dhanichand’s (Wasti) elder daughter Gauri (Shahida), also lives with them. Damyanti's opportunistic brother, Dwarkadas (

K. N. Singh Krishan Niranjan Singh (1 September 1908 – 31 January 2000), known as K. N. Singh in Indian cinema, was a prominent villain and character actor. He appeared in over 200 Hindi films over a long career stretching from 1936 to the late 1980s. ...

) is in partnership with Uttam. Uttam loses his merchandise in a fire and becomes financially destitute, though he continues to live in the big mansion. Ram's engagement is called off by Dhanichand. Dwarkadas breaks off his partnership with Uttam and gets his son engaged to Dhanichand's younger daughter. Uttam attends the engagement ceremony, but is humiliated and accused of stealing money. He is also beaten up on his way home by some thugs sent by Dwarkadas. The film then follows Uttam's slow rise back again financially, while Dhanichand and Dwarkadas now face poverty.

Cast

as Uttam * Mehtab as Damyanti, Uttam's wife * Sailesh Kumar as Ram, Uttam's brother *

as Dwarkadas, Damyanti's brother * Shahida as Gauri * Wasti as Seth Dhanichand *

* Helen * David * Monto

Soundtrack

The playback singers were

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

, Krishna Kalle, Usha Khanna,

Hemlata Hemlata is a feminine given name. Notable persons with the name include: *Hemlata (singer) (born 1954), Bollywood singer * Hemlata Talesra (born 1944), Indian educationalist *Hemlata Kala Hemlata Kala (born 15 August 1975) is an Indian forme ...

with lyrics by

and soundtrack composed by

. The notable songs were "Teri Tasveer Se Aankhen Meri Kyun Hatati Nahin" sung by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle, and "Bhoole Afsane Phir Se Yaad Aaye" sung by Mohammed Rafi.

Song list

References

External links

* {{Sohrab Modi 1969 films 1960s Hindi-language films 1969 drama films Indian drama films Films directed by Sohrab Modi Films scored by Usha Khanna Hindi-language drama films