Wednesday, 20 April 2022

Caravan- Revisiting after 50 Years

 


The musical superhit film directed by Nasir Husain featured Asha Parekh, Jeetendra, and Aruna Irani completed 50 years on 5th Nov 2021 and was a super hit in India. You would be surprised to note that it was a super-duper hit in China when it was released eight years after its Indian release. In fact, Caravan, believe it or not, sold 19 million tickets in India – and 100 million tickets in China! One hundred million broke all records in China for a foreign film. One of the earliest Indian films to earn the big bucks in Chinese domestic markets was Raj Kapoor's 1951 Indian classic Awara. released in 1955.

Caravan‘s amazing success in China was matched only thirty years later by Nasir Husain's nephew, Amir Khan with his 3 Idiots.

The movie’s storyline was nothing great. A runaway heiress joins a passing caravan of gypsies, to escape the villain who murdered her father, then falls in love with the leading man, who eventually rescues her from the villain, etc, etc. The film's plot was loosely inspired by the 1953 film Girl on the Run, a little-known crime drama set against the backdrop of a carnival burlesque show, which was changed to a gypsy show in Caravan.

Aruna Irani has a significant role in this film.The traveling troupe featured Madan Puri as the manager and a young Aruna Irani as the star performer Nisha. In fact, Irani nearly stole the show from the film’s heroine with her animated performances in the songs 'Chadhti Jawaani Meri Chaal Mastani', 'Dilbar Dil Se Pyaare' and ‘Ab Joh Mile Hain Toh’.

The screenplay of the film was provided by Bhowmick, but the treatment of the film was all Husain, who turned it into the entertainer that it was. According to the film's star Asha Parekh in her biography The Hit Girl, Caravan happened accidentally.



The highlight of the film was its music, composed by R D Burman, and lyrics by Mazrooh Sultanpuri. In Caravan, there was a song for every mood. There was the soft romantic duet ‘Kitna Pyaara Waada’, the road song ‘Goriya Kahaan Tera Desh Re’, the goofy performance number ‘Daiya Yeh Main Kahaan Aa Phasi’, and, of course, the most famous of them all, the cabaret track, ‘Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja’ picturized on Helen, which brought singer Asha Bhosle her third Filmfare award for Best Female Playback Singer.



Even after 50 years, the film is still refreshing, if you have not seen the film,i recommend you to see it today.

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All Songs of Caravan