indian cinema heritage foundation

Meenaar (1954)

  • LanguageHindi
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THE REVERBERATIONS of the stroke of the clock-tower, which had announced three a.m., had hardly died down when the fog-laden winter night atmosphere of the sleepy hill-town, wreathed in bright full-moon light, was shattered by gun-shots: five succession.

A murder had taken place. Coincidentally, a police party was within hearing. When the miscreant escaped, he was given a hot chase. Before he could be apprehended, however, he jumped from a cliff, in a vicinity of a cave, into the raging stream below.

When he was dragged out of waters, he was unconscious. Even at the hospital, where they took him, he could not be revived.

The Investigation found itself lost in a puzzle. What could have been the motive for the murder? Dinesh had killed his own best friend, his own life's saviour, and for no apparent earthly reason whatsoever! The Investigation could not brand it an act of lunacy, on account of the name of one Rupa in Dinesh's life or his friend's. The Law, or Rupa, the Investigation gathered more confusion in its bag: for it became apparent, there was no Rupa in the man's life or his friend's. The Law, the Press and the public continued to wonder....

Then they thought of Dr. Roy, the renowned scientist, who had lately invented a scientific mind-reader. This machine, however, instead of bringing out facts, unravelled a story of mystery and of breath-taking suspense: a story bordering on the fictitious. It introduced Rupa in the form of a spirit. Whose spirit she was, why she had invaded Dinesh's peaceful existence, what she wanted, was all revealed in Dinesh's narrative.

What happened? The listens were suspended between two worlds, between fact and fiction. How had these two worlds got together?

The answer is breath-taking and invests the climax of the film with a terrific impact.

(From the official press booklets)

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