Kala Bazar

Kala Bazar meaning 'black market' essentially dealt with black marketing of movie tickets which Dev Anand does in the film. The story follows the template of a protagonist who takes the wrong path to make money and then realizes his mistake for which he has to pay back.

Raghuvir (Dev Anand) loses his job and is in dire straits when he sees a man (Rashid Khan) selling tickets in black outside a cinema-hall. Seeing that as a good source of quick money, he too decides to black movie tickets. But for that he needs capital to start with. So he robs Advocate Desai (Chetan Anand) of Rs 5000 and soon sets his own network of black marketers outside all prominent cinema-halls of Bombay.

One day, outside a theatre, he stumbles upon Alka (Waheeda Rehman) who hates black marketing. Raghuvir is attracted towards Alka but Alka is in love with Nand Kumar (Vijay Anand) who goes abroad to study. Meanwhile Raghuvir attempts to woo Alka on their trip to Ooty but in vain. Though he is unable to win Alka, his feelings towards her makes him a changed man and he gives up the path of black marketing.

Kala Bazar was Vijay Anand's second directorial venture post the success of his debut venture Nau Do Gyarah. His writing was multi-layered where he enmeshed a charming love story inside the central plot of going the wrong (illegal) way in life. There were some very unconvincing conflicts like how the 8th pass Raghuvir showed a sudden keen interest towards gaining knowledge because of Alka. Coincidentally he also accidentally stumbles upon a BA scholar (Krishan Dhawan) who takes his tuitions. But the pacing was very fast and kept the viewer engaged.

Like in Nau Do Gyarah, where he stationed a major portion of the film in the hill station of Mahabaleshwar, here Vijay Anand explores the beauty of the South Indian hill station Ooty. Dev Anand kept strolling through gardens of Ooty in the song 'Khoya Khoya Chand' in his trademark swaying motion where he kept swinging his arms all through. It might appear kind off funny today but back then it was Dev Anand's patented dancing style which he continued for years to come. The scene immediately after the song was considerably bold by the 60s standards where Waheeda Rehman removes her sari to use it as a cord to pull Dev Anand up, when he slips down from the cliff.

The love story in the film was refreshingly restrained and despite a love triangle, Vijay Anand never loaded the proceedings with melodrama. The screenplay never makes a huge hue and cry of the scene when Waheeda Rehman rejects Dev Anand and yet remains his friend or subsequently when she gets back to Dev Anand and disowns Vijay Anand. The director had a very matured and progressive outlook towards relationships.

The film also deals with its title conflict of black marketing very smartly. Dev Anand's repentance for his misdeeds and the way he convinces his gang to give up the wrong path is very interestingly portrayed. The courtroom drama in the climax (where Chetan Anand fights for Dev Anand) is thoughtfully conceptualized and very well-worded with a balanced and impartial point of view. It neither glorifies or glamourizes Raghuvir's black-marketing nor does it ignores his remorse.

Through black marketing outside cinema-halls of Mumbai, the film captures the glory of good old movie theatres of the city, some of which (like Liberty and Metro) exist even today. Vijay Anand also very intelligently incorporated the real-life premiere footage of the film 'Mother India' in the initial reels of Kala Bazar thereby adding immense (cameo) star value to the film showing the likes of Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Guru Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Sohrab Modi, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and many more names. Years later Manmohan Desai and Farah Khan replicated the same formula in their films Naseeb (1981) and Om Shanti Om (2007) respectively and to good effect.

Like any Navketan production, even this film was blessed with melodious tunes by S D Burman. The soundtrack had everything from love songs to a bhajan to a Helen cabaret number. 'Khoya Khoya Chand' and 'Rimjhim Ke Tarane Leke Aayi Barsaat' are timeless tunes. The picturization of the song 'Teri Dhoom Har Kahi' starring Dev Anand and his sidekick Rashid Khan was borrowed by Rakesh Roshan in a similar theme song 'Yeh Paisa Bolta Hain' starring Kader Khan and his sidekick Johnny Lever in his 1989 film by the same title Kala Bazar.

Dev Anand was charming as always and gave a splendid performance in a character that had an interesting graph. Waheeda Rehman looked beautiful and was natural as ever in her performance. Vijay Anand and Chetan Anand were good in their special appearances. Nanda played a supporting part as Dev Anand's sister and was decent.

• Gaurav Malani

Totally loved it. Even on moral/ethical grounds it is far better than most of today's films - 1. Male characters understand "no" and accept rejection respectfully. 2. In fact the whole love triangle is very mature and sensible. 3. No matter how many good deeds you do, it can't undo your bad deeds.

Great film. Must watch.

Dev Anand again plays the role of an anti-hero with a lot of restraint and deftness. A rare film, by Indian standards, where the heroine is shown falling in love twice. Wahida Rehman is initially in love with Vijay Anand, who, having gone abroad for higher studies, falls in love with another woman, and so does Wahida, who, after initial reluctance, falls for Dev Anand. The film is also notable for the fact, that in this film, all the three Anand brothers, Chetan, Dev and Vijay acted together. Chetan Anand gave an excellent performance in a cameo role of an Advocate, who fights for the reformed Dev Anand. With excellent screenplay and dialogues, the film showed the calibre of the young director, Vijay Anand, who was directing his second movie only. Another highlight of the film was its music by Sachin Deb Burman. Mohammad Rafi's "Apni to har saans ik toofan hai" and "Khoya khoya chand, khula aasmaan" are excellent numbers. Another good song by him is "Sooraj ke jaisi golai, chanda si thandak hai paai". His duet with Geeta Dutt "Rimjhim ke tarane leke aai barsaat" to date remains one of the best rain songs. Asha Bhosle's solo "Sach hue sapne mere, jhoom le O' man mere" is one of her best songs. Her duet with Manna Dey "Sanjh dhali, dil ki lagi" is a typical experimental number by Burman da. The film also has a beautiful bhajan in "Na main dhan chahun, na ratan chahun", sung by Geeta Dutt and Sudha Malhotra.

A very heart warming movie with great acting and absolutely lovely songs. A must see for cinema that portrays the grittiness of life. Dev Anand's acting is restrained and effortless. He displays all the charm that he is rightly famous for and looks quite the dandy in his ascot, coat draped over this shoulder's and bouffant hair style. None of the phony and overdone glitz of today's movies - simple, charming and a strong commentary on the insidiousness and vagaries of corruption in India. It must have been quite daring in 1960.

The music and songs are really wonderful and worth the effort to see this film. The song shot in Ooty is very well formatted as is the foot path scene in Mumbai illuminated by the street light. This is a classic of Indian cinema as is Dev Anand's other movie of 5 years later - GUIDE. Both are must see movies for those who enjoy Hindi films.

Kala Bazar (1960) : Brief Review -

Not entertaining due to the dark theme, but definitely a powerful film for society. Kala Bazar has one of the most entertaining black ticketing scenes. Raghuveer (Dev Anand) is fired from a job, and he sees a few people selling movie tickets in black. He sees a poster of Mother India at Liberty Cinema (Mumbai) and buys a bunch of tickets for sale in black. From Rs. 3 of Rs. 1.5, he intends to make it bigger, up to Rs. 10, and it reaches Rs. 100 at the end. All because of the celebrities' appearances. Nargis, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Mehboob Khan, Mohammed Rafi, Rajendra Kumar, and many more celebrities are seen in a cameo role in that celebrity premiere of Mother India (1957) scene. It was so lovely to see them back-to-back and people cheering with their names and personalities. Raghu makes a lot of money and becomes a rich person. However, he decides to turn the Kala Bazar into a Safed Bazar after he falls in love with an honest girl who is engaged to her boyfriend. Obviously, Raghu makes enemies too for this switch (or sacrifice, if you call it that). Here, the love triangle sees a shift, and I was hoping it would turn into "Casablanca" (1942), but I was wrong. The film then turns into a social drama about bad people's reformation. The dark theme fails to entertain after those black-ticket sales scenes, and the romance isn't exciting either. "Khoya Khoya Chand" is the most beautiful song in the entire album. Kala Bazar, a semi-hit at the box office, was the only film in which all three Anand brothers shared the screen together. The year was dominated by a big-scale spectacle like Mughal-E-Azam, so I can understand why this dark and slow film didn't stand a chance to become a big grosser. Nevertheless, it was a damn important film for its time, just like many other romantic crime dramas that shed light on non-habitual criminals in society. Although stretched, this one has a good message at the end.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.