| Subject: Dilip Kumar at NFT - full programme |
Author:
Sarah
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Date Posted: Saturday, September 04, 9:45:06
In reply to:
Jay
's message, "Dilip Kumar at NFT" on Friday, September 03, 9:05:39
Dilip Kumar: Pure Gold The National Film Theatre is pleased to announce a major season in October celebrating the work of the renowned Hindi film-maker and actor, Dilip Kumar, presented in association with the Bite the Mango festival, Bradford. We are delighted to welcome Dilip Kumar to the NFT on Tue 5 Oct as one of the leading lights of Hindi cinema for almost sixty years. Born Yusuf Khan in Peshawar (now Pakistan) in 1922, Dilip Kumar was given his stage name by Hindi novelist Baghwati Chari Varma. His first taste of what has come to be known as Bollywood film was musical drama Jugnu (1947) in which he starred opposite Pakistani diva Noorjehan, first in a string of great leading ladies. The succeeding years of his career saw him in a string of tragic roles which made his reputation: in Babul (1950) he shone as a platonic love affair descends into bitterness; in Devdas (1955) with his blisteringly naturalistic performance in this classic (and much filmed romance) he became the darling of 50s Indian cinema. After Devdas, director Bimal Roy had an even greater success with Madhumati (1958), from a script by legendary Bengali film-maker Ritwik Ghatak, in which Kumar plays a young man caught between two lives in a story of true love and reincarnation, with the love interest provided by actress Vyjayanthimala. Among the highlights of the season is The Mogul [Mughel-E-Azam] (1960) widely regarded as one of the greatest Indian films ever made; Kumar plays a young prince whose affair with a courtesan incurs his father’s wrath. This sumptuous epic was nine years in the making and features a wealth of stars. Kumar produced and acted in his own script in Ganga Jumna [Two Brothers](1961) directed by Nitin Bose, starring once again opposite actress Vyjayanthimala and his own real-life brother Nasir Khan in an emotional drama inspired by both Hollywood Westerns and the gangster film. This season of a dozen of Kumar’s greatest films includes some of his later works such as Bairaag (1976) a tour de force in which he managed to play three roles, a father and his twin sons and Shakti (1982) starring Amitabh Bachchanin a tale of the Mumbai underworld widely seen as Kumar’s graceful stepping aside to make way for the coming new star. Press contact: NFT Press Office Brian Robinson, Ian Cuthbert or Elizabeth Benjamin tel: 020 7815 1327/ 1330, or 020 7849 4465 or email: firstname.lastname@bfi.org.ukFilm Listings:
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Jugnu Mon 4 Oct 5.40 NFT3; Thu 7 Oct 5.50 NFT3 Director Shaukat Hussein’s musical drama brought Kumar his first taste of stardom and set in motion a long and illustrious career in the Indian film industry. In this tale of puppy love, he plays second fiddle to Pakistani diva Noorjehan – who was at her peak as an actress/singer in the 40s – and mimes to the legendary tunes of singing phenomenon Mohammad Rafi. After Partition, Noorjehan migrated to Pakistan whereas Kumar stayed in India. They appeared only once more together: a year later in SU Sunny’s Mela. India 1947/Dir Shaukat Hussein Rizvi. With Shasikala, Ghulam Mohammed. 148 mins. J-Cert U. Hindi with EST. Devdas Tue 5 Oct 6.10 NFT1 (*); Sun 17 Oct 5.15 NFT1 Devdas (Kumar) wishes to marry his childhood sweetheart Paro (Suchitra Sen), but their plans go awry when his upper-class parents refuse to accept the lower-caste girl into their family. Heartbroken, Devdas finds solace in the courtesan Chandramukhi (Vyjayanthimala) but is unable to forget his first true love. Without question one of Kumar’s best-known tragedies, Bimal Roy’s classic was the second of three adaptations of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel. The most recent starred Shah Rukh Khan – an actor with more than a passing resemblance to Kumar’s style. India 1955/Dir Bimal Roy. 159 mins. J-Cert PG. Hindi with EST. * Dilip Kumar in Conversation Tue 5 Oct 9.10 NFT1 A living legend of Hindi cinema, Dilip Kumar is warmly welcomed to the NFT stage, on the occasion of our retrospective tribute, to discuss a stellar acting career stretching back over 50 years. Tickets £10.20, concs £8.00. Joint ticket available with Devdas (Tue 5 Oct screening only) £12.50, concs £9.40.Deedar Mon 4 Oct 8.30 NFT3; Wed 6 Oct 5.50 NFT3 Forced to leave his village due to his love for a childhood sweetheart, Sapru (Kumar) goes blind. Driven by emotion, he vows to win back Mala (Nargis) in spite of her father’s disapproval and her engagement to another man. Inspired by Phani Majumdar’s 1938 drama/romance Street Singer, this marked yet another successful collaboration between Kumar and Nargis (they would eventually make nine films together), and presents Kumar at his best in the type of role that would eventually become his trademark. India 1951/Dir Nitin Bose. With Ashok Kumar, Nimmi. 129 mins. J-Cert U. Hindi with EST. Andaz (A Matter of Style) Wed 6 Oct 8.10 NFT1; Fri 15 Oct 5.50 NFT1 In this epic love-triangle Kumar plays Dilip, a dashing young man who desires the affection of close friend and work colleague Neeta (Nargis, star of Mother India). But trouble brews when Dilip mistakes her platonic friendship for love. Things worsen when Neeta marries playboy Rajan (Raj Kapoor) and, when the new husband begins to question his wife’s fidelity and confronts the hapless Kumar, tragedy ensues. A major hit, Andaz features a string of classic numbers by legendary Indian composer Naushad, including ‘Jhoom Jhoom Ke Naache Aaj’ and ‘Tu Kahe Agar’. India 1949/Dir Mehboob Khan. 148 mins. J-Cert PG. Hindi with EST. Babul Fri 8 Oct 6.00 NFT2; Mon 11 Oct 5.50 NFT2 A year after the smash hit of Andaz, Kumar and Nargis were reunited for another triangular love story – an unusual romance since the leading man is never actually in love with his leading lady.
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The film – in which humble postman Ashok (Kumar) finds himself caught up in a complex situation with two women – reinforced Kumar’s homegrown superstar status as a tragic Everyman who endures an array of emotions before his downfall. Regarded as one of Kumar’s finest pictures, Babul also reaffirmed Nargis’ position as the leading lady of 1950s Hindi cinema. India 1950/Dir SU Sunny. With Munawar Sultana, Amar. 142 mins. J-Cert U. Hindi with EST. Madhumati Sat 9 Oct 5.20 NFT1; Tue 12 Oct 7.50 NFT1 Bimal Roy’s third venture with Kumar following Devdas and Yahudi (1958) became his biggest commercial success. Scripted by the legendary Bengali film-maker Ritwik Ghatak (The Cloud Capped Star), the film deals with reincarnation, as a young man stumbles across an eerie mansion and, in flashbacks, sees the lives of its previous occupants. Playing two roles, Kumar switches between the modern world and pre-Partition India as Anand, who falls in love with the beautiful but enigmatic Madhumati (Vyjayanthimala). The combination of Roy, Ghatak and Kumar in dual roles makes Madhumati a must-see picture in the Kumar canon. India 1958/Dir Bimal Roy. 179 mins. J-Cert U. Hindi with EST. Ganga Jumna (Two Brothers) Sun 10 Oct 2.20 NFT1; Tue 19 Oct 5.20 NFT3 Kumar’s first foray into scriptwriting and film production had him paired opposite established actress Vyjayanthimala for the fifth time in as many years. In a tale of good versus evil, Kumar appears on screen with his real-life brother Nasir Khan as siblings who end up on opposite sides of the law. Nitin Bose’s emotional action-drama is influenced by Hollywood’s gangster films of the 30s, and peppered with elements of 50s Westerns. India 1961/Dir Nitin Bose. 178 mins. Hindi & Bhojpuri with EST. Shakti Sun 10 Oct 5.30 NFT2; Wed 20 Oct 8.00 NFT3 Abducted as a child, Vijay is left to the mercy of his kidnappers when his righteous father, a senior policeman, refuses to pay the ransom. Years later the embittered Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) emerges as a big-time gangster in the Mumbai underworld, leading to the inevitable confrontation between lawless son and lawman father. Scriptwriting duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar enjoyed an enormous amount of latitude with Bachchan’s character – the eternal Angry Young Man of popular Indian cinema. Shakti proved to be an unofficial sequel to Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 epics Sholay and Deewar, both featuring the rebellious, brooding figure of Vijay, and is considered to be the film in which Kumar, playing the father, stepped aside in deference to the younger man. India 1982/Dir Ramesh Sippy. With Rakhee Gulzar, Amrish Puri. 167 mins. J-Cert PG. Hindi with EST. The Mogul (Mughal-E-Azam) Wed 13 Oct 6.45 NFT2; Sat 16 Oct 3.50 NFT3 K Asif’s epic tale is still widely regarded as one of the greatest Indian films ever made. With a mammoth cast including the elite of Indian thespians, this spectacular masterpiece took nine years to complete. Set in the magnificent Mughal Court, the film is based on the epic tale of Anarkali (Madhubala), a beautiful courtesan who falls in love with the young Prince Salim (Kumar) only to be confronted by the strict Emperor Mughal (Prithviraj Kapoor), who is determined to stop their affair. India 1960/Dir K Asif. With Durga Khote.197 mins + interval. J-Cert PG. Urdu & Hindi with EST. Bairaag Thu 14 Oct 5.50 NFT2; Sun 17 Oct 8.15 NFT1 Kumar’s star was on the wane in the mid-70s, at a time when the industry was desperately searching for a new formula. Asit Sen’s film features Kumar in a triple role for the first time, playing the roles of a father and of a pair of twins. The film struggled to make a box-office impact,
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but is today recognised as one of Kumar’s most enjoyable films. Kumar would now take a break from acting, to make his comeback five years later in the magnum opus Kranti. India 1976/Dir Asit Sen. With Saira Banu, Leena Chandavarkar. 141 mins. J-Cert PG. Hindi with EST. Footpath Sun 17 Oct 2.20 NFT1; Mon 18 Oct 8.10 NFT1 Zia Sarhadi’s best-known film centres on Noshu (Kumar), an honest but poor writer who falls into the hands of black-marketeers hoarding medicines in a famine-stricken area. Noshu soon begins to enjoy a better standard of living but abandons his brother, his girlfriend Mala (Meena Kumari) and, most importantly, his morals. Sarhadi’s cautionary tale was critically acclaimed as well as a major commercial success. He later migrated to Pakistan after making his last film in 1956. India 1953/Dir Zia Sarhadi. With Achala Sachdev. 148 mins. J-Cert U. Hindi with EST. In collaboration with: The National Film Archive of IndiaBooking information The NFT is open to all. NFT members are automatically members of the British Film Institute and entitled to a discount on all tickets. NFT Box Office tel: 020 7928 3232. Unless otherwise stated tickets are £7.90, concs. £6.00. Members pay £1 less on any ticket. website www.bfi.org.uk/nftNotes to Editors The bfi was established in 1933 to promote greater understanding, appreciation and access to film and television culture. Its activities and services include preserving the world’s largest collection of film and television material, and running the National Film Theatre, the bfi London Imax cinema, the The Times bfi London Film Festival and the bfi national library. It also releases films in cinemas and on video and publishes books and educational resources. Find out more at www.bfi.org.uk*** PICTURE DESK ALERT *** A selection of images for journalistic use in promoting National Film Theatre screenings can be found at www.image.netIf further images are required contact bfi Stills, Posters & Designs. For information and prices e-mail stills.films@bfi.org.ukor phone 020 7957 4797
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