indian cinema heritage foundation

Piya Milan Ki Aas (1961)

  • Release Date1961
  • GenreRomance
  • FormatB-W
  • LanguageHindi
  • Run Time137 min
  • Length4007.52 meters
  • Number of Reels14
  • Gauge35mm
  • Censor RatingU
  • Shooting LocationShrikant Studios , Chembur
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“PIYA MILAN KI AAS”… is a touching tale of two young lovers, based on a true story out of the colourful life of the hill-folk, a highly Emotional, Musical, Social ROMANCE, set against the romantic background of hill, dale and river.

One stormy night, a young and beautiful maiden, NAINI, flees with her aged mother to protect her honour from the clutches of the cruel and depraved JEEVAN SINGH, the son of the zemindar. She comes racing to the storm-lashed river. The Boatman (MANJHI), moved to compassion by their sorry plight, volunteers to row them across to safety at the peril of his own life. He plunges into the roaring, raging river, and saves NAINI. But there is no trace of the mother.

MANJHI carries the unconscious girl to a nearby temple where under the paternal care of the saintly PUJARI, and a widow, CHACHI, and the brotherly love of the orphan child TONGI, NAINI starts her new life of dedication to the service of God.

But grateful as she is to the MANJHI for having saved her life twice at the risk of his own, the sweet strains of his ALGHOZA mix with the sweeter sounds of her Payal, so that a fierce struggle ensues in her heart between duty and love. Ultimately love triumphs, finding sanction in the CHACHI’S wise words” “Women’s sacred mission in life is to be a true wife and a good mother.”

Hereafter she and her MANJHI have some happy moments of love and romance. This is too much for SHYAMO, the childhood’s playmate of MANJHI who also loves him passionately. At this juncture arrives JEEVAN in pursuit of NAINI, and he and SHYAMO conspire to separate the lovers.

But the resourcefulness and devotion of the witty TONGI (DAISY IRANI) frustrate their evil schemes.

Defeated but not destroyed, the plottings of JEEVAN and SHYAMO now take a most sinister turn: MANJHI, apart from playing the ALGHOZA, has the privilege of making the statue of DEVI NAINI for the ANNUAL FAIR. But this year the face of the statue is that of his own NAINI.

Macking capital out of this resemblance, JEEVAN and his ruffians challenge the very basis of NAINI and MANJHI’S love as unholy. MANJHI stoutly defends their pure love as sanctioned by God and man, and it seems that he will carry conviction with the rightminded persons among the crowd, when at a secret signal from SADHU (JEEVAN), his ruffians fall upon MANJHI and beat him unconscious. On the other hand, the kindhearted, but severely puritanical PUJARI, to whom the revelation of the love of NAINI and MANJHI comes as a rude shock, has to bow before the public clamour engineered by SADHU’S men, to banish the outsider NAINI from their village.

The villains succeed and the lovers are separated. But… have distance in time and space ever been able to keep true lovers apart?

Through what trials and tribulations the lovers pass; what part the noble and devoted child TONGI plays to help them; and how ultimately the sorrowing and suffering NAINI’S “PIYA MILAN KI AAS” is fulfilled, is one of the strangest experiences one ever comes across in life.

“PIYA MILAN KI AAS” will make you feel and experience its thrill in full measure and force.

(From the official press booklet)

Cast

Crew