''Mamta'' () is a 1966 Indian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Asit Sen, written by

Nihar Ranjan Gupta Nihar Ranjan Gupta (, pen name: ''Banbhatta'' (বানভট্ট); 6 June 1911 – 20 February 1986) was an Indian dermatologist and a popular Bengali novelist. He is the creator of the fictional detective character Kiriti Roy. Some of his ...

and

Krishan Chander Krishan Chander (23 November 1914 – 8 March 1977) was an Indian Urdu and Hindi writer of short stories and novels. Some of his works have also been translated into English. He was a prolific writer, penning over 20 novels, 30 collections ...

, with music composed by Roshan to lyrics written by

Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in the Hindi language film industry. He wrote lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was one of the dom ...

. The movie stars

Suchitra Sen Suchitra Sen, widely known as the Mahanayika (), was an Indian actress who worked in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite actor Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Cinema of Wes ...

Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

and

Dharmendra Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...

. The film about middle class fears and class conflict, has lead actress Suchitra Sen in dual roles. The film is also noted for its music by Roshan and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, in songs like, ''Rahen Na Rahen Hum'' sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

and her hit duet, ''Chuppa Lo Yun Dil Mein Pyar Mera'' with

Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemanta Mukherjee and Hemant Kumar, was an Indian music director and a playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, along with several other India ...

. The film is a remake of Asit Sen's own

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film, ''

Uttar Falguni ''Uttar Falguni'' () is a 1963 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Asit Sen and produced by Uttam Kumar, starring Suchitra Sen in a double role, Bikash Roy and Dilip Mukherjee in lead. At the 11th National Film Awards, the film ...

'' (1963), also starring Suchitra Sen.

Plot

Monish Rai comes from a wealthy family and is in love with Devayani, who is from a poor family. Monish wants to travel abroad for higher studies, and this will be funded by his family. He fears that his family will not approve of Devayani and will refuse to fund his foreign studies if he makes known his intention to marry her. Therefore, he and Devayani agree to delay their wedding until Monish returns to India. Financial problems overwhelm Devayani's father not long after Monish leaves for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He has been taking new loans to repay old loans, and most of these new loans have come from a certain Rakhal, who poses as a friend and well-wisher of Devayani's father. Rakhal is in fact a vile and dissolute man, and he has his eye on the beautiful Devayani. At a timely moment, Rakhal makes his irresistible proposal to Devayani's father. A simple and rather gullible man, Devayani's father thinks that marrying Rakhal would be a good thing for Devayani because Rakhal is a rich man and Devayani will live a comfortable life. He agrees to give his daughter in marriage to Rakhal. A horrified Devayani tells her father that she does not want to marry at all, but to live with him and take care of him in his old age. This cuts no ice at all with the father, and the wedding date is fixed. A desperate Devayani even approaches Monish's mother for financial assistance, but is refused. The wedding takes place. Rakhal, who is significantly older than Devayani, makes some effort to court her, but she finds him repulsive. Rakhal soon begins to find Devayani's sour and rejectionist attitude tiresome, and he returns to his drinking and gambling cronies. He also resorts to violence when he feels insulted by Devayani's attitude. Rakhal had inherited much wealth from his father, but he is a wastrel with a fondness for drink, cards and girls. He splurges money on his many vices and the truth is that much of his money is now gone. Devayani soon becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl, Suparna. Devayani's father dies just around this time, leaving her with nowhere to turn to for succour. Her husband is briefly put in jail after a drunken brawl at a brothel, and it becomes known that his money is finished. Unhappy with her marriage and her circumstances, Devayani runs away and becomes a

devadasi In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

, performing for a male clientele. She is however tracked down by Rakhal, who attempts to kidnap his daughter Suparna on more than one occasion. In order to ensure protection of daughter from father, Devayani leaves Suparna in an orphanage run by

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

missionaries, making the stipulation that Suparna should not be placed for adoption, and that she will contribute for Suparna's upkeep when possible. Devayani relocates and throws herself wholeheartedly into earning a living by singing and dancing for a male audience at a traditional-style kotha (with few, if any, instances of sex work). Monish returns to the city after completing his education. He has already heard of Devayani's wedding. He is unable to forget her, and he remains unmarried all his life. Once, on the street, he sees a woman who looks like Devayani and calls out to her, but she turns away and quickly sits inside a nearby taxi with no sign of recognition and drives away. Monish is told by others that the person he has seen is a

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

-based

tawaif A ''tawaif'' () was a highly successful courtesan singer‚ dancer‚ and poet who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. Many tawaifs (" nautch girls" to the British) were forced to go into pro ...

, Pannabai.

Cast

... Barrister Indraneel *

... Devyani - Pannabai / Suparna *

... Monish Rai *

Bipin Gupta Bipin Gupta (21 August 1905 – 9 September 1981) was an Indian actor and artist during the 1930s and 1960s. He acted in Bengali and Hindi cinema, most notably in '' Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Jagriti'' (1954), ''Gharana'' (1961) and '' Khilona'' ...

... Kantilal * David Abraham ... Doctor Abraham * Tarun Bose ... Mahadev Prasad *

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali films, such as ''Harano Sur'', ''Bhan ...

... Prosecuting Lawyer * Pratima Devi ... Mother Mary * Kalipada Chakraborty ... Rakhal Bhattacharya *

Chhaya Devi Chhaya Devi (; 3 June 1914 – 25 April 2001) was an Indian actress known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. She appeared in over two hundred films for over five decades. Her first lead role was in Debaki Bose's Bengali film ''Sonar ...

... Minabai * Rajlakshmi Devi ... Guest at party *

Chaman Puri Chaman Puri (2 October 1914 – 26 June 1998) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His younger brothers were Bollywood actors Madan Puri and Amrish Puri. Early life Chaman Puri was the first of five children, with younger brothers Ma ...

... Ghishta Babu - Devyani's dad (uncredited) *

Asit Sen (director) Asit Sen (24 September 1922 – 25 August 2001) was an Indian film director, cinematographer, documentary Filmmaker and screenwriter, who worked in both Bengali and Hindi cinema. He was born in Dhaka, British India. He directed 17 feature film ...

as Mahadev Prasad *

Jahor Roy Jahar Roy (19 September 1919 – 1 August 1977) was an Indian actor and comedian in Bengali cinema. He was known for his comedy films with Bhanu Bandyopadhyay. Early life Roy came from a Bengali Baidya family having its root in Mahilara, ...

Box office

The film performed well at the domestic box office. It was the year's 15th highest-grossing film in India, earning (). This was equivalent to estimated footfalls of approximately tickets sold in India. The film became an overseas blockbuster in the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, selling tickets in 1969, making it the sixth highest-grossing Indian film ever in the Soviet Union. This was equivalent to an estimated Rbls (, or ). Combined, the film grossed an estimated () worldwide. In terms of footfall, the film sold an estimated tickets worldwide.

Nominations

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

Nomination for

Best Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

Nomination for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

- Asit Sen *

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 ...

- Suchitra Sen *

Nomination for Best Story - Nihar Ranjan Gupta1st Filmfare Awards 1953
/ref>

Music

The songs of the films were composed by Roshan and written by

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mamta (1966 Film) 1966 films 1960s Hindi-language films Films about women in India Hindi remakes of Bengali films Films scored by Roshan (music director) 1960s Urdu-language films Films based on works by Nihar Ranjan Gupta Urdu-language Indian films Films about courtesans in India