Kismat (1968 film)

Kismat
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Manmohan Desai
Produced by	Kamal Mehra
Screenplay by	Brij Katyal
Story by	Manmohan Desai
Starring	Biswajeet Babita Helen Kamal Mehra Murad (actor)
Music by	O.P.Nayyar
Cinematography	Keki Mistry
Edited by	Kamlakar Karkhanis (as Kamlakar)
Production company	Pride of Asia Films
Distributed by	Bollywood Entertainment (BEI) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
Release dates	1968 (1968)
Running time	139 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Kismat (Destiny /Fate) is a 1968 Indian Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai, produced by Kamal Mehra and released under the banner of Pride of Asia Films. It stars Biswajeet, Babita, Helen and Kamal Mehra in prominent roles. Other notable actors in the film are Bhagwan Sinha, Murad, M. B. Shetty (father of Rohit Shetty), Hari Shivdasani, Hiralal, Indra Kumar, Jagdish Raj (as Jagdishraj), Polsan, Prem Kumar, Paul Sharma, Tun Tun and Ullhas.^{[Ref 1][Ref 2]}

It can be categorised under romantic family thriller film. It was shot in 14 reels, using 35mm film format in Eastman Color.^{[Ref 1]}

The film has been noted mainly for the soundtrack given by O.P.Nayyar, which included three songs that became very popular – "Aao Huzoor Tum Ko", "Kajra Mohabbat Wala" and "Aankhon Mein Qayamat". Biswajeet is one of the first heroes in Bollywood to be dressed as a woman on screen for the song Kajra Mohabbat Wala.^{[Ref 3][Ref 4][Ref 5]}

This film was the last collaboration between singer Shamshad Begum and music director O.P.Nayyar. They never worked together again. Shamshad Begum recorded her last song for O.P.Nayyar, "Kajra Mohabbat Wala" along with Asha Bhosle in this film.^{[Ref 6]}

Plot

The nation is struck by a series of bomb blasts spread across the country. The Commissioner of Police (Murad) is baffled as to who is behind these attacks. The Commissioner receives an anonymous call where the caller tells that he knows who the masterminds behind the blasts are and their associates. He also tells that he would like to help the Police. The informant then tells that he has stored the names and images of mastermind and their associates in a microdot. The informant here is the Mr. Gonz, owner of a store, 'Twist Musical & Photo Shop'. The main mastermind or the villain is Scorpion. He gets to know that the informant is about to give their organisation's information to the police. Scorpion then sends his men or goons to recover the microdot.

As soon as the goons enter the shop and start to threaten the informant to give the microdot, the hero Vicky (Biswajeet) enters the store to get his guitar. The informant slips the microdot into Vicky's guitar and Vicky leaves from there. The goons come to know of this and start to follow Vicky. Vicky is a singer and guitar player at a local nightclub. He along with Nancy (Helen) entertain the crowds. After the night show, Vicky and Nancy head to Vicky's room. Here they encounter Mr. Gonz who is badly injured. Meanwhile, the goons follow Vicky to his room and kill Mr. Gonz. They try to take the guitar (his father's gift) containing the microdot from him, but Vicky escapes with the guitar. He is on the run and tries to convince the police that Mr.Gonz has been killed, but is unable to do so. He again encounters the goons. This time he escapes from them and boards a train. Here he meets Roma (Babita) who has also run away (from her home) due to the strict rules enforced by her rich and wealthy father.

During the train journey, Vicky and Roma become friendly. The goons follow Vicky and tries to attack them in the train. Vicky and Roma manage to escape from the train. They are in the middle of nowhere and start heading towards the nearest town. On their way to the town, they encounter Jani Bhai, an inventor, who gives them a ride to the town, with his customised car. Jani and Vicky become best of friends and Jani gets Vicky a job as a guitarist / singer in the hotel by portraying him as a very famous singer. Incidentally, Roma is staying in the same hotel. Vicky and Roma fall in love. Scorpion comes to know that Vicky is staying in the hotel through his henchmen, Julie, present as an employee in the hotel. Meanwhile, Nancy comes to this hotel and creates a misunderstanding between Vicky and Roma. Roma dumps Vicky and Nancy takes Vicky to her room. Nancy plots to kill Vicky but in the process, gets herself killed accidentally. While dying, she tells Vicky that Scorpion had sent her and she was compelled to kill because her parents were taken hostage. The rest of the film deals with who Scorpion is and whether Vicky and Roma get together.^{[Ref 7]}

Cast

• Biswajeet as Vicky, singer and guitar player at a hotel nightclub
• Babita as Roma, an escapee from home
• Helen as Nancy
• Murad as Commissioner of Police
• Jani Bhai, an eccentric inventor
• Scorpion, the main villain and chief of the Scorpion Organisation
• Hiralal as Lopez, the right hand man of Scorpion
• M.B.Shetty as Joe, a deadly member of the Scorpion Organisation
• Bhagwan Sinha as Gonz, Owner of 'Twist Musical & Photo Shop' and informant to the police
• Yee Chang as Chang, an enemy agent and most wanted man by many countries

Production

Filming

For the filming of the song "Kajra Mohabbat Wale", the hero Biswajeet had to be dressed up as a girl and the heroine Babita as a Pathan. Biswajeet in an interview said this about the preparation that went about making the song, "Kajra Mohabbat Wale":^{[Ref 5]}

Director Manmohan Desai would sit in on our rehearsals with choreographer PL Raj that went on for 6–7 days. For me, the song meant hours in make-up, elaborate wigs and a sari pallu that never stayed in place. The adas and nakhras were not so difficult because as I child I had watched the neighbourhood dadas act out female parts in pararar plays, because those days respectable ladies didn't act. In theatres in Delhi and UP, coins were showered when the song came on.

— Biswajeet, as said to Bollywood Hungama

Release

Home media

The film has been released in the following distribution formats:VCD^{[Ref 8]} and recently as DVD.^{[Ref 9]}

Reception

The music by O.P.Nayyar was well received with three popular and memorable songs.

Box office

The film was declared an average film in the box office verdicts. It could be attributed to the story and the earnings it made (Net gross of INR ₹ 70,00,000 vs Gross of INR ₹ 1,40,00,000).^{[Ref 10]}

Controversies

The song "Kajra Mohabbat Wala" became very popular due to the way it was filmed, choreographed and for its memorable tune. Biswajeet did the drag act of putting a female disguise for this song. Film historian and critic, Firoze Rangoonwalla explains the controversy that took place after the film was released:^{[Ref 11]}

In fact, Biswajeet's drag act in Kismat worked a little too well. Though Biswajeet was a hero for a long time, he was never portrayed as a very masculine hero. So when he put on a female disguise and sang "Kajra Mohabbat Wala", the audience received it with wolf whistles, knowing very well that he was a man! I remember that one of the film magazines made a very caustic remark that if Biswajeet were to stick to these kind of roles, he would be much more successful. There was a controversy and Biswajeet filed a suit against the magazine, though the suit fizzled out.

— Firoze Rangoonwalla, Film historian and critic, as said to Bollywood Hungama

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by O.P.Nayyar. Notable tracks are "Aankhon Mein Qayamat Ke Kajal" sung by Mahendra Kapoor, "Aao Huzoor Tum Ko" sung by Asha Bhosle and "Kajra Mohabbat Wala" sung by Asha Bhosle and Shamshad Begum.

Kismat
Original vinyl record poster from Penguin
Soundtrack album by O.P.Nayyar
Released	1968 (1968)
Recorded	1968
Genre	Film soundtrack
Length	29:59
Language	Hindi
Label	HMV, Penguin

Track listing

Originally, the film consisted of 6 soundtracks (mainly for the cassette and gramophone version).^{[Ref 12][Ref 13][Ref 14]}

Additional tracks

In mid-2000, two additional tracks were added known as revival versions for "Aao Huzoor Tum Ko" and "Kajra Mohabbat Wala" songs. The CD and iTunes versions of the film now contain 8 tracks.^{[Ref 12][Ref 13][Ref 14]}

Vinyl or gramophone record track Info

The Gramophone record consists of two sides having the following tracks:^{[Ref 12]}

Side 1

Side 2

Songs remixed

The tracks that have been remixed the most are:

• "Aao Huzoor Tumko"
• "Kajra Mohabbat Wala"

Ironically, both these songs are sung by female singers and most notable, Asha Bhosle features in both of them.

The track "Aao Huzoor Tumko" has been remixed a number of times. Following is a list of notable films and music albums it was used in:

• "Punjab", a song in the Global Spirit, a 2003 album by Karunesh S^{[Ref 15]}
• Double Cross – Ek Dhoka, a 2005 film
• Non Stop Love Shots, a 2005 album
• Salaam-e-Ishq, a 2007 Hindi film, as a small song clip (played between in the scene where it's Anil Kapoor's birthday and he sees Anjali)

Songs reused

The track, "Kajra Mohabbat Wala", has been used as a non-remixed song in the 2011 Hindi movie, Tanu Weds Manu. The song has been used as a marriage celebration or ritual song. The song has been portrayed by Kangana Ranaut. The song rights have been obtained from HMV.^{[Ref 16]}

Plagiarism of song

The track "Lakhon Hain Yahan Dilwale" sung by Mahendra Kapoor is said to have been inspired from the following tracks:

• "In the Bright Mohawk Valley" or Red River Valley
• "The Bright Sherman Valley" (inspired from "In the Bright Mohawk Valley")

The similarity includes Mahendra Kapoor's singing drawl to that of the elaborate drawls of Red River Valley song besides the tune in the original.^{[Ref 17]}

Certification

The Central Board of Film Certification (CFBC), India has given an 'U' certificate (Universal or Unrestricted) for viewing purposes.

See also

Bollywood films of 1968

References

External links

• Kismat at the Internet Movie Database
• Kismat (1968) Songs at iTunes