indian cinema heritage foundation

Pagle (1950)

  • Release Date1950
  • GenreDrama
  • FormatB-W
  • LanguageHindi
  • Gauge35 mm
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A multimillionaire was worried over the marriage of her only son. Sham, however, did not like his mother being so hasty over such a vital problem. He had seen a number of girls but was unable to choose his life’s partner. For him richness and beauty were not the only considerations. He wished his partner to possess something more. And, therefore, every girl that was proposed to him by his mother failed to satisfy him. The mother seeing such a ruthless disposal of her hundred and one proposals decided to take a stern attitude,. She after consulting her lawyer worked out a plan to bring her son to his senses. The plan was simple and easy. A fortune of twenty million rupees was to go to the charity leaving nothing for her son if he failed to marry within a period of one month. Sham was completely stunned to see his mother taking such strange decision. But it was all serious talk. The situation demanded a quick action. So with his cousin Ramesh he went out to the sea shore to think out in the cool breezes there a course to be adopted to save the situation. As the luck may have it, his car got struck in the sands. But this was a blessing in disguise as it brought the only choice of his life nearer to him. Being unable to take out the car out of the sands they were thinking of stopping any passing car for help. And then came Usha, a psychiatrist in a local mental hospital driving her car all to their help. While she did all the digging of the car out of the sands Sham was watching her as a solution to his problem. He liked her very much and before parting he gave her his photograph while Ramesh quietly noted down the number ofher car.

She was traced to the mental hospital, Sham went mad with joy when he knew that she was a doctor there. Who would refuse to marry a handsome multimillionaire? He thought that he had at last won. But things were not so easy as he thought, Many efforts were made to get in touch with her and to make her accept the marriage proposal, but to no avail. At last Ramesh forced Sham to pretend madness and got him admitted into the mental nursing home where she was working.

In the hospital Sham refused to be treated by any other doctor than Usha. To all eyes and ears the romance of this pretended mad hero became very clear. Dr. Jagdish, the chief of the hospital had spent lot of money on Usha’s education with a secret motive. He had already given false hopes of marriage to Dr. Lila another doctor working in the same hospital, but now he was secretly planning to get Usha under his fold with the intention of marrying her. When he knew about the romance of Sham and Usha he got wild over the issue. He immediately asked Sham to get out of the hospital which he refused. To achieve his intention with threatening he gave order to make preparations for the operation of his skull. Usha was at her wits’ end. She had already fallen in love with Sham during the many secret visits he paid to her in the hospital. She feared that Dr. Jagdish might, out of revenge, do some harm to Sham. In the operation theatre, Sham fearing that Dr. Jagdish might carry out his threat to meet his ends, threw himself out of the window to make a bold escape and as a result of the fall sustained severe injuries to his head. The operation that was so far a threat to make him run away from the hospital became now a necessity. Usha thought that Jagdish had his opportunity and would surely end Sham’s life during operation. Dr. Jagdish did not lose this opportunity. Taking full advantage of her emotional break-down he settled a bargain with her. Usha was to get the permission to operate Sham, if she accepted to marry Dr. Jagdish. This fell like a bolt from the blue on her, but to her every moment was precious and no time was to be lost. She accepted the bargain. What happened next? See the most interesting developments on the screen.

(From the official press booklet)

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