indian cinema heritage foundation

Intezar (1956)

  • Release Date1956
  • GenreMusical
  • FormatB-W
  • LanguageHindi
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SALEEM, in his very childhood, was torn away from Nimmi, his playmate the daughter of a musician. Saleem's mother abhorring her son's love for a musician's daughter brought him away from the valley which used to resound with the melodious voice of Nimmi. But even the noisy surroundings of Karachi where Saleem was brought could not drown the memory of the melodious voice which persistently haunted him. The mother even told her son a lie - Nimmi is dead! But Saleem could never forget her. His love for Nimmi grew with years and became an obsession. Saleem's mother died but not his love for Nimmi. So much so that ultimately the old servant of the household had to admit to Saleem that a great wrong had been done to him and that Nimmi was still alive. But the servant had not the guts to tell him that Nimmi, unable to bear that the shock of Saleem's separation, had gone blind. Saleem went back to the old valley of his dreams in search of Nimmi but instead, met her cousin Chheemo who deceived him into believing that she herself as Nimmi. An inner voice told poor Nimmi that her sweetheart had come back but her uncle Lachhoo had his own designs. He wanted to exploit his daughter Chheemo to extract money from Saleem. The only solace Nimmi could find was near the feet of her old father whose death left her entirely to the mercy of Lachhoo and Chheemo.

Events took a new turn with the arrival of Ghafoor the Manager of a theatre in Karachi. He offered jobs for both Nimmi and Chheemo. Lachoo gave up the idea of prolonging Chheemo's affairs with Saleem and decided to leave for Karachi. But now Saleem became an obstacle in his away and when Saleem was on the point of meeting real Nimmi and discovering the fraud played on him, Lachhoo struck him down with an axe and threw him over the bridge in the river. Nimmi was brought to Karachi.

The proprietor of the theatre, where she was made to sing vulgar songs happened to be Saleem's twin brother Naeem, who fell in love with her. When Saleem, having survived the murderous assault, though having lost one leg came back to Karachi, the clash between the two brothers over Nimmi was inevitable. Nimmi, having discovered the fraud of Lachhoo and Chheemo, had left the theatre and gone to Saleem's house, but Saleem had not the guts to tell her that he had lost one leg. Naeem exploited this fact. When Nimmi got back her eyesight after an operation, Naeem, stepped into Saleem's shoes, pretending that he was Saleem. For the sake of Nimmi's happiness Saleem decided to sacrifice his own love, and left for the old valley in the hills.

What happened to Nimmi afterwards. Did Saleem meet his sweetheart? And what was in store for Naeem? All the dramatic events which lead to the answer can be seen on the screen.

[From the official press booklet]

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