''Mangalfera'' is 1949 Indian Gujarati social drama film directed by Ratibhai Punatar. It starred

Nirupa Roy Nirupa Roy (born Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara; 4 January 1931 – 13 October 2004) was an Indian actress who had appeared in Hindi films. Noted for her portrayals of tragedy and sorrow, Roy was known for her acting ability, and was uncharitabl ...

and Manhar Desai in lead roles and was a remake of the 1941 Hindi film '' Shaadi''.

Plot

In their childhood, Shobha and Mangal's fathers, in order to ensure their friendship, decide to engage them at a young age. However, as Shobha grows up, her wealthy and arrogant father breaks his promise and insists on marrying her off to a rich groom. Nirupa runs away from home and, while wandering, comes across a poor disabled man working as a porter outside a small railway station. She is shocked to discover him as Mangal whom she was engaged to in her childhood. She marries him. Suddenly, this poor couple is buried under snow during a blizzard, but they emerge unharmed and, miraculously, Mangal is completely healed of his disability. He becomes healthy as well as rich. His friends take him to a

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 ...

Mena who seduced him. As a result, Mangal abandons his wife Shobha. Sobha attempts suicide. Like Shobha, her sister Chandrika has also been abandoned by her father. Two comedians work tirelessly to marry her. Dulari has made a vow to fix Shobha's marriage life. With good intentions, Chandrika tries to seduce Mangal again. Mangal realizes that he is trapped in marrying a disabled lady. Thus he returns to Shobha.

Cast

The cast is as follows: *

as Shobha * Dulari as Chandrika * Sarita Devi * Shanti Madhok as Mena, a

* Manhar Desai as Mangal * Babu Raje * Chhagan Romeo * Bhagwandas * Ibrahim * Maruti * Kamlakant * Barkat Virani * Haridas * Popat

Production

The film was a remake of

Ranjit Studios Ranjit Studios, also known as Ranjit Movietone, was an Indian film production company with studio facilities located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It produced films between 1929 and mid-1970s. The studio was founded by Chandulal Shah along w ...

' 1941 film '' Shaadi''. It was directed by Ratibhai Punatar and the assistant director was A. D. Vyas. The art was directed by S. A. Wahab while costumes were designed by Bhupatrai Oza. Make-up was done by D. S. Gokhale. The film was developed at Ranjit's laboratory.

Soundtrack

There are following songs in the film: "Rakhna Ramakada" became hit and earned Vyas a royalty of about 20,000 rupees. Geeta Dutt's "Taalio Na Taale" and "Gozari Dhartini.." became popular too.

Reception

The film was moderately successful on box office. The film confirmed the status of Punatar as a leading Gujarati film director succeeding his previous 1948 hit film '' Gunsundari''. Ashok Dave of ''

Gujarat Samachar The ''Gujarat Samachar'' is the leading Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. Its headquarters are in Ahmedabad with a branch in Surat. It is distributed from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mumbai, Mehsana, Bh ...

'' criticises the plot and 'quality' of the film. He criticises performance of Roy and Desai but praises comic performances of Chhagan Romeo. He attributes success of the film to its music of Avinash Vyas and songs sung by Geeta Dutt.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 1949 films 1940s Gujarati-language films Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films 1949 drama films 1940s Indian films Films shot in Mumbai Remakes of Indian films