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On This Day

14 Mar, 1912

Cinemaazi remembers Hiralal on his birth anniversary

14 Mar, 1913

Cinemaazi remembers S N Tripathi on his birth anniversary

14 Mar, 1993

Cinemaazi remembers Marcus Bartley on his death anniversary

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Madhumati (1958)

Bimal Roy

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Release Date1958
GenreDrama, Fantasy
FormatB-W
LanguageHindi
Run Time163 min
Length4419.00 meters
Number of Reels17
Gauge35mm
Censor RatingU
Censor Certificate Number88186
Certificate Date23/09/1978
Shooting LocationMohan Studios

204 views

"The fruit of a deed is three-fold: it may arise here and now, or later, or in a succession (of lives).... – Anguttara Nikāya iii.415

Receiving a telegram from his wife, Devendra hastily drives down to the station to receive her but a landslide due to heavy rains blocks the road forcing him and his doctor friend to take shelter, until the road is cleared, in an old, abandoned palace which was once owned by a succession of small rajahs.

Inside, Devendra thinks he has been there, before. He talks of a picture on the wall and the old keeper affirms there was one... The doctor ascribes it all to the worried mind of Devendra. But, no... a painting supposed to be made by Devendra turns out to be exactly at the place where he had left it!

Images flit past. Yes, he came there once... as Anand, the manager in the timber-felling business on the estate of Rajah Ugra Narain. And, as he had gone out to sketch one day, he had come across a nimble-footed, sprightly Madhumati, the daughter of Pahan, the banished 'king' of the hill-folks.

Love between Madhumati and Anand grew as a sapling would tear grow out of a cliff. Its branches and leaves had a typical wild growth, in Nature's perfect setting until disturbed by the avaricious, lustful hands of Ugra Narain who sent Anand away on a flimsy errand. Once away, Bir Singh, a corrupt and vile employee of the Rajah reached Madhumati in the absence of her father to tell her that Anand had met with a serious accident and was calling her name, in the mid of his struggle between life and death, in the palace.

Madhumati, loving and unwary, rushed to the palace, only to find herself in the clutches of Ugra Narain.

Anand, back from his mission, straight went to Madhu's where Pahan was already premonishing Madhu's death, from burnt out rice on the oven. Frantic search on the part of Anand and Pahan yielded no result. As Anand sank into hopelessness, there appeared his elusive servent, Charan, only to inform that Madhu had been to the palace... Anand rushes, enters the palace and challenges Ugra whose men overwhelm Anand, beat him to pulp and throw him away from the borders of the estate. Gaining consciousness in a hospital Anand's life became one constant vigil and as he prepared to go single-handed to have it out with the Rajah, there appeared a girl in the city, refined and sophisticated, every inch Anand's Madhumati... And, Anand got lost in the maze of Madhumatis, the trickeries of Nature which had to yield to the biggest truth of life-Love...!

[From the official press booklet]