‘Aag Ka Darya’ screened at Lok Virsa

Islamabad

Director: Hamayun Mirza

Producer: Amanullah Khan

Music: Ghulam Nabi-Abdul Lateef

Lyrics: Josh Malihabbadi

Photography: Raza Mir

Script: Agha nazir Kawiah

Dialogue: Riaz Shahid

Cast: Mohammad Ali, Shamim Ara

Lok Virsa screened ‘Aag Ka Darya’ at its Mandwa film club on Saturday. Film ‘‘Aag Ka Darya’’ has nothing to do with Qurratulain Hyder's 1959 novel of the same title. The novel was a milestone in Urdu literature, spread over two thousand years from Chandragupt Maurya to 1947 partition.

The film ‘Aag Ka Darya’ from 1966 is a remake of Sunil Datt 1963 action drama Mujhey Jeene Do from across the border. Both there and here, a bandit must fall in love with a golden-heart dancer. The law follows the bandit till the end. The dancing girl, now a mother, wants a safe and secure future for her son. The bandit too wants to leave his banditry and go for a safe passage but law has another course.

‘Aag Ka Darya’ minted gold at the box office and played extremely well against director Pervaiz Malik's ‘Armaan’, Iqbal Shahzad's ‘Badnam’ and Shabab Kairanvi's ‘Aina’. It also won critical acclaim (notwithstanding its cut and paste dangerous similarities from ‘Mujhey Jeeney Do’). It received Nigar Awards for Best Actor (Mohammad Ali), Cinematographer (Raza Mir), playback singer (Noorjehan) and Lyricist (Josh Malihabbadi). ‘Hawa sey moti baras raheh haeen fazaa taraney suna rahi hai’ became Best Song of the year.

Masood Rana's ‘Ai watan hum haeen teri shama key parwanoo mein’ was recognised (almost) as a national song. Music then was a forte of ‘Aag Ka Darya’. Dramatic dialogue penned by Riaz Shahid (delivered by Mohammad Ali and Shamim Ara where they accuse and yell at each other for being a bandit and a dancer) was another highlight of ‘Aag Ka Darya’.

 Raza Mir's exceptionally brilliant camerawork in black and white (both indoor and on location in rural Sindh), strong performances by Mohammad Ali, Shamim Ara and Hamayun Mirza's firm direction made ‘Aag Ka Darya’ what it became - one of the most powerful films from the sixties.

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