''Sahara'' is a 1958
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film directed by Lekhraj Bhakri. The film stars
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
in the lead role of Leela and relates her life story.
Plot
Orphaned Leela (
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
) lives with her cruel aunt, Rangilibai (
Leela Mishra
Leela Mishra (1 January 1908 – 17 January 1988) was an Indian actress. She worked as a character actor in over 200 Hindi films for five decades, and is best remembered for playing stock characters such as aunts (''Chachi'' or ''Mausi''). She ...
); cousin, Kaushalya (Kammo); and uncle Vikram Singh (Badri Prasad). When Rangilibai arranges Kaushalya's marriage to Chhote Thakur (M. Rajan), the son of a wealthy landlord, Leela agrees to go with her as a maid as part of her dowry. But things change when the landlord rejects Kaushalya and decides to marry Leela. After marriage, Leela is accused of having a lover and is thrown out of home by her husband, who later understands his mistake as he was misled by his sister. Leela goes to Rangilibai's house, but she firmly refuses to accept her. Alone and desperate, Leela meets a distant relative named Gaman Singh (Kanhaiyalal). He takes her in to live with him and his wife, Swarupbai (
Kuldip Kaur). When Leela refuses Swarupbai's demand to beg for alms, the latter blinds her with special eye-drops. Having lost her vision, a blinded Leela is led daily through the streets and is forced to sit near the steps of a temple singing and begging for alms. Soon Leela develops a loving mother-son relationship with another beggar of Swarupbai, a boy named Panna (
Daisy Irani). This relationship carries the narrative forward.
Cast
*
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
... Leela
*M. Rajan ... Chhote Thakur
*
Daisy Irani ... Panna
*
Kuldip Kaur ... Swarupbai
*Kanhaiya Lal ... Gaman Singh
*Kammo ... Kaushaliya
*
Manoj Kumar
Harikrishan Goswami (born 24 July 1937), better known by his screen name Manoj Kumar, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for acting and making films with patriotic themes ...
... Shyam
*
Leela Mishra
Leela Mishra (1 January 1908 – 17 January 1988) was an Indian actress. She worked as a character actor in over 200 Hindi films for five decades, and is best remembered for playing stock characters such as aunts (''Chachi'' or ''Mausi''). She ...
... Rangilibai
*Badri Prasad ... Vikram Singh
Soundtrack
The music of the film was composed 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 ...
& Bharat Vyas.
Sound tracks :
# So Ja Dukhiyare Dukhiya Ke Pyare, By: Lata Mangeshkar
# Nache Bandriya Lahnga Daal Ke, By : Lata Mangeshkar, Aarti Mukherjee
# Ban Ke Suhagan Rahi Abhagan, By: Lata Mangeshkar
# Ek Baat Kahu Tumse, By: Pratima Bannerjee
# Andhon Pe Daya Karna Data, By: Lata Mangeshkar
# Mujhe Tarke Talluk Ke Liye, By: Sudha Malhotra
# Har Dukhra Sehne Wali, Muh Se Naa Kuch Kahne Wali, By: Bela Mukherjee, Hemant Kumar
# Chham Chham Chham Chham Chale O Maa, By: Lata Mangeshkar
# Aaghaz Ka Mohabbat Ki Baate, By: Aarti Mukherji, Hemant Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Sudha Malhotra
Awards
Meena Kumari received a
Filmfare
''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, an ...
nomination for
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...
for her performance, the only nomination for the film.
External links
*
1958 films
1950s Hindi-language films
Films scored by Hemant Kumar
{{1950s-Hindi-film-stub