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''Aan'' (; also released as ''The Savage Princess'') is a 1952 Indian
adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...
, produced and directed by
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
. It stars
Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...
,
Nimmi Nimmi (born as Nawab Bano; 18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Urdu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Indian cinema, Nimmi was among the highest paid actresses ...
,
Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (Indian actress) (1932-2006), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress) (1968-1995), Pakista ...
(in her debut role) and
Premnath Premnath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath (21 November 1926 – 3 November 1992) was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in ...
. It was
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
's first technicolor film, as it was shot in 16mm Gevacolour and was blown up in technicolor. It was the most expensive Indian film at the time subsequently becoming the highest grossing Indian film ever, both domestically and overseas, a record it held for several years. ''Aan'' was the first Indian film to have a worldwide release in many countries, was subtitled in 17 languages and released in 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, France, and Japan. The film also received critical acclaim in the British press at the time. In
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
, it was also dubbed and released in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
with the same title.


Plot

The plot centers around an Indian royal family, which consists of the Maharaj (
Murad Murad or Mourad () is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It is derived ...
), his brother Shamsher Singh (
Premnath Premnath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath (21 November 1926 – 3 November 1992) was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in ...
) and sister Rajshree (
Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (Indian actress) (1932-2006), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress) (1968-1995), Pakista ...
). A local young man named Jai Tilak (
Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...
) enters a contest to tame Princess Rajshree's horse, and after he is successful, Shamsher challenges Jai to a bout of fencing. Jai is declared the winner of the match after much dispute and Shamsher is enraged at losing to a poor villager. Jai falls in love with Rajshree and tries to woo her, but despite being attracted to him the princess's arrogance prevents her from revealing her true feelings. Shamsher, who counted upon becoming the ruler after the Maharaj's death, becomes enraged when Maharaj reveals that he plans to abolish the monarchy and make the kingdom a democracy. Shamsher then plans to gain control of the kingdom by killing the Maharajah on the night before he is due to travel to England for a medical procedure. However, he is unsuccessful after the Maharajah escapes an attempt on his life by Shamsher's henchmen and disguises himself as a servant in his own palace. Shamsher then sets his eyes on Mangala (
Nimmi Nimmi (born as Nawab Bano; 18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Urdu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Indian cinema, Nimmi was among the highest paid actresses ...
) who is a village girl and a childhood friend of Jai's. Mangala loves Jai, but her love is not reciprocated as he is in love with princess Rajshree. Mangala is kidnapped by Shamsher Singh who plans to keep her as his prisoner in his palace. Before he can assault her, Mangala commits suicide by drinking poison. Jai tries to kill Shamsher to avenge Mangala's death. After Shamsher apparently dies, Jai provokes Princess Rajshree to launch an attack on his village to avenge her brother's death. Jai manages to kidnap Rajshree in the confusion. He sets out to teach her a lesson by taking her to his village and forcing her to live as a peasant. Just when Rajshree begins to realize what a peasant's life is like and begins to admire Jai, Shamsher Singh reemerges and seeks to get revenge against Jai.


Cast

*
Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...
as Jai Tilak *
Nimmi Nimmi (born as Nawab Bano; 18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Urdu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Indian cinema, Nimmi was among the highest paid actresses ...
as Mangala *
Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (Indian actress) (1932-2006), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress) (1968-1995), Pakista ...
as Princess Rajeshwari *
Premnath Premnath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath (21 November 1926 – 3 November 1992) was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in ...
as Prince Shamsher Singh *Sheela Naik as Maid of the princess *
Mukri Mohammed Umar Mukri (5 January 1922 – 4 September 2000), popularly known as Mukri, was an Indian actor, who worked as a comedian in Hindi films. Born as Muhammad Umar Mukri in Uran. He started his film career with the film ''Pratima'' along ...
as Chandan *
Murad Murad or Mourad () is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It is derived ...
as Maharaja *
Cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...
as Dancer *Nilam Bai as Jai's Mother


Production

This prestigious production was to be India's first full feature in Technicolor. The film was made with an extremely large budget.
Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...
,
Nimmi Nimmi (born as Nawab Bano; 18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Urdu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Indian cinema, Nimmi was among the highest paid actresses ...
and
Prem Nath Premnath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath (21 November 1926 – 3 November 1992) was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in ...
, then at the height of their popularity and success, were quickly signed on for starring roles, but the second female lead proved more troublesome to cast. Initially,
Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid, also known as Nirmala Dutt; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) known mononyomusly as Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the ...
was cast but left the film to concentrate on her association with R. K. Studios. For a time
Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She is considered as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. One of the country ...
was considered, with considerable lobbying from Dilip Kumar who was romantically involved with her at the time, but for reasons unknown, she was never cast. Finally
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
decided to launch a newcomer and selected the then unknown Nadira and promoted her as his new star discovery. When a first edit of the film was shown to the film's financiers and distributors, they objected that Nimmi's character died too early. This was due to Nimmi's vast popularity as an actress. Therefore, a lavish and extended dream sequence was filmed and edited in to give Nimmi more prominence and screen time in the film. The production cost of the film was . It was the most expensive Indian film ever at the time.


Music

A major highlight of Aan is
Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of ...
's music which was highly acclaimed. Both the music of film songs and the grand background score that was so innovative and played a key role in the box office success of this film. Reportedly Naushad used a 100-piece orchestra while recording the music of this film, something unprecedented in those days. To create the sound effects that had better bass, Naushad had special rugs put on the walls of the sound studio. Finally, the film songs were mixed in London. Naushad worked very long hours for three whole months to complete this film's music. The symphony with the 100 musicians was much praised and even played on the
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
. Hindi/Urdu lyrics were by
Shakeel Badayuni Shakeel Badayuni (3 August 1916 – 20 April 1970) was an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter in Hindi / Urdu language films. Early life Shakeel Badayuni was born in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Mohammed Jamaal Ahmed Sokhta Qadi ...
The Tamil lyrics were by
Kambadasan Kambadasan (1916–1973) was an Indian writer, poet and film lyricist who worked mainly in Tamil-language films. Early life Kambadasan was born as Appaavu a.k.a. Rajappa at Ulagapuram, a village near Tindivanam in the then South Arcot District ...
. Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum rendered the Tamil songs also. However, it appears that the lyricist did not approve of their diction, and so songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar were recorded again with
M. S. Rajeswari M. S. Rajeswari (; 24 February 1932 – 25 April 2018) was an Indian playback singer who has recorded over 500 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language films. Early life She was born on 24 February 1932 to Madurai Satagopan and ...
and songs sung by Shamshad Begum were recorded with Soolamangalam Rajeswari. While the film had the original recordings, the records (plates) had both versions. So, there are 14 songs recorded on the gramophone records.


Release


International

''Aan'' was the first Indian film to have a worldwide release in many countries with the English title - ''Savage Princess''. It was subtitled in 17 languages, and released in 28 countries. Its distribution in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
was handled by
Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)
. The film had a lavish
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
premiere, attended by
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
, his wife
Sardar Akhtar Sardar Akhtar (1915–1986) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Urdu films. She started her acting career on the Urdu stage. Her early films were with Saroj Movietone, where she did a majority of stunt (action) roles. She ...
, and
Nimmi Nimmi (born as Nawab Bano; 18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Urdu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Indian cinema, Nimmi was among the highest paid actresses ...
. The English version was entitled ''Savage Princess''. On the London trip, they met many Western film personalities, including
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...
. When Flynn attempted to kiss Nimmi's hand, she pulled it away, exclaiming, "I am an Indian girl, you cannot do that!" The incident made the headlines, and the press raved about Nimmi as the "...unkissed girl of India". The premiere was also attended by the
British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...
Lord Attlee, among other Indian and British elites at the time. Although Nimmi was not the romantic lead, she made a big impact on audiences, and her character, Mangala, emerged as the most popular in the film. This was to such an extent that, when the film was released dubbed in French in 1954, it was retitled ''Mangala, fille des Indes'' (''Mangala, the Girl of India'') and Nimmi was promoted as the main star of the film in the theatrical posters and trailers for the French language release. One reason for her popularity was the incident with Errol Flynn which made headlines. Nimmi further revealed in a 2013 interview, that at the London premiere of Aan, she received four serious offers from Hollywood, including from
Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...
who greatly admired the production design and Mehboob's vision as a director. He was in fact, so impressed by the film, that he personally wrote a letter of commendation to Mehboob Khan praising the film and the performances of Nimmi,
Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...
and
Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (Indian actress) (1932-2006), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress) (1968-1995), Pakista ...
in particular. ''Aan'' was also released in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
in January 1954, as the first Indian film to ever release in Japan. ''Aan'' was accepted by audiences there, and it earned a considerable profit in Japan. In 1995, the film had its Bangladeshi television premier on
Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television (), commonly known by its acronym BTV (), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East Pakistan branch of Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television in 1 ...
on the occasion of a personal visit of Dilip Kumar and
Saira Banu Saira Banu (born 23 August 1944) is an Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi films. Regarded amongst the finest actors of Hindi cinema, she was among the most popular actresses of the 1960s and early 1970s. Banu received four Filmfare Award ...
to the country.


Reception


Box office

Domestically in India, it was the highest grosser of 1952, grossing 2.5
crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
( $5.88million). Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to (). It was the highest-grossing film in India at the time, and the first to
net NET may refer to: Broadcast media United States * National Educational Television, the predecessor of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States * National Empowerment Television, a politically conservative cable TV network ...
1.5crore. It held the record for several years, until it was surpassed by ''
Shree 420 ''Shree 420'' (also spelled as ''Shri 420''; ) is a 1955 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose use of Shree with the negative connotations of 420 caused controversy. ...
'' (1955). It was also an overseas success, earning considerable profit from overseas. In overseas markets, the film was released in 28 countries and earned ($162,410). Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to (). In Japan, the film earned in ten days following its release in January 1954, the highest for an Indian film in the territory at the time. ''Aan'' was the highest-gross Indian film overseas at the time, until it was surpassed by ''
Awaara ''Awaara'', also written ''Awāra'' and known overseas as ''The Vagabond'', is a 1951 Indian crime drama film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It stars Raj Kapoor along with his real-life father Prithv ...
'' (1951) after its Soviet release in 1954. Worldwide, the film grossed (). Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to crore (). It was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, up until it was surpassed by ''Awaara'' after its
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
release in 1954.


Critical reception

''Aan'' received critical acclaim in the British press at the time. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', for example, wrote a positive review of the film, comparing it favourably with
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
productions at the time. They stated that "Hollywood has nothing to reach up to handsome Dilip Kumar and seductive Nadira." Hollywood producer
Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...
himself wrote a letter to
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
saying, "I believe it is quite possible to make pictures in your great country which will be understood and enjoyed by all nations without sacrificing the culture and customs of India. We look forward to the day when you will be regular contributors to our screen fare with many fine stories bringing the romance and magic of India."


Notes


References


External links

*
Aan (1952)
on YouTube {{authority control 1952 films 1950s Hindi-language films 1950s Urdu-language films Films directed by Mehboob Khan Films scored by Naushad Indian action drama films Indian epic films War epic films Indian swashbuckler films Indian action war films Films about royalty Indian historical adventure films 1950s historical adventure films 1950s action drama films 1950s action war films Urdu-language Indian films Indian action adventure films Fencing films Films about interclass romance Films set in the British Raj Indian war romance films Indian historical romance films Indian films about revenge Films about suicide Films about sexual abuse Films shot in Mumbai Films set in India