''Mujhe Jeene Do'' () is a 1963 Indian

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and " Hollywood". The industry, producing films in t ...

, directed by

Moni Bhattacharjee Moni Bhattacharjee was an Indian film director and screenwriter of the 1960s who directed Hindi language films. Career Bhattacharjee started as an assistant to Bimal Roy on many classic films of the 1950s. After the success of the film ''Madhum ...

and written by

Aghajani Kashmeri Syed Wajid Hussain Rizvi (Urdu: , born 16 October 1908 – 27 March 1998), better known by his film screen name, Agha Jani Kashmiri (Urdu: ), was an Indian screenwriter, former actor and Urdu poet. He worked in Bollywood films, as a writer for a ...

. This dacoit drama stars

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi Cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was t ...

Waheeda Rehman Waheeda Rehman (born 3 February 1938) is an Indian actress. Regarded among the most accomplished actresses of Hindi cinema, she has worked in more than Waheeda Rehman filmography, 90 feature films, in a career spanning over five decades. Her ac ...

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 ...

Rajendranath Rajendra Nath Malhotra (8 June 1931 − 13 February 2008) was an Indian actor and comedian in Hindi and Punjabi films. Early life and family Rajendra Nath was born on 8 June 1931 in Tikamgarh, which is now in Madhya Pradesh. His family was f ...

and Mumtaz. Shot in the Chambal Valley ravines of

Bhind Bhind is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the Bhind district. Geography Bhind is located at . It has an average elevation of 474 metres (1555 ft). Demog ...

Morena Morena or MORENA may refer to: Places * Morena, Madhya Pradesh, a town in central India * Morena (Lok Sabha constituency), Madhya Pradesh * Morena (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Madhya Pradesh * Morena, San Diego, California, a neighborhood * Mo ...

under police protection in Madhya Pradesh state, the film highlights the acting talents of its star cast: Waheeda Rehman and Sunil Dutt. The music is by the composer

Jaidev Jaidev (3 August 1918 – 6 January 1987; born Jaidev Verma) was a music composer in Hindi films, most known for his work in films: '' Hum Dono'' (1961), '' Reshma Aur Shera'' (1971), '' Prem Parbat'' (1973), '' Gharaonda'' (1977) and '' Ga ...

. It was the fourth highest grossing Bollywood film of the year, and the official selection at the

1964 Cannes Film Festival The 17th Cannes Film Festival took place from 29 April to 14 May 1964. Austrian filmmaker Fritz Lang served as jury president for the main competition. On this edition, the ''Palme d’Or'' was renamed "''Grand Prix du Festival International du ...

. The film was also the second success in a row of actor Sunil Dutt's production banner, Ajanta Arts, after ''

Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke ''Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke'' () is a 1963 Hindi crime drama film starring Sunil Dutt and Leela Naidu in the lead roles. This film was Sunil Dutt's debut production, directed by R.K. Nayyar, with music composed by Ravi. Dutt's favourite writer ...

'', which had been released earlier that year. ''Mujhe Jeene Do'' was India's third "

dacoit Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word डाकू (ḍākū); "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with the meaning "a robber belonging to an armed ...

" film, a genre loosely inspired by Hollywood westerns, but more so by the menace of dacoity in Central India in the early 1960s.

Synopsis

A story about how love can lead to the redemption of even a hardened criminal like Thakhur Jernail Singh, who is a noted dacoit in Chambal Valley. One night, he happens to meet Chameli a courtesan (

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 ...

), at a wedding she was performing at. They elope and fall in love, later they have a son. But their romance is short-lived as he is about to be captured by the police, that is when Jernail sends Chameli away to a neighbouring village to raise their son, as he is sure of his end. Unfortunately, the village she goes to has an old grudge with the Jamila to settle and attacks the hapless mother and son as a mob, but the police save them in time, and even promises them the seized property of Jernail.

Cast

as Thakur Jarnail Singh *

as Chameli Jaan *

as Champa *

Durga Khote Durga Khote (née Vita Lad; 14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her time. She remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starr ...

as Dara Khan's Mom *

Rajendra Nath Rajendra Nath Malhotra (8 June 1931 − 13 February 2008) was an Indian actor and comedian in Hindi and Punjabi films. Early life and family Rajendra Nath was born on 8 June 1931 in Tikamgarh, which is now in Madhya Pradesh. His family was ...

as Dara Khan * Manorama as Chamelijaan's Mom *

Siddhu Sidhu is a Punjabi Jat clan found in Punjab. The Sidhus have had a significant impact on Sikh history. Etymology and origin During British Raj, historians like HA.Rose and Alexander Cunningham note an account of local bards (bhatts) hi ...

as Thakur Kirpal Singh * Anwar Hussain as Phool Singh *

Tarun Bose Tarun Bose (14 September 1928 – 8 March 1972) was an Indian actor, active in Bollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. Early life and education Bose was born in Kolkata, though he grew up in Nagpur, where he studied at St. Francis High School. ...

as Superintendent of Police *

Kumari Naaz Salma Baig (20 August 1944 - 19 October 1995) popularly known as Kumari Naaz or Baby Naaz was an Indian actress in Hindi language films. Career She started her career as a child actor in films. Her best remembered role as a child artiste was i ...

as Chauthi Begum (as Naaz) * D.K. Sapru as Zamindar * Mumtaz as Farida - Dhara's Sister * Wasi Khan *

Mohan Choti Mohan Choti (1935 – 1 February 1992) was an Indian actor who worked as a comedian in Hindi films. The name Mohan Choti came from a fictional character of the same name from the 1957 film '' Musafir'', in which he plays a tea shop delivery boy ...

as Kripal Singh's Goon * Madhumati as

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or special song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films ( Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu c ...

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 ...

Krishan Dhawan Krishan Dhawan (1926 20 May 1994) was an Indian character actor in Hindi language films. Career Krishan Dhawan was an actor, known for Vidhaata (1982), Mujhe Jeene Do (1963) and Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974). Personal life He was born in ...

as School-teacher * Asit Sen as Pandit Ram Avtar *

Rashid Khan Rashid Khan Arman (; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and captain of the Afghanistan national team in the T20I format. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide ...

as Maulana Sheikh Rahim * Dulari as Phool Singh's Wife

Soundtrack

The music of

, coupled with lyrics by

Sahir Ludhianvi Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name (takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi. He is regarded as one of the greatest film lyricists and poet ...

, add to the tragic nature of the film. Also standing out is the cheerful song ''Nadi Naare'' sung by

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

, noted for perfect rendition of the high-pitched song.

Reception

The film was a major success, like the earlier two other big films in the same genre, ''

Ganga Jamuna ''Ganga Jamna'' (ISO 15919: ''Gaṅgā Jamunā''), also transliterated as ''Ganga Jamuna'' or ''Gunga Jumna'', is a 1961 Indian crime drama film, written and produced by Dilip Kumar, and directed by Nitin Bose, with dialogues written by Wajahat ...

'' (1961) and Raj Kapoor's ''

Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai ''Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai'' () was an Indian film released in 1960, directed by Radhu Karmakar and produced by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Padmini, Raj Kapoor and Pran in lead roles. This was the first directorial venture of Karmakar, wh ...

'' (1960). Sunil Dutt's performance was highly appreciated and found his performance terrific.

Awards

* 1964

Filmfare Best Actor Award The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is an award, which is presented annually at the Filmfare Awards to an actor via a jury; it is given by ''Filmfare'' for Hindi (Bollywood) films. The award was first given in 1954. The most recent winner, as of 2 ...

: Official selection, in competition for awards

References

External links

*
Mujhe Jeene Do at Waheeda Rehman Retrospective, 2001
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012202704/http://www.mumbai-central.com/bolly/msg00064.html , date=12 October 2007 1963 films Indian crime drama films 1963 crime drama films Indian Western (genre) films 1963 Western (genre) films 1960s Hindi-language films Indian black-and-white films Films scored by Jaidev 1960s Urdu-language films Films directed by Moni Bhattacharjee Films about courtesans in India Films set in Madhya Pradesh Films shot in Madhya Pradesh Indian gangster films 1960s Western (genre) musical films Hindi films remade in other languages