Synopsis
Shankar (Dilip Kumar), a tangewala and
Krishna (Ajit), a woodcutter are fast friends
in a village that is self sufficient and
dependent on a timbre mill for survival.
The mill owner's son Kundan (Jeevan) wants
to modernize and mechanize the business
which he does so by getting an electronic
saw thus making several workers at the mill
redundant. Meanwhile both Shankar and Krishna
fall for Rajani (Vyjayantimala). A misunderstanding
caused by Shankar's sister, Manju (Chand
Usmani) who loves Krishna, sees the two
friends fall out and turn into bitter enemies.
Kundan introduces a bus in the village thus
taking away the livelihood from the tangawalas.
The villagers aks him to reconsider but
he flatly refuses saying that he would withdraw
the bus if Shankar and his tanga are able
to beat it in a race. Shankar takes up the
challenge, has a short cut built with the
collective help of Rajani and the village
and wins the race of man v/s machine. Finally
all's well that ends well as the two friends
too clear up their misunderstanding with
Shankar getting Rajani while Krishna gets
Manju.
The film
 Naya
Daur is arguably BR
Chopra's finest, best known and most
successful film. The film is a quintessentially
Nehruvian film that fitted in nicely with
the new initiatives in economic planning
and rural community development in the first
decade of Indian independence. As India
moved on, in early years of independence,
even the establishment of rural life in
Naya Daur as against earlier films
like Mela (1948) is different.
The village shown in the film is now bustling
and self-sufficient at the outset with much
activity going on. A certain pride in the
still developing nation is seen as embodied
by the song - Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawaanon
ka. Even the rural hero, Shankar, played
by Dilip
Kumar is different. Whereas in earlier
rural films like Mela, he was a
passive, tragic hero, he is now the active,
dynamic go-getter who challenges the villain
to a race, wins by building a short-cut
with the help of his supporters from the
village and what's more, gets the girl at
the end of the film without having to die
at the end.
The conflict in the film arises when Kundan
gets an electronic saw and a bus into the
village that makes the villagers redundant,
leaving them without a livlihood. The film
thus compells the viewer to consider the
fate of those displaced by the unrelenting
march of progress. Thus ironically in the
film, it is the 'villain' who favours the
nationalist modernization arguement while
the hero uses collective strength to overcome
the fear of change. At the same time, however,
the film is unable to take a clear stand
between the Gandhian dislike of machinery
and the Nehruvian plan for modernization.
And especially since the film, like all
of Chopra's films, addresses a social issue
but being primarily escapist entertainment,
it avoids any solution whatsoever of the
Machine v/s Labour problem. It is sufficient
for Chopra that the question itself has
been posed. In trying to keep a balance,
Chopra also has scenes showing the villagers
are not anti-progress. They are open to
a solution that is beneficial to all.
But even if Naya Daur is a 'socially
relavant film' that sees brave and traditional
rural heroes taking on the might of modern
city-clickers, it primarily remains a mainstream
Hindi film at heart showing the triumph
of the human spirit. And so social issues
aside, it also centres around the romantic
triangle of Dilip Kumar, Vyjayantimala
and Ajit with songs, dances, fights, comedy
- the works but extremely well-blended into
the narrative, one must admit. One has to
admire Akhtar Mirza's effective screenplay
in this regard, in particular the Dilip
Kumar-Vyjayantimala track that is extremely
well-worked out..
The highlight of the film of course is
the climactic bus v/s tanga race which holds
up quite well even today as the race is
intercut with cheering villagers and has
all the drama as Vyjayantimala and Ajit
valiently hold up the bridge he had destroyed
so that the tanga can go over it. This is
because the the race is involving and has
you rooting for the underdog and you cannot
help but feel good at the end as man finally
defeats the machine!
Naya Daur sees fine lead performances
from Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala. It was
BR's good friend Ashok
Kumar who suggested Dilip Kumar for
the film and put in a word with him to hear
out the story. Dilip Kumar, though initially
reluctant, agreed to do the film once he
heard the story. He is spot on in the film
as the sensitive but tough hero, a natural
leader of the village who takes on the challenge
of development and progress at the cost
of humanity, winning the Filmfare Award
for Best Actor. Vyjayantimala comes across
as that rare breed of Hindi film heroine,
one who has a mind of her own. She shows
an independent streak in the film - Though
Shankar is willing to give her up for his
best friend who also loves her, she refuses
to be a pawn in their game of friendship.
Even later on, she joins his struggle of
her own volition rather than it being foisted
on her. What's more she has her own ideas
on how to ford a stream and risks her life
to save the bridge.
Interestingly, Vyjayantimala wasn't the
first choice for the film. The film was
launched with Dilip Kumar and Madhubala
at the height of their romance. A 10-day
schedule was held in Bombay which was to
be follwed by a 45-day schedule in Bhopal
followed by another in Poona. However Madhubala's
father, Ataullah Khan, refused to let her
go out of Bombay citing her ill-health as
the reason though the actual reason was
that he thoroughly disapproved of her romance
with Dilip Kumar and did not want them to
go outsdoors for such a long period of time.
Chopra then dropped Madhubala from the film,
replacing her with Vyjayantimala. An enraged
Ataullah Khan took Chopra to court. The
case made headlines as Dilip Kumar sided
with Chopra against Madhubala even though
he loved her saying the film could not be
made without the Bhopal schedule. When the
movie was released, the judge saw the film
and maintained that Chopra and Dilip Kumar
were right. The film could indeed not be
done without the Bhopal schedule, he declared.
Madhubala lost both, the case and Dilip
Kumar.
The lead pair are ably supported by Ajit,
Chand Usmani, Leela Chitnis. Jeevan makes
a good villain and Johnny
Walker lights up the screen whenever
he is on. On the technical side, special
mention must be made of MN Malhotra's superb
on-location photography.
The film is a musical triumph for OP
Nayyar and lyricist Sahir
Ludhianvi. Each of the songs in the
film was a raging hit and won OP Nayyar
the Filmfare Award for Best Music. Naya
Daur sees Nayyar use several Punjabi
rhythms especially from the Bhangra folk
dances - Udhein Jab Jab Zulfein Teri
(Asha Bhosle - Mohd. Rafi), Reshmi
Salwaar Kurta Jaali ka (Asha
Bhosle - Shamshad Begum) and Yeh Desh
Hai Veer Jawaanon ka (Mohd. Rafi -
Balbir) besides his signature 'tanga' song
- Maang ke Saath Tumhara (Asha
Bhosle - Mohd. Rafi). Another extremely
well composed song is the Johnny Walker
ditty Main Bambai ka Babu (Mohd.
Rafi) . But the piece-de-resistance
of the film is undoubtedly Saathi Haath
Badana (Asha Bhosle - Mohd. Rafi).
The other person for whom Naya Daur
is a triumph is Asha
Bhosle. 1957 was her breakthrough year
when OP Nayyar used her to sing the heroine's
songs in Tumsa
Nahin Dekha and Naya Daur and
SD Burman
too gave her the heroine's songs in Paying
Guest and Nau Do Gyarah as
they both groomed her into a playback singer
par excellence.
Recently the film was colourized and re-released
but did not do well at the box office. The
colourization was hideous and is a potent
reminder that some classics like Naya
Daur are best left untouched. All in
all, a fine film by a fine filmmaker.
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