‘Darshan’ to be screened at Lok Virsa on October 10

Islamabad

Director: Rehman
Music: Bashir Ahmad
Cast: Shabnam, Rehman, Reshma, Fateh Lohani
Bengal has always been fertile land for arts. Be it painting, music, literature or films. Dhaka was making Bengali feature films since 1956. In early sixties, it went for Urdu films as well. These were low-budget films made on location. Music and simple easy-to-understand plots were the forte of these Urdu films.
Making Urdu films in Dhaka obviously expanded the market of these films into then West Pakistan. It was not just financial survival for the producers but prosperity and popularity of their work into the Western Wing. The best came because these films were technically and aesthetically innovative and they made it at the Box Office. This work presented modern youthful image as seen in ‘Darshan’ and other films.
New faces also graced the screen in almost every film. Superstar Shabnam and Nadeem were discovered in Dhaka. Actor Rehman who made his debut in Urdu films from Dhaka with ‘Chanda' met a fatal accident on location in sylhet and his one leg had to be amputated. However, this disability did not stop him from acting and even playing leads with an artificial limb.
Film ‘Darshan’ to be screened at Lok Virsa film club Mandwa on Saturday, October 10, is one such film which exhibits the passion and determination of Rehman to keep the show running- a per-requisite for showbiz.
‘Darshan’ is remembered for its popular musical score by Bashir Ahmad who rendered several songs with Mala. The romantic plot deals with a rich lady (Shabnam) and the owner of a guesthouse. This simple plot has been derived from earlier films like ‘Mei Hari’ from 1940 by Sohrab Modi, later rehashed as ‘Jab Jab Phool Khiley’.
While ‘Darshan’ cannot be credited for an original script, it sure has stood the test of time for popular music. ‘Hum chaley chor ker teri mehfil sanam’, ‘Yun akela mujhey chor ker’,’Tuhmarey leye is dil mey’, ‘Chal dieye jo dil tor key’ and ‘Yeh samaa pyara pyara’ by Mala have been all-time musical gems.
Looking back at ‘Darshan’ and the late-sixties, it is an all-time enjoyable down-memory-lane trip.
The author can be reached at aijazzgul@gmail.com