Rahi
About Rahi
Ramesh, out of the army, is hired by the English owners of an Assam tea estate to keep the workers in line. He does it, whip included. He falls for Ganga, a leaf picker. The pickers rise against the managers. In the riot the owner shoots Ganga. Ramesh, already pulling away from the job, leaves the estate.
Cast & crew
More about Rahi
K. A. Abbas produced and directed, from Mulk Raj Anand's 1937 novel Two Leaves and a Bud, which Abbas adapted. Mohan Abdullah and V. P. Sathe wrote the screenplay. Ramchandra photographed. The same production was issued in English as The Wayfarer. Dev Anand plays Ramesh and Nalini Jaywant plays Ganga. Wikipedia dates the film 1952 and the release 1953.
Themes
Background
The story is set on a British-run tea estate. One viewing account places the opening on an Assam road in 1945, with Ramesh still in the clothes of a discharged soldier.
Making
Abbas had already filmed literature once, with Dharti Ke Lal. Rahi was the next time he started from a novel, this one Anand's account of a tea garden.
Music
Anil Biswas composed and Prem Dhawan wrote the lyrics. Playback is by Hemant Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, and Meena Kapoor. Ira Majumdar sings "Holi Khele Nandlala Biraj Me." The tea-garden number "Ek Kali Aur Do Patiya" is sung in two versions.
Notes
- Balraj Sahni plays Dr. Thomas, David plays Kalu, Manmohan Krishna plays Hari, and Achala Sachdev plays Chanda.
- The Hindu's later account has Ramesh whip Ganga for sitting among the bushes. She tells him she was pulling a thorn from her foot.
- Ek Kali Aur Do Patiya" takes its image from the novel's title, two leaves and a bud.
- Hemant Kumar sings "Yeh Zindagi Hai Ek Safar." Lata Mangeshkar sings "O Janewale Raahi.
- Wikidata also lists a 118-minute duration.
- A line Ramesh uses for himself, reported by The Hindu, is "Chalnewale Rahi ka na pata na manzil.
Scenes
- The English owners hand Ramesh the job of punishing the pickers.
- He brings the whip down on Ganga, who was sitting to pull a thorn from her foot.
- The workers riot. The owner shoots Ganga.
- Ramesh leaves the estate.
Influenced by
- Mulk Raj Anand's novel Two Leaves and a Bud (1937)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Rahi (1952).webm)
Quotes
Chalnewale Rahi ka na pata na manzil
