Kala Pani

Plot synopsis:
Karan comes to know that his father, Shankarlal, is in jail. And that his mother has been pretending from his childhood that his father has died. On meeting his father, Karan comes to know that he has been jailed for a murder that he did not commit. Karan sets out to gather proof of his father's innocence so that he can reopen the case filed against him, and set him free.
Karan comes to meet one of the witnesses who had spoken for his father in the court, who tells him about the investigating officer, Inspector Mehta.
Karan stays as a paying guest, of which Asha is the owner. Asha is herself a journalist.
From Inspector Mehta, Karan comes to know about other witnesses - Kishori and Jumman. The Inspector confesses that although he smelt a rat, he was silenced by the defence lawyer, Diwan Sardarilal. Inspector Mehta also tells Karan, that he overheard Kishori and Jumman speaking of a letter, and that this might prove to be a mighty proof of Shankarlal's innocence.
Karan goes about to woo Kishori, so that he can get the letters possessed by her. In the meantime, romantic feeling develop between Karan and Asha.
Karan also approaches Diwan Sardarilal as to how he can reopen the case to prove his father's innocence. He also asks if it will be enough if he can get the letter from Kishori. The Diwan tells him to first get the letter, so that he can see what to make out of it.
The Diwan turns out to be a villain. He warns Rai Bahadur Jaswant Rai, the person who actually committed the murder, that Karan is after the letter that Kishori possesses. Rai Bahadur Jaswant Rai in turn, asks Jumman to warn Kishori about this. Kishori confronts Karan saying he cheated her, that he was not fair to show false love to her. But Karan answers back, that one who is the case for jailing his innocent father cannot complain to him of lying to her. Kishori, upon knowing the truth, repents and gives the letter to Karan.
An overjoyed Karan shows the letter to the Diwan, only to see the Diwan burn the letter. Karan realizes that the Diwan was also involved in the plot. He starts a protesting against the Diwan outside his own house, but gets arrested by the police.
Asha tries to help him by printing about the Diwan in the newspaper she works for. However, she is stopped by her editor, who says that she does not have proof against the Diwan to print anything against him.
Kishori comes to know of this. She comes to Karan, now carrying the original letter. Karan submits this to reopen the case against his father. The Diwan admits his crime. And the story ends with Shankarlal coming out of the prison.

Tags: murder, flashback

Review:
You have to love Madhubala!. And Dev and Nalini Jaywant. This was a classic tale of a young man who discovers his father has been sentenced to life imprisonment (Kala Pani) for a murder he did not commit, and vows to get justice for his family. There is a mysterious murderer, a secret that has been hidden for 15 years, a conniving lawyer, a self-less (most Chandramukhi like, in fact better than Vyjayanthi) prostitute, a newspaper reporter (a beautiful and talented woman in the 1950s? GASP!) who falls for our hero, and their quest for the truth. I loved this story. Madhubala as the reporter and Nalini Jaywant as the fallen woman were excellent. Dev was Dev - irrepressible and charming as hell. There was a trio of comedians - but Mukri as the Shayar and Agha as the hotel waiter were never slapstick, rather they were necessary to move the story along. Music was soulful - Sachin Burman created some great tunes. Notable were Achcha ji main Haari Chalo Maan Jaao Naa, Hum Bekhudi Mein Tumko Pukare Chale Gaye, Nazar Laagi Raja tore bangle par. This one is worth watching and keeping. Navketan pictures (Dev Anand production) knew how to make good films.. Another good film from Dev Anand's Navketan, taking on the system of justice, where an innocent man can also be sentenced to life imprisonment because of fabricated evidence.. Raj Khosla, Guru Dutt's assistant, who had already made a mark with "Milap" and "C.I.D", showed his command over the medium with this film. His acknowledged forte in the picturisation of songs, along with such masters like Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy and Vijay Anand, was witnessed in the scene with two songs, wherein Nalini Jaywant first sings "Najar laagi raja tore bangle par", almost immediately followed by Rafi's evergreen number "Ham bekhudi mein tumko pukaare chale gaye". The three characters forming the love triangle, played by Dev Anand, Madhubala and Nalini Jaywant, gave excellent performances. Dev and Nalini won the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards from Filmfare in this movie. The film had a lovable musical score, with numbers "Dil laga ke kadar gayi pyare", "Jab naame mohabbat leke kisi nadaan ne daman phailaya", sung by Asha Bhosle being other very good numbers apart from the two mentioned above. The romantic interludes between Dev Anand and Madhubala, including the duet "Achha ji main haari, chalo maan jaao na", are the highlights of the film. The dance song "Dil wale, ab teri gali tak aa pahunche" is a lovely number, excelled only later by Burman da's "Jewel Thief" number "Hothon pe aisi baat main daba ke chali aayi".. Charming actors, corny screenplay. This wasn't as great film as it is made out to be. At least it doesn't seem to be as entertaining today. Which means Kala Pani is not timeless in the vein of some of Dev Anand classics like Jewel Thief and Guide.From scene one, the film gets bang on point when Karan (Dev Anand) gets to know that his father, who he believed was dead all through life, was alive and sentenced to life imprisonment in Hyderabad jail. Karan immediately goes there to meet his father who pleads of being innocent and falsely implicated through fabricated evidence. Thereby starts Karan's attempts to study the 15 year old mystery, gather fresh evidence and reopen the case. One feels that the story is tight and focused on cracking the crime case.But what starts as a crisp screenplay soon starts wandering into a slack love story (Madhubala's natural appeal is the only saving grace) and a more uninspiring courtesan track (played by Nalini Jaywant, Kajol's cousin maternal grandmother) with verbose shayaris and ghazals. The courtesan, Kishori had some secret letters that can serve evidence in favour of Karan's father so Karan is manipulating love with her to get hold of that proof. The fact that Kishori was a courtesan 15 years back and continues to be a charmer even now doesn't seem digestible.After much time has been spent on these love tracks, the film gets back on solving the murder mystery but is handled very carelessly and conveniently. The flashback of the murder scene is never detailed properly. The actual murderer surfaces from nowhere and has no background account. The reason for him committing the crime is never revealed. And what the viewer actually looks forward as the most interesting episode in the film in the form of a courtroom drama in the climax (since the film is about Kala Pani – life imprisonment) is unfortunately merely rushed in just one scene. The lawyer abruptly confessing of his crime in the climax seems confusing – was he guilty or he intended to save the real murderer? Can't comment on the authenticity of the adaptation since I haven't read the original source material – a novel 'Beyond This Place' written by A J Cronin which was subsequently directed as an English film 'Web of Evidence' by Jack Cardiff (which released after Kalapani).Dev Anand's charm, Madhubala's beauty and S D Burman's songs like 'Acha Ji Main Haari Chalo Maan Jao Na' make you sit through the film.Gaurav Malani. Devanand's filmfare winning performance. Based on A J Cronin's novel "Beyond This place", this film is about a young man who goes to great lengths in the tireless pursuit for justice.This young man is played superbly by Devanand(which won him the Filmfare award). He was aided by Madhubala who plays her role gracefully . The story starts crisply and is interspersed occasionally by songs and comic moments. It is towards the last that the story starts feeling disjointed. The songs are a delight to listen to. "Hum Bekhudi Mein Tujko" and "Accha jee main hari" are a few notable ones to watch out for.Irrespective of its few flaws, this film is a must watch.