Char Dil Char Raahein (1959)

Directed by: KA Abbas
Music: Anil Biswas
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Starring: Raj Kapoor, Meena Kumari,
Nimmi, Ajit, Shammi Kapoor,
Kumkum, P Jairaj, Anwar Hussain,
David, Nana Palsikar, Achala Sachdev,
Jagdish Kanwal, Vishwas Mehra,
Badri Prasad

After watching Pakeezah and feeling sad at how old Meena Kumari looked and how ill, I wanted to watch a film in which she was neither. I’d been sitting on subtitling Char Dil Char Rahen for Tom for over a year now. Tom was remarkably patient, and when I finally completed the subbing, I decided I might as well review it. After all, apart from Meena, it had Nimmi, Raj Kapoor, Ajit, Kumkum and… Shammi Kapoor! Char Dil Char Raahen is an interesting film. Like many films of that period, it does have a socialist messaging, but nation-building was popular then and film-makers who believed in it were not loath to tell stories that advanced their ideology. What makes this film interesting is that it was one of the few films in the Hindi cinema of the time to weave parallel narratives that converged into one. 

Four roads meet at a junction – three of them go to specific places: the first, to the sacred Ram Kund; the second to Hotel Parbat and the third to Sultanabad. When the movie begins, the fourth path is just a dirt track. Similarly, three stories originate in different parts of this region, and cross paths at the junction until they all come together at the climax. 

The first story is that of Govinda (Raj Kapoor) and Chavli (Meena Kumari). Govinda has just returned to his village after many years. He had been sent away to get an education (and to ‘become a gentleman’) by his father (Badri Prasad) who is appalled that his son plays truant from school in the company of an ‘untouchable’ girl. Their close friendship had been the topic of local gossip and the Ahir panchayat was threatening to ostracise Govinda and his family. 

Now, Govinda reconnects with Chavli whom he’s constantly teasing for her dark complexion. She, in turn, refers to him as ‘Ganje’ (bald), a throwback to his childhood when his head was shaved. They share an easy camaraderie though he’s sad to learn that she’s been widowed (she was married off while still a child) and wonders why she did not remarry since her community permits widow remarriage. 

Meanwhile, his father informs him that his marriage has been fixed with the only daughter of a local rich man. Govinda refuses. He is determined to marry Chavli in the face of opposition not only from his family and community but hers as well. Though Chavli loves Govinda, she’s reluctant to marry him. She knows that their communities will not brook the inter-caste marriage. Govinda refuses to back down. 

But when they approach the wily temple priest (Nana Palsikar) to marry them, he tells Govinda that if he wants to rebel against society, then he should do it openly. He should take a baraat to her house, and marry her in front of the whole village. Govinda agrees and asks every one of his childhood friends if they will be a part of his baraat. Alas, every single one of them fears social opprobrium. Eventually, one man – Chandu Pahalwan (Vishwa Mehra), a childhood friend who had taught Govinda wrestling – offers to be a baraati. He’s an orphan who’s never known his caste or religion. 

As the two men walk around the village, with Chandu beating the dhol, as the priest had demanded, Govinda’s father visits Chavli, begging her to reconsider. He offers her everything – his cattle, his land, his savings – if she will not marry his son. If Govinda marries her, he says, he will be killed. The Ahirs are incensed at Govinda’s temerity in marrying a woman from a lower caste; the Chamars are equally infuriated at an Ahir’s impertinence in marrying a Chamar woman. When Govinda and Chandu finally arrive at Chavli’s hut, it is to find it in flames. There’s no sign of Chavli, but Govinda finds one of her anklets.

Believing that his Chavli has been burnt to death, a grieving Govinda disowns his religion, his caste, his community and even his own family. As he reaches the crossroads, he steps on an anklet – it’s similar to the one he found in Chavli’s hut. Chavli must be alive! Govinda asks everyone he meets if they have her. One of the people he asks is a driver named Dilawar Khan (Ajit). 

Dilawar is driving the Nawab of Sultanpur (Anwar Hussain) and while they are speaking, the Nawab shouts at Dilawar to hurry. Dilawar hurriedly leaves after disclaiming any knowledge of Chavli. 

The Nawab has his own troubles; the government has decided to dispossess the rulers of minor principalities. The Nawab is so distraught he hasn’t slept for days. So his munim, Izzat Beg (Rashid Khan) tells the Nawab of a new girl in town who might be persuaded to entertain him. The Nawab is sick of the women in the bazaar; he wants someone who’s young and ‘untouched’. Oh, this girl is ‘like a rosebud’, claims Izzat Beg and Dilawar, overhearing the conversation, snorts incredulously. But, that night, the Nawab orders Dilawar to go and fetch Pyaari (Nimmi). Dilawar cannot hide his contempt for her but Pyaari gives as good as she gets. 

When she reaches the palace, the Nawab asks her to sing him to sleep. Something quiet, he says, and soothing. Pyaari sings the night away, and the Nawab falls into a deep slumber. When he awakens, refreshed, he’s so pleased with her that he is willing to give her whatever she desires. 

She tells him that the fact that he slept is reward enough. Pleased at this response, the nawab requests her to sing him to sleep every night. Pyaari agrees. On their way home, Dilawar asks her how much money she’d coaxed out of his master and is aghast when she says, “Rs25,000”. 

So, when the Nawab next asks Dilawar to fetch Pyaari, he refuses outright. First puzzled, then angry and finally amused at his driver’s insolence, the Nawab informs Dilawar that Pyaari had taken nothing from him. Dilawar is both surprised and pleased. That night, when Pyaari performs for the Nawab and his guests, Dilawar watches from behind a screen. And Pyaari is singing to him. Again, when the Nawab rewards Pyaari with a pearl necklace, she returns it. The Nawab is even more impressed. 

Driving home, Dilawar, who thinks Pyaari is asleep, confesses that he loves her. Pyaari is blissfully happy though she says nothing. One night, when Pyaari visits the Nawab, she learns that he has been officially stripped of his title and palaces. 

He’s leaving Sultanabad in the morning. He asks Pyaari if she will go to Bombay with him, offering her Rs1000 a month as living expenses for life. He gives her time to think it over. 

This time, when he’s dropping Pyaari, Dilawar asks her to visit his humble abode. There, he asks if she’s agreed to go to Bombay with the Nawab. She says no, and a delighted Dilawar asks her if she will stay with him. He’s given up his job as the Nawab’s driver and is now trucking construction material for a factory. He earns Rs100 a month, he says hesitantly, would that be enough for them to live on? Pyaari says that if they love each other, Rs100 will be more than enough. She’s pleasantly surprised when she realises that Dilawar intends to marry her.

But this happiness is short-lived. Dilawar refuses to let Pyaari’s mother live with them. She is a tawaa’if! Besides, he says, customarily, a girl’s mother never moves in with a married couple. Pyaari disagrees – other girls’ mothers have husbands, homes, families… but a tawaa’if’s relationship ends with her daughter. Dilawar is furious – if she cannot leave her mother behind, then he is leaving! If she wishes, he will drop her off at the Nawab’s palace. 

Pyaari is equally furious. She will stay right here at the crossroads, she tells him, with her mother, until he returns and apologises, and takes them both with him. “That day will never come,” snaps Dilawar angrily. Just as he drives away, a car pulls up at the crossroads with a flat tyre. A young man, strolling along whistling, stops and offers to change the tyre for the family while they relax in a restaurant nearby. 

His name is Johnny Braganza (Shammi Kapoor), he says, and he’s a third-class mechanic who will do a first-class job. [I laughed at this description.] 

The driver of the car, a Mr Rustom, is travelling with his wife, their little baby and their ayah, Stella D’Souza (Kumkum). Stella hands Johnny the jack and the wrench and he’s immediately smitten. Upon learning that Johnny is also going to Hotel Parbat, the man offers him a lift. 

Hotel Parbat is run by a Mr Ferriera (David). After first mistaking Johnny for Mr Rustom’s guest, he offers Johnny a job at his hotel – as a busboy, waiter, and general gofer. Days pass. Johnny spends his time clearing tables, washing dishes, running errands for Mr Ferreira’s guests, and romancing Stella. He learns that her father suffers from tuberculosis and that she is trying to save enough money to send her father to a sanatorium. 

So he asks Ferreira for a loan to help Stella. Ferreira runs a profitable side business bootlegging. He tells Johnny that if he helps to bring the liquor for the guests, he will pay him a commission on each bottle. The money involved is more than Johnny earns each month and he quickly agrees, much to Stella’s dismay. 

But Ferreira has an ulterior motive too; he’s attracted to Stella himself and soon enough, gets Johnny arrested on the charge of selling illicit liquor. Johnny, unaware that Ferreira had double-crossed him, happily goes to jail. After all, Ferreira had promised him Rs100 a month in case anything goes wrong. He dreams of marrying Stella and opening a motor garage of his own. But when he’s released from jail after three months and goes to Ferreira to pick up the promised money, he learns that Stella is now Mrs Ferreira. 

Heartbroken and angry, Johnny leaves. He opens his motor garage at the crossroads and continues bootlegging. And then, one day, there appears Nirmal, a local labour leader, at whose hands all these disparate strands will weave into one thick rope. 

But, what is Govinda doing? Is Chavli alive or dead? Will Dilawar reconcile with Pyaari? Did the Nawab leave Sultanabad? Is Stella really married to Ferreira? What will happen to Johnny then? Will Nirmal’s socialism be the panacea he promises it will be? 

Char Dil Char Raahein, based on KA Abbas’s story of the same name, has a stellar cast, great acting, lovely songs and a compelling plot. The three stories, each depicting a different struggle (and a different religion), are engaging and one invests in the characters, their dilemmas and root for them to get their happy endings. 

This is one of Raj Kapoor’s best roles and he gives it his all as a man with the courage of his principles. He is empathetic and invests his character with charm and sensitivity. His fight is not just for his own happiness, but that of the woman he loves, and for whom he is willing to take on his family and the entire community. 

Meena Kumari, as Chavli, similarly invests her character with both sensitivity and resilience. She might be downtrodden but she’s no victim. She infuses Chavli with both courage and compassion and while not a trained dancer, excelled in the song Kachhi hain umariya; her movements exuded grace and her expressions were a joy to behold. 

In an article that is included in his Sone Chaandi ki Buth, the director mentions how committed Meena was to her role – she remained in character throughout the movie, speaking the dialect, sitting on dhurries and walking barefoot on hot stones so she wouldn’t forget Chavli. He also writes how amazed he was, on the occasion of a flood, to find that the actress had come, slippers in hand, sari pulled up high above her knees, wading through the slush to reach the sets on time. 

Raj Kapoor and Meena Kumari share an easy camaraderie that translates to their characters on screen. They are both natural performers and their interactions have a lived-in believability that makes us invest in their story, and wish for a resolution that reunites them.

Nimmi had the author-backed role as Pyaari (and the best songs) and the actress was superb in the role. She’s alternately spunky, coquettish, flirtatious, resolute, grieving and chirpy. [And she does not cry once.] This must be my favourite performance of Nimmi’s ever. Pyaari may be a tawaa’if but she has self-respect and can take a stand when she needs to. She and Ajit have a nice chemistry going and you root for Ajit’s Dilawar Khan to forget his Pathan-ness enough to accept Pyaari and her mother. 

Kumkum did not have much to do, unfortunately, but she’s similarly competent in the few scenes she does have. She and Shammi Kapoor look cute together, so I did wish she was there longer. 

Shammi is drop-dead gorgeous in this film and turns in a far more restrained performance as Johnny than we are used to seeing. Unfortunately, the duet, Stella O Stella, picturised on the duo is missing from the film I watched. [As is the Mukesh solo, Nahin kiya to kar ke dekh.] 

The songs that are present are wonderful - my favourite is the Lata solo Intezaar aur abhi aur abhi. Anil Biswas sets Sahir Ludhianvi's lyrics to a bouquet of songs including Koi maane ya na maane, Kacchi hain umariya and Saathi re, bhaai re.

So, with all this going for the film, what went wrong? By the time the third story ended, there were approximately ten minutes left to resolve the issues. What we eventually got was a trite, simplistic ending that came out of nowhere. It is a movie where each part was compelling enough but the whole did not live up to the promise of each separate part. I was left bemoaning what it could have been. 

Tom will soon have a nice, clean print up for viewing. I will add the link when he uploads the movie.