‘Light, ‘breezy’ ‘musical caper’ are hardly the terms one would associate with a film that stars Guru Dutt, Madhubala and Lalita Pawar. The film is also directed by Guru Dutt who once again is chiefly remembered as the doomed hero of films like ‘Pyaasa’ and ‘Kagaz ke Phool’
But surprisingly ‘Mr and Mrs 55’ which released in – you guessed it- 1955, is all of that. It also has some memorable foot-tapping numbers, barring the wailing strains of ‘Pritam aan milo’ which, given as the hero’s name is Pritam; should make sense, I suppose.
To resume, the film opens with a very sophisticated looking Lalita Pawar -in sleeveless blouse, primped hair and silk sari- celebrating the announcement of the Divorce Bill (in 1955, remember?!). She firmly believes that marriage puts an end to the ‘azaadi’ of a woman and must be avoided at any cost. Yes, we’re still in 1955, in case you were wondering.
Seeta Devi aka Lalita Pawar lives with her niece Anita, ( the lovely Madhubala) who is to inherit vast sums of money from her late father, on her 21st birthday. Unfortunately, they find out that Anita’s father has cunningly included a condition that must be fulfilled if she is to come into possession of all those lakhs: she must get married within a month of her 21st birthday. This, as a fuming Seeta Devi reads in a letter addressed to her, is because he knows her views on holy matrimony and fears that Anita too will remain unmarried for the rest of her life. Ok, this is 1955, so…
The determined Seeta Devi gets hold of impoverished cartoonist Guru Dutt and they sign a contract according to which he will marry Madhubala; and after a few months, once her inheritance is secure, will divorce her without creating any trouble. For this, he will receive the princely sum of 250/- every month. Guru Dutt agrees, not because he is stony broke but because he met Madhubala once and was completely smitten. And who can blame him for that?! Madhubala is unaware of his sentiments and scorns him because he has sold himself to her aunt.
The film is full of snappy dialogues and crackling repartee. All the characters get to deliver witty lines and stinging comebacks. Get this-
Seeta Devi; Tum itni choti si kholi mein kaise rehlete ho?
The hero: Badi aasani se.
Or this-
Seeta Devi: Tum communist toh nahin ho?
The hero: Nahin, cartoonist hoon.
And this-
The hero: (after their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere) Miyan-biwi aaram se iss gaadi mein raat kaat denge.
The heroine: Tumhara sar kaat denge.
The film proceeds in this manner but takes a regressive turn towards the end. The proud princess has to be shown that for a ‘hindustani nari’, true happiness lies in getting married, having many children and taking care of her husband and family. And that all these notions of ‘azaadi’ are western, thus evil and must therefore be shunned. Yup, very 1955.
The songs are refreshingly easy on the ear. Be it Thandi hawa, kaali ghaata or Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji, or Dil par hua aisa jaadoo, they all work their jaadoo on the listener.
And the cherry, the topping, the sprinkles, the frosting on this treat is the alluring, the captivating, the ravishing Madhubala. She looks enchanting from every angle, in every outfit and in every scene. She is bubbly, arrogant, comical, tragic and altogether lovable. The story is slanted in favour of the male characters as is made clear by the ending, but it really deserves to be called Ms and Mrs 55. Take that, patriarchy!!
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