Naya Daur (1957) - *ing Dilip, Vyjanthimala, Ajit, others
Jul 31, 2015 4:34:38 GMT
odadune and dancelover like this
Post by emily on Jul 31, 2015 4:34:38 GMT
Naya Daur (1956) - Dir. B.R. Chopra, starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjanthimala, Ajit, Chand Usmani, Jeevan, Johnny Walker, etc.
In a nutshell: Man vs. machine. The modernization of India threatens the livelihood of poor village workers. A contest between the horse carriages (tongas) and the passenger buses is suggested. Who will win?
Here's Carla's thoughts on this film. Starting with her because a) hers is the only filmi blog I regularly keep up with and b) she brings up a great point re: comparisons between this movie and Lagaan. I will have a blog on it soon, but for now, here are some condensed thoughts.
If you like Lagaan, you'll like this film, too. It's basically Lagaan. There are so many similarities. A contest with consequences, a jilted man betraying his village, a group of lovable, hard-working villagers coming together to achieve something great, etc. Rich cinematography, great performers, and a catchy soundtrack are also things the two have in common. It's a shame this film came up in a year that also featured the epic Mother India. Without the presence of Mehboob Khan's finest work, would Naya Daur, like the film that so closely mirrors it nearly half a century later, have received an Oscar nod?
It's nice to see the Tragedy King relatively happy, at least in the first half of the movie. He gets a bit too grumpy and chauvinistic at times for me (Shankar raking Rajni over the coals for "ruining" his dosti with Kishna was very uncool) but, apart from those moments, he is as inspiring a hero as Aamir Khan's Bhuvan. Another Lagaan comparison: Vyjayanthimala and Gracy Singh have a lot in common. They're both a delight to watch, from their dancing skills to their facial expressions, and are vital to their partners' work. (I read somewhere recently that Gracy Singh was cast because she reminded them of Vyjayanthimala...yep, I can see it.)
I'll definitely hop on the praise wagon for Ajit in this film; he was tremendous. Not sure if I've seen him in anything else...I'd have to check. Kishna had the widest range of emotions, for sure, from puppy love for Rajni to over-the-top rage against his former friend. Not to mention, he's pretty easy on the eyes and when he isn't raging over something, he's pretty darn likable. Chand Usmani as Shankar's sister Manju is also good, though half the time I wanted to shake the poor girl for not saying what was on her mind. Lots of trouble could have been saved had she opened her mouth, but alas...
Jeevan is the baddie in this film (I had previously only seen him as the baddie Robert in Amar Akbar Anthony) and does okay; Johnny Walker comes in near the end as a silly, English-speaking journalist from Bombay and while some stuff featuring him is a bit much (as Walker can be), he brings some levity to the tense competition yet to come.
I watched the colour version and found it very vivid, though the black and white version surely is just as good. The music is great and is now one of my favorite old filmi soundtracks. One such gem is "Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawanon Kaa" which is sampled in one of my favorite Hindi songs ever, "Aisa Des Hai Mera" from Veer-Zaara. Had to do a double take when I heard that melody come in in Naya Daur.
Take my advice: watch this film! It's a wonderful way to spend 2 hours and 48 minutes.
In a nutshell: Man vs. machine. The modernization of India threatens the livelihood of poor village workers. A contest between the horse carriages (tongas) and the passenger buses is suggested. Who will win?
Here's Carla's thoughts on this film. Starting with her because a) hers is the only filmi blog I regularly keep up with and b) she brings up a great point re: comparisons between this movie and Lagaan. I will have a blog on it soon, but for now, here are some condensed thoughts.
If you like Lagaan, you'll like this film, too. It's basically Lagaan. There are so many similarities. A contest with consequences, a jilted man betraying his village, a group of lovable, hard-working villagers coming together to achieve something great, etc. Rich cinematography, great performers, and a catchy soundtrack are also things the two have in common. It's a shame this film came up in a year that also featured the epic Mother India. Without the presence of Mehboob Khan's finest work, would Naya Daur, like the film that so closely mirrors it nearly half a century later, have received an Oscar nod?
It's nice to see the Tragedy King relatively happy, at least in the first half of the movie. He gets a bit too grumpy and chauvinistic at times for me (Shankar raking Rajni over the coals for "ruining" his dosti with Kishna was very uncool) but, apart from those moments, he is as inspiring a hero as Aamir Khan's Bhuvan. Another Lagaan comparison: Vyjayanthimala and Gracy Singh have a lot in common. They're both a delight to watch, from their dancing skills to their facial expressions, and are vital to their partners' work. (I read somewhere recently that Gracy Singh was cast because she reminded them of Vyjayanthimala...yep, I can see it.)
I'll definitely hop on the praise wagon for Ajit in this film; he was tremendous. Not sure if I've seen him in anything else...I'd have to check. Kishna had the widest range of emotions, for sure, from puppy love for Rajni to over-the-top rage against his former friend. Not to mention, he's pretty easy on the eyes and when he isn't raging over something, he's pretty darn likable. Chand Usmani as Shankar's sister Manju is also good, though half the time I wanted to shake the poor girl for not saying what was on her mind. Lots of trouble could have been saved had she opened her mouth, but alas...
Jeevan is the baddie in this film (I had previously only seen him as the baddie Robert in Amar Akbar Anthony) and does okay; Johnny Walker comes in near the end as a silly, English-speaking journalist from Bombay and while some stuff featuring him is a bit much (as Walker can be), he brings some levity to the tense competition yet to come.
I watched the colour version and found it very vivid, though the black and white version surely is just as good. The music is great and is now one of my favorite old filmi soundtracks. One such gem is "Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawanon Kaa" which is sampled in one of my favorite Hindi songs ever, "Aisa Des Hai Mera" from Veer-Zaara. Had to do a double take when I heard that melody come in in Naya Daur.
Take my advice: watch this film! It's a wonderful way to spend 2 hours and 48 minutes.