Miss Mary (1957 film)
| Miss Mary | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | L.V. Prasad |
| Produced by | A. V. Meiyappan |
| Starring |
Meena Kumari Gemini Ganesan Kishore Kumar Jamuna Om Prakash |
| Music by | Hemant Kumar |
| Cinematography | T. Muthuswamy |
| Edited by | K. Shankar |
Production company | |
Release dates | 1957 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Miss Mary is an Indian comedy film from 1957 directed by L.V. Prasad. The movie is an AVM production, written by Hargobind Duggal, and directed by L. V. Prasad.[1] The original Missamma was directed in Telugu in 1955 and was remade as Missiamma in Tamil with Savitri playing the title role in the both films. It was remade in Hindi as Miss Mary in 1957 with Meena Kumari in the titular role, keeping Jamuna as the constant factor in all these films. L. V. Prasad directed all three versions. The music was by Hemant Kumar with the lyrics and dialogue written by Rajendra Krishan. The songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar.[2]
Meena Kumari, who was to later become famous for her tragedy roles meriting the soubriquet "Queen of Tragedy", acted in a few light-hearted roles in the 1950s in films like Azaad (1955), Mem Sahib (1956), Kohinoor (1960) and Miss Mary.[3] For Gemini Ganesan (who was introduced to the Hindi-speaking film audience with this film), and for Meena Kumari, Miss Mary was one of the biggest hits of that year.[4]
Plot
The film is a light-hearted comedy with Meena Kumari (who regularly played tragedienne roles) performing one of her rare comic acts. The story is about Arun (Gemini Ganeshan), an unemployed teacher who comes across an advertisement offering a job at the Lakshmi School with the proviso that only married couples need apply. He meets Miss Mary (Meena Kumari), a Christian girl who is badly in need of a job to pay off her parents’ debt. She agrees to pose as his wife. They hire Nakdu (Om Prakash), a beggar cum conman as a servant to keep up the pretense. The school owner couple (Rai Sahib and his wife), is looking for their long lost daughter Lakshmi (hence the Lakshmi School), who went missing sixteen years ago and the only thing tying her to them is a locket and an identification mark in the form of a mole on her left foot. They employ a detective Raju (Kishore Kumar) to find her. Raju is an orphan brought up as a nephew by the Rai Sahib. The old couple find a resemblance in Mary to their daughter and show her a photo of Lakshmi that looks like her. Mary tells them that she can’t be their daughter as she was brought up in a Christian environment by Christian parents.
Mary feels bad lying about her married status to the Rai Sahib and his wife. She and Arun start liking each other in spite of their constant bickering. The owner's other daughter Sitara (Jamuna) has a fondness for Arun which upsets Mary. There are several comic sequences involving Raju and his friend. The truth is revealed about Mary being the Rai Sahib's daughter when her foster parents arrive.
Cast
- Meena Kumari as Miss Mary
- Gemini Ganesan as Arun
- Kishore Kumar as Raju
- Jamuna as Sitara
- Om Prakash as Nakdu
- Achala Sachdev
- Jagdish Sethi
- Maruti
Songs
The music was composed by Hemant Kumar with the lyrics being written by Rajendra Krishan.[5] The songs were popular especially "Ye Mard Bade Dilsard", "O Raat Ke Musafir Chanda Zara Bata De", "Brindaban Ka Krishna Kanhaiyya" and the song "Gaana Na Aaya" sung by Kishore Kumar. Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, who first sang together in Daman (1951), had a duet in the film "Sakhi Re Sun Bole Papiha Us Paar". Asha, despite her lack of training from her father Dinanath Mangeshkar and other Ustads, was able to follow Lata ably in her sargam-taan, keeping "perfect timing".[6]
Track listing
The music and background score was composed by Hemant Kumar and lyrics were penned by Rajendra Krishan.
| Number | Track | Singer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brindavan Ka Krishan Kanhaiya" | Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi |
| 2. | "Ye Mard Bade Dil Sard" | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 3. | "O Raat Ke Musafir Chanda Zara Bata De" | Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi |
| 4. | "Gaana Na Aaya Bajaana Na Aaya" | Kishore Kumar |
| 5. | "Ye Mard Bade Dilsard" | Mohammed Rafi |
| 6. | "Pehle Paisa Phir Bhagwan" | Mohammed Rafi |
| 7. | "Sakhi Re Sun Bole Papiha us Paar" | Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle |
| 8. | "Saiyan Lag Ja Gale Aaja" | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 9. | "So Gaya Sara Jahan" | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 10. | "Aayi Re Ghir Ghir Pehli Badariya" | Geeta Dutt |
References
- ↑ Miss Mary 1957 by Deepak Mahaan 16 March 2012 Retrieved 7 April 2014
- ↑ "Miss Mary". muvyz.com. Muvyz, Ltd. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ↑ Patel, Bhaichand (2012). Bollywood's Top 20: Superstars of Indian Cinema. Penguin Books India. pp. 131–. ISBN 978-0-670-08572-9. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ↑ The New Indian Express, Janani Sampath: The South-Bollywood Hero Brigade
- ↑ "Miss Mary". hindigeetmala.net. Hindi Geetmala. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ↑ Ranchan, Vijay (2 January 2014). Story of a Bollywood Song. Abhinav Publications. pp. 100–. GGKEY:9E306RZQTQ7. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
External links
- Miss Mary at the Internet Movie Database