Madhumati (1958)

Madhumati is a 1958 Hindi drama film produced and directed by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. Its music was composed by Salil Choudhury with lyrics written by Shailendra. The film stars Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala in the lead roles with Pran and Johnny Walker. It was one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation and had a gothic noir feel to it. The first and only collaboration between Roy and Ghatak, it was one of their most commercially successful and influential films. Madhumati won the National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Hindi and nine Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematographer.

Janam Janam, the 1988 Hindi film starring Rishi Kapoor, is a remake of Madhumati. In 2007, Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan made Om Shanti Om using some plot elements from Madhumati but did not credit the earlier film.

Synopsis

On a stormy night, Devendra (Dilip Kumar), an engineer, drives down a hill road with his friend to fetch his wife and child from the railway station. A landslide blocks their path and the friends take shelter in an old mansion off the road. Devendra finds the house uncannily familiar. In the large front room, he finds an old portrait which he recognises. His friend and the old caretaker join him, and Devendra, amidst flashes of memory from another life, sits down to tell his story while the storm rages outside.

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