The First Musical Blockbuster film of Indian Cinema was Rattan (1944). The younger generation may not know the film nor its masterpiece music but readers who are 40 plus and lover of Golden era music will surely remember the hit songs of the film like Ankhiya milake jiya bharma ke chale nahi jana …; Milke Bichhad Gayii Akkhiyan hai rama …. O Jaane Wale Balamwa Laut Ke Aa….
Yes, you have heard right!!! Filmmaker A.R. Kardar made the film on a shoestring budget of Rs 75,000/- and the film collected almost 1.5. lakh at the box-office. The film’s phenomenal gramophone sales of records earned a whopping Rs 3 lakh as royalty from HMV, surprising readers more than the box-office collection.
A Diamond Milestone in Indian Cinema
The film became a huge hit, crossing the golden jubilee mark and celebrating a diamond jubilee – a non-stop run of 60 weeks at a single cinema, Broadway Cinema in Dadar.
Staring 40’s hot pair Karan Dewan and Swaran Lata, Rattan was a love story with a difference as the film was a hard command on the discrimination and the caste style in rural India before Independence. The film’s hero Govind (Karan Dewan) and Gauri (Swaran Lata) are childhood friends but when they grow the society is against their marriage as they belong to a different caste. The parents of Gauri marry her to a man, twice her age. How Govind and Gauri unite is an engaging climax!
Rattan: Pioneering India’s Diamond Jubilee
After the huge success of Rattan, music director Naushad became a star music director! When Mehboob Khan, maker of hit films like Mother India and Andaaz, made a musical romantic film Anmol Ghadi staring two top actresses and both good singers viz. Noor Jehan and Suraiya, he hired Naushad as music director and paid him a handsome Rs 25,000/-!!
Another interesting fact about Rattan is that after the success of Rattan, Naushad got married but in those days’ people working in films were looked down hence Naushad‘s parents told the bride’s father that his son worked as a tailor. They agreed. The irony was that while Naushad was sitting on the ‘Ghodi’ and as the Baraat was proceeding to the wedding venue, the music band, all the way was playing all the hits songs from Naushad‘s hit film Rattan!!!
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