Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein
- 1964 (1964)
Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (/ðuːr/ transl. Far Away Under the Shadow of the Sky) is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed, produced and written by Kishore Kumar. He also stars, along with Supriya Devi and Amit Kumar. Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein, an adaptation of the American film The Proud Rebel (1958), was released in 1964 and gained critical acclaim, but failed commercially. It was later remade in Tamil as Ramu (1966) in Telugu with that same title (1968), and in Malayalam as Babumon (1975).
Plot
Shankar, a soldier, returns from war, only to find that his family has died in a fire, and the sole survivor is his infant son Ramu, left mute by the incident. When Shankar is attacked by the Thakur's men, he is rescued by a woman named Meera, and they fall in love. This provokes further trouble from the Thakur whose son wants to marry Meera.
Cast
- Kishore Kumar as Shankar
- Supriya Devi as Meera
- Amit Kumar as Ramu
Production
Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein was the directorial debut of Kishore Kumar, who also worked as producer, writer and lead actor.[1] The film was based on the 1958 American film The Proud Rebel directed by Michael Curtiz.[2] Kumar also took inspiration from the 1955 Bengali film Pather Panchali, which he saw at least 13 times before making Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein.[3] Although Kumar was then known primarily for acting in comedy films, he cast himself against type this time by portraying the melancholic role of Shankar, a demobbed soldier.[4][1] Regarding his choice to make such a melancholic film, Kumar said, "There's sadness in the heart of even a comedian."[5] His son Amit played the role of Shankar's son Ramu, and Supriya Devi portrayed Meera, the woman Shankar falls in love with after she rescues him from an attack.[1] Devi said she accepted to work on the film because of its offbeat nature.[6] Aloke Dasgupta was the cinematographer, and Ramesh Pant wrote the dialogue.[1] According to Amit, his father's fascination for the word "door" (meaning far) was the reason behind the film receiving its title.[7] He also said that, despite Kumar facing adverse remarks from his friends while making the film, he managed to complete it "against all odds".[3]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Kishore Kumar who also worked as lyricist, along with Shailendra.[8] The song "Aa Chalke Tujhe", written by the former, attained popularity.[1] R. D. Burman played the harmonica.[9][10]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Aa Chalke Tujhe" | Kishore Kumar | Kishore Kumar | 4:42 |
2. | "Jin Raaton Ki Bhor" | Shailendra | Kishore Kumar | 3:57 |
3. | "Khoya Khoya Chanda" | Shailendra | Asha Bhosle | 3:47 |
4. | "Koi Lauta De Mere" | Shailendra | Kishore Kumar | 3:33 |
5. | "O Jag Ke Rakhwale" | Shailendra | Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey | 4:50 |
6. | "Path Bhoola Ek Aaya" | Shailendra | Asha Bhosle | 2:38 |
7. | "Chhod Meri Baiyan" | Shailendra | Asha Bhosle | 3:24 |
8. | "Rahi Tu Ruk Mat Jana" | Shailendra | Hemant Kumar | 3:01 |
9. | "Koi Lauta De" (revival) | Shailendra | Kishore Kumar | 3:24 |
10. | "Aa Chal Ke Tujhe" (instrumental) | – | – | 4:01 |
11. | "Koi Lauta De Mere" | Shailendra | Lata Mangeshkar | 4:16 |
Total length: | 41:33 |
Release and reception
Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein was released in 1964, and received critical acclaim.[11] Baburao Patel, then the editor of Filmindia magazine, wrote, "Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein just misses out on being a classic".[2] However, it was not commercially successful.[11] When officials suggested that Kumar give them bribes so that the film would be entered for the National Film Awards, Kumar refused.[12]
Remakes
Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein was remade in Tamil as Ramu (1966).[13] The remake was commercially successful, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Kishore Kumar's brother Ashok Kumar praised Ramu screenwriter Javar Seetharaman for making suitable changes to the screenplay.[14] The film was also remade in Telugu with that same title in 1968,[15] and in Malayalam as Babumon (1975).[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 380.
- ^ a b Bhattacharya, Roshmila (23 June 2015). "In Focus – How Kishore Kumar left his son speechless". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ a b De, Hemchhaya (27 August 2018). "The life and times of Kishore Kumar". Femina. India. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 132.
- ^ Mahajan, Rohit (15 October 2017). "The mad mad world of Kishore da". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ Gupta, Ranjan Das (24 March 2017). "I never expected too much". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ Farook, Farhana (15 April 2018). "Legendary Kishore Kumar's son Amit Kumar talks about his father". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ "Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (1964)". Music India Online. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ Arunachalam, Param (27 June 2015). "Bollywood Retrospect: RD Burman- The immortal musical soul". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ Jha, Subhash K. (5 January 2013). "Amit Kumar talks about his association with the late RD Burman". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ a b Lokapally, Vijay (1 June 2012). "Blast From The Past: Door Gagan ki Chhaon Mein (1964)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ Kumar, Ashwani (31 March 2017). "I'm here because of my father, says son of legendary singer". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ Saravanan 2013, pp. 180–189.
- ^ Dhananjayan, G. (15 August 2016). "Artistic amends – Flops a reservoir of hot story ideas". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ Saravanan 2013, pp. 203–211.
- ^ National Film Archive of India [@NFAIOfficial] (18 March 2020). "#Remake Popular Malayalam film #BabuMon (1975) starring #PremNazir in a leading role was a remake of #KishoreKumar's #DoorGaganKiChhaonMein (1964). It was also remade as #Ramu in Tamil and Telugu in 1966 and 1968 respectively with #GeminiGanesan and #NTRamaRao" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020 – via Twitter.
Bibliography
- Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.
- Saravanan, M. (2013) [2005]. AVM 60 Cinema (in Tamil) (3rd ed.). Rajarajan Pathippagam. OCLC 1158347612.
External links
- Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Ramu (1966)
- Ramu (1968)
- Babumon (1975)