Chaudhvin Ka Chand (Full Moon)
Directed by M. Sadiq
Written by Saghir Usmani
1961/India
Guru Dutt Films Pvt. Ltd.
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] “Sometimes the sky looks so beautiful and at the same time earth also looks so beautiful and finally we look so beautiful as well! By just looking at the nature you become the nature itself! Look at the beautiful full moon, you become a beautiful full moon!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan[/box]
I wasn’t in the mood to watch a 2 1/2+ hour romantic Bollywood musical. This one quickly captured me though.
The characters are predominately Muslims living in the northern India city of Lucknow. The mother of Nawab Pyare Mian has two dreams in life. One is to see her son married and the other is to fulfill her religious obligations by making the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. By now she is infirm but can visit Mecca by proxy through her priest. The problem is the priest is unwilling to travel while his daughter is unmarried. This has a simple fix. Mom asks the Nawab to marry the daughter.
In the meantime, the Nawab caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman who briefly unveiled her face at the market place. He is now totally obsessed with finding her. He easily convinces his best friend Aslam to marry the priest’s daughter Jamila. But a series of misunderstandings means that Aslam discovers that Jamila was actually the beautiful lady at the marketplace. The Nawab is making plans to marry someone he thinks is his dream woman. This leaves Aslam, who is madly in love with his wife, with a terrible dilemma.
I thought this would be one I watched to get it over with but I was charmed. The Muslim angle is unusual and the story is sweet and tragic. There is a little of the obligatory comic relief but a refreshing lack of silliness and not too much dancing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MDICxNDT44
