Chaudhvin Ka Chand

FULL MOON
CHAUDHVIN KA CHAND
India
1960
169 Min
Color, Black and White
Hindi, Urdu
DIR M. Sadiq
PROD Guru Dutt
SCR Tabish Sultanpuri, Saghir Usmani
DP Nariman A. Irani
CAST Waheeda Rehman, Guru Dutt, Rehman, Minoo Mumtaz, Johnny Walker, Murntaz Begum, Praveen Paul, Naazi
ED Y.G. Chawhan
MUSIC Ravi
My Rating : 5/5

This film was a follow up to the box office disaster called Kaagaz Ke Phool. Guru Dutt desperately needed a hit to save himself from bankruptcy and decided to make Chaudhvin Ka Chand which was intended to be a commercial film. He decided to stay away from the directors chair because he was quite disillusioned after the failure of his previous venture. His involvement as a producer and a film maker remains pretty evident in this film though and he decides to let Mohammad Sadiq direct this film. His decision turns out to be an excellent one as M Sadiq delivers this masterpiece of a movie called Chaudhvin Ka Chand that was not only a huge hit but also a brilliant cinematic achievement.
The main strength of Chaudhvin Ka Chand is its story which is like a parable that is equally Shakespearean and Wodehousean in its approach. On the face of it, the film is a love triangle but the fun part of it is that one of the members of the triangle is completely unaware of this. Nawab (played admirably by Rehman) comes from a rich feudal class family, who is a youngster looking out for beautiful girls in Lucknow’s market place. One fine day he happens to catch sight of a beautiful girl(Waheeda Rehman) buying bangles. The momentary glimpse of her face when she lifts her veil is enough for Nawab to get completely besotted by her. Nawab with the help of his close friend Shaiza (the dependably funny, Johnny Walker) tries desperately to search for this girl but the local culture and the purdah system make this seemingly simple task, extremely difficult for him. In the meantime, his other loyal friend Aslam (Guru Dutt) is in town and to keep the honor of his friendship decides to marry a girl recommended to the Nawab who is being forced by his mother to get married before her pilgrimage to Mecca. This act of friendship by Aslam turns out to be a huge disaster and he decides to sacrifice his marriage for the sake of his friend but when Nawab realizes his friends noble intentions, he is embarrassed beyond repair and decides to take the ultimate step to save his friends marriage.
The story may read like a tragedy but actually is full of mirth, music, culture, friendship and celebration. The bonhomie between the three lead actors is worth savoring in today’s world where friendship has lost its traditional charm and romanticism. “Chaudhvin Ka Chand” is not surprisingly Waheeda Rehman who looks stunning in her traditional Luckhnavi avatar. This review cannot end without mentioning the contribution of music director Ravi and lyricist Shakeel Badayuni that make this film a truly magical and enjoyable experience.