Basant (film)

Basant (transl. Spring) is a 1942 pre-partition British Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by Amiya Chakrabarty, produced by Bombay Talkies and starring Mumtaz Shanti and Madhubala along with Ulhas. It revolves around Uma (Shanti), who is left to dance on stage for money when her husband (Ulhas) abandons her.

Basant marked the Hindi film debut of Shanti, who was already a celebrated star in Punjabi film industry.[2] However, the film is largely remembered as the first screen appearance of Madhubala, who played an uncredited role of daughter to Shanti and later became a leading star in the 1950s and early 1960s.[3]

The film was theatrically released on 29 July 1942 and was praised by critics for the performances of actors, music and direction. It was major box office success and the highest-grossing film of 1942.[4] The film had a 76-week run in the theatres.[5] As of 2021, Basant remains one of the fifty highest-grossing Indian films in the history (when adjusted for inflation).[6]

Uma and her brother Babul are two downtrodden servants who dream of becoming singing-and-dancing stars on the stage. They attract the attention of the impresario Janaki Prasad, which leads to Uma marrying his spoilt and envious younger brother, Nirmal. A self-absorbed Nirmal sets out to make his own fortune and soon after their wedding, abandons Uma and their infant daughter, which is named Manju. When Nirmal returns to find his wife is working on the stage, he abducts Manju and disappears again. After a further 10 years of unhappy stage stardom of Uma, the family is reunited and the happy ending sees her return to being a housewife in accordance with her husband’s wishes.