Miss Mary (1957)

01.08.1932 - 31.03.1972

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of one of Hindi cinema's most-talented, and one of my all-time favourite actresses. Mahjabeen Bux, born of a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, attained fame as Meena Kumari, tragedienne unparalleled. Yet, her early roles were anything but dramatic. While she entered films as Baby Meena (Leatherface, 1942), her earliest adult roles were rather inconsequential; she played the second lead, as friend or sister to the heroine. 

Her big break came with Baiju Bawra in 1952, when she was 20 years old. The role of Gauri won her the very first Filmfare award for Best Actress. (Incidentally, she was already married to Kamal Amrohi by the time Baiju Bawra released.) The next year, she won her second Filmfare award for Parineeta. In the next two decades, Meena Kumari would become one of Hindi Cinema’s finest actresses, playing author-backed roles, one of the few heroines who could claim to draw an audience on the strength of her name. 

The 50s saw her switch between playing strong, dramatic roles and spirited, frothy roles, straddling both genres (and everything else in between) with consummate ease. Her biggest hits were not with the ruling troika of Dilip (with whom she acted in four films), Raj Kapoor (her co-star in two films) and Dev Anand (she did three film opposite him), but with people like Ashok Kumar (with whom she did 16 films), Pradeep Kumar, and Kishore Kumar, etc. In later years, Meena was to gracefully acknowledge Ashok Kumar's role in helping her hone her histrionic ability. She also credits Raj Kapoor for teaching her how to modulate her voice, using a small, tinny tape recorder on the sets of Sharda.

It was Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960) that saw the beginning of her ‘tragedy queen’ image. She got typecast into the pathos-soaked roles in which she shone — her tear filled, kohl-rimmed eyes and seductive voice provided perfect foil. But she also had excellent comic timing. I reviewed one of her ‘light’ films earlier; and even though I like quite a few of her dramatic roles, I would like to remember her this way — light-hearted, romantic, laughing...

1957

Directed by: LV Prasad

Music: Hemant Kumar

Starring: Meena Kumari, Gemini Ganesan, Kishore Kumar, 

Jamuna, Achala Sachdev, Om Prakash

Rai Saheb (Jagdish Sethi) has established a primary school in the name of his lost daughter Lakshmi. Now, on the occasion of the school's 16th anniversary, he  intends to expand the school to encompass a middle school; he has also advertised for a married couple who can take charge of it. He and his wife (Achala Sachdev) have another daughter, Sita (Jamuna) but have not lost hope that they will find their Lakshmi one day.

 

Raju (Kishore Kumar), the son of Rai Saheb's closest friend, has been brought up in their home. He has delusions of being 'India's number one detective', has been trying to trace Lakshmi for a long time. He keeps wandering around in various disguises purporting to search for her. His only clues, apart from her childhood photo, are that she was wearing a leaf-shaped locket, and that she has a black mole on her right foot.

Mary (Meena Kumari)  teaches music to the daughter, and Arun (Gemini Ganesan) tutors the son of a government employee. When their employer is suddenly transferred, both find themselves unemployed. Their employer, a kind-hearted man, gives them letters of recommendation for a clerical post at his friend's office. Unfortunately, neither of them get the job.

 

Mary's father (Shivraj) has borrowed money from John; he wants to marry Mary in lieu of the debt. Mary does not give him the time of the day, and he threatens to file suit if she won't marry him. Mary is furious; she can't understand why her father will not sell an old locket and pay off his debts. After all, what is a locket with a Hindu god doing in a Christian home?

 

Just when Arun is despairing of ever finding a job, he finds Rai Saheb's advertisement. His joy is shortlived when he realises that in order to get the job, he has to be married. Spotting Mary, with whom he is always squabbling, he perusades her to pose as his wife for a couple of months. After all, she needs a job too (and besides, John is driving her crazy with his 'repay my debt or marry me' scenario). After thinking it over, Mary agrees, with conditions.

Arun has also made friends with a jovial beggar, Nakdau (Om Prakash), who takes great pleasure in his 'job' of conning people. He doesn't see any reason he should work (he earns enough, begging) but Arun persuades him to come along with them as their servant.

 

They receive a very warm welcome, too warm for Mary - Rai Saheb's wife insists on calling her daughter, admonishes her for not wearing sindoor  (since she's a married woman), and informs Arun that there is a yogi in the next village whose powers will bless them with a son.

 

That is not all she has to put up with - Raju, who has 'Lakshmi' on his brain, wants to know whether Mary is adopted. Mary is not amused. As she complains to Arun, how on earth does he expect her to put up with this for two months?

Arun manages to calm her down - it's not that big a deal, and besides, if she doesn't comply, they might be suspected. They end their first evening amicably enough, after having established that neither will take a decision that concerns both, without first checking with the other. 

Rai Saheb and his wife continue to overwhelm the two with attention, while Sita dances and flirts with Arun much to Mary's irritation.

 

Meanwhile, Raju, sure that Mary and Lakshmi are one and the same, is busy trying to pump Nakdau for information about his supposed employers. Nakdau keeps him dangling, all the while conning him out of money in exchange for the 'secret'.

The next day Rai Saheb comes to the school again - it's their older daughter's birthday and he wants Arun to send Mary over. Mary agrees reluctantly.

 

Upon reaching there, however, she is aghast at being given expensive gifts and being 'dressed up' against her will. Their attention begins to irritate her, and she comes home in a snit. She can't help feeling flattered, though, when Arun compliments her on her 'traditional' look. Their budding friendship lasts only a short while. When Sita comes to their quarters the next day to learn music from Mary, the latter is annoyed at her flirting with Arun. Assuming that Arun is encouraging her (or at the very least, not discouraging her), Mary sings Yeh mard bade di sard bade, much to Arun's irritation. Not to be outdone, he follows her song with his version. 

 

This behaviour doesn't endear Arun to her any, and when Sita tells them that her mother has invited them over for dinner, Mary refuses outright.

 

She doesn't want to be treated like their daughter anymore, and blames Arun for everything including their fake marriage.

 

Poor Arun can't win. When he goes alone, an indignant Raisaheb excoriates him for leaving his 'sick' wife alone at home.  The resulting chaos rnds in Mary telling them the truth - only, they don't believe her. Arun and she continue to bicker, neither realising the truth - that they are both attracted to each other. Sita's flirting sets Mary's back up, especially when Rai Saheb, thinking he's humouring her, offers to fix Sita's marriage with Arun. Arun, on the other hand, is wary of setting Mary's temper off. 

Sita's flirting hurts not only Mary, but also Raju, her fiance. He is equally unhappy with Sita's growing attraction to Arun. He begs Mary to help him and their solution to their mutual problem leads to one of the best comic sequences in Hindi films. Raju gets to show off his 'dancing' skills (it may not be much of a dance as dances go, but Kishoreda is fantastically graceful when he moves.) Pay close attention to the lyrics - they move from jazz to nursery rhyme, interspersed with complaints about his lack of singing ability. Classic!

The tension between Arun and Mary is not lost on Rai Saheb and his wife. Mary has handed in an application for leave, and she is refusing to discuss this with Arun. When Rai Saheb and his wife come to mediate, they find the two embroiled in a terrible quarrel. From something that Mary says, Rai Saheb gets the idea that she is pregnant. In a bid to cool them both down, Rai Saheb and his wife lock Arun and Mary up in the bedroom which leads to:

Will this drastic step make Mary and Arun stop squabbling and admit they love each other? Will Sita marry Raju or Arun? What about John? Will he throw a monkey wrench into the works? Finally, is Mary really Lakshmi, Rai Saheb's long-lost daughter? Even if she is, will she accept it??

Miss Mary is a routine story, lifted out of the slough of mediocrity by the acting. Meena Kumari is (un)surprisingly uninhibited, graceful, and spontaneous; she is extremely pretty, wonderfully snippy (she even stamps her foot and pouts when she doesn't get her own way), and, like fine champagne, sparkles (that's the only word that describes her in this film). She also makes such wonderful faces, and looks astonishingly pretty while doing so.

Kishore Kumar and Gemini Ganesan provide able support. Kishore's Raju spends all his time trying to prove that Mary is Lakshmi. He, along with his partner in crime, Maruti, provide the 'comedy' track, which, while not over the top, was not really necessary. The situational comedy was rather decent in itself, with Meena doing all that was necessary to provide the laughs in a 'non-comic' situation. Gemini Ganesan was required to provide eye candy, and he did that wonderfully.

Hemant Kumar came up with a plethora of wonderful songs for this movie - who can forget such classics as Brindavan ka Krishn Kanhaiyya or Sakhi re sun bole papeeha us paar or So gaya sara zamaana?

My personal memory of Miss Mary was when I saw it first in Madras in the late eighties. My cousin, two years younger, watched it with me when they showed it on television, then turned to my aunt and said, almost in shock, “I didn’t know Meena Kumari did movies where she never cried!” Well, she did. And she did it well.

Trivia:  

• Miss Mary was the remake of Missamma (Telugu; Missiamma in Tamil), both made in 1955 with Savitri in the lead, while Gemini Ganesan reprised his role (in Tamil) in the Hindi remake.  
• Jamuna, who played the younger daughter, played the same role in all three languages.
• Missamma was the remake of Manmoyee Girls' School, originally adapted from a play by the same name in 1935. Ironically, Miss Mary's success encouraged another Bengali remake in 1958 - a remake of a remake, bringing the circle to a close. Ironically, Monmayee Girl’s School  was remade the next year, because old classics were seeing a resurgence in Bengal with the rise of Uttam Kumar.                       

*Edited as per Raunak's correction.