On the second day of the film fest Ekagra a huge crowd was seen to watch Guru Dutt’s classic Mr & Mrs 55. The fest on Guru Dutt is being organised by Chhavi series of classical cinema, Bharat Bhavan. The movie was screened at Antrang Hall, here on Saturday.
Mr & Mrs 55 is a 1955 Bollywood film by director Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt and Madhubala, supported by lalita Pawar, Johnny Walker and Jagdeep stars major characters in this socially critical romantic comedy set in contemporary Bombay (now Mumbai). The story revolved around two individuals who under some conspiracies played by time fell in love with each other.
Sita Devi is a free-spirited person, and has close links with women’s liberation groups. She would prefer that her only daughter, Anita, not marry, and be dependent on her husband, a man, but instead be single and free. When her brother passes away, he leaves behind a vast fortune to be paid to Anita. The only condition is that she must be married in order to inherit it. Sita Devi then hires an unemployed artiste, Preetam Kumar, to be a temporary groom for Anita, for a few months, and then divorce each other. Sita Devi’s plan materialises, and soon Anita and Preetam are married. After the marriage, Sita Devi, instructs Preetam to keep away from Anita, but fate has other plans in store for these three.
However, in the course of her ostensibly married life, she learns the true meaning of marriage and the deep significance of being an Indian wife, much to the dismay of her aunt, who, in adherence to her wayward beliefs, has been trying to instill every kind of anti-male sentiment in her niece’s ingenuous mind. As the film fest is on Guru Dutt many city artists and film lovers of the city are visiting to watch the show.