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Barsaat Ki Raat

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For the similarly named 1981 Bollywood film, see Barsaat Ki Ek Raat.

Barsaat Ki Raat
Theatrical release poster
Directed byP. L. Santoshi
Screenplay by
Story byRafi Ajmeri
Produced byR. Chandra
Starring
CinematographyM. Rajaram
Edited byP. S. Kochikar
Music by
  • Roshan (songs)
  • Sonik (background score)
Production
company
Sri Vishwabharati Films
Release date
  • 9 December 1960 (1960-12-09)
Running time
142 min.
CountryIndia
LanguagesHindi
Urdu
Box officeest. ₹35 million[1]

Barsaat Ki Raat (transl. A Rainy Night) is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by P. L. Santoshi and produced by R. Chandra. Starring Madhubala, Bharat Bhushan and Shyama, the film is considered a defining example of romantic musical film genre.

The film's art direction is by Ganesh Basak.[2] A Muslim-social set amongst the erudite and cultured urban Muslims of independent India, Barsaat Ki Raat revolves around two lovers Shabnam (Madhubala) and Amaan (Bhushan), who strive to be together but the society does not approve of them. Upon its release, the film became a blockbuster success, the second highest earner of 1960,[1] the twenty-first highest earner of the 1960s at the Indian box office,[3] and one of the top hundred highest-grossers of all time (when adjusted for inflation).[4][5]

Barsaat Ki Raat got a positive feedback from contemporary critics. The Roshan-composed soundtrack, considered one of the finest in the Indian cinema, was singled out for praise by both critics and audience. The song "Zindagi Bhar Nahi Bhoolegi" and the qawwali "Na To Karavan Ki Talash Hai" topped the music charts that year. A cult film now, Barsaat Ki Raat has been lauded by 21st century critics, who have particularly noted Madhubala's performance and the soundtrack. The latter continues to be widely popular and imitated.

Plot

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Amaan Hyderabadi is a talented and struggling Urdu poet and lyricist trying to make a mark in the world of music. Shabnam, who has not seen him yet, loves his songs and poetry. For his job, he travels to his friend Inspector Shekhar's house to perform his own songs live on All India Radio. One rainy night, he seeks shelter and also meets Shabnam – whom he can't get out of his mind. Through Shekhar, he meets the family of police commissioner Khan Bahadur and encounters the eldest daughter, none other than Shabnam. Luck comes his way as he is appointed as a tutor for Shabnam's little sister Razia.

During lessons, Aman and Shabnam grow closer. Khan Bahadur overhears their conversations, not being much impressed due to Amaan's poverty. He insults and expels Amaan from their house and forbids any contact. Shabnam sees elopement with Amaan as her only hope. Their escape plan is discovered and her father swiftly fixes a devastated Shabnam's marriage with Aftab Ahmed of Lucknow against her wish. Khan Bahadur sets off for Lucknow with his family. Amaan also arrives in Lucknow in search of his fortune. Coincidentally, Amaan discovers that Aftab, the friend in whose house he is staying, is actually the future husband of his lady love Shabnam.

Amaan leaves Aftab's house without informing him. Meanwhile, Amaan's old friends Shabab and Shama arrive in Lucknow to participate in a qawwali competition, in which they keep losing. Shama is in love with Amaan, but he does not know this. Amaan begins to compose shayaris for the competition and very quickly he carves a niche for himself in the musical world. However, submerged in the painful memory of his lost love Shabnam, Amaan does not realise Shama's love for him. Soon, he becomes the heart and soul of Shama's musical troupe. With Amaan's beautiful voice and shayaris, Shama's group attains popularity and wins the competition.

A shattered and imprisoned Shabnam overhears Amaan's voice on radio and learns that Amaan is still in Lucknow. Shabnam somehow reaches one of Aman's poetic duels. Shama faints during the program when she learns that Amaan is in love with someone else. Her illness gives a platform for Shabnam and Amaan to meet each other. Khan Bhadur and Shekhar reach the spot searching for the missing Shabnam. At this point Shabnam's mother revolts against Khan Bahadur, for she wants her daughter to be happy. At the end, Khan Bhadur gives in and the lovers reunite on another rainy night.

Cast

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Sources:[2]

Themes

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The story features a number of innovative themes while maintaining the basic form of a love story. It has particularly strong female characters who are independent-minded and choose their own loves and destiny.[6] Conflicts are not so much between the wishes of the parents and children about whom the children will marry, as is a common theme in Indian movies, but among the main characters and the duplicitous signals men and women send each other. The movie glorifies the lives of "singing girls" not often regarded highly in Indian society. Although it features Muslim characters, the movie seamlessly shows the universality of sensual love.[6]

Soundtrack

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Barsaat Ki Raat
Soundtrack album by
Roshan
Released1960 (1960)[7]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length47:00
LanguageHindi
LabelSaregama
ProducerRoshan

The soundtrack of Barsaat Ki Raat was composed by Roshan, and lyrics were penned by Sahir Ludhianavi. It was the second best-selling soundtrack of 1960 after Mughal-e-Azam. The song "Zindagi Bhar Nahin Bhoolegi" was a chartbuster, and was on the top in the Binaca Geetmala's annual list of 1960.

For the qawwalis "Na To Karavan Ki Talash Hai" and "Yeh Ishq Ishq Hai", producer R. Chandra (the elder brother of the lead actor Bharat Bhushan) had reportedly first approached composer Khayyam for the film but Khayyam declined. Roshan accepted the assignment as Chandra had the permission of the qawwalis' singers, Mubarak Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan.[8]

Rediff.com, calling the film's music its lifeline, placed "Na To Karavan Ki Talash Hai" at the second place in the "Bollywood's Top 10 qawwalis."[9]

Songs
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Zindagi Bhar Nahi Bhoolegi"Mohammed Rafi4:05
2."Garjat Barsat Sawan Aayo Re"Suman Kalyanpur & Kamal Barot3:12
3."Jee Chahta Hai Choom Loon"Asha Bhosle, Sudha Malhotra, Balbir & Bande Hasan6:27
4."Main Ne Shayad Tumhen Pehle Bhi"Mohammed Rafi3:45
5."Mujhe Mil Gaya Bahana"Lata Mangeshkar3:20
6."Na To Karavan Ki Talash Hai"Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle, Sudha Malhotra, S. D. Batish & Mohammed Rafi11:48
7."Nigah-E-Naaz Ke"Asha Bhosle, Sudha Malhotra & Shankar Shambhu4:50
8."Yeh Hai Ishq Ishq"Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, S. D. Batish & Sudha Malhotra7:06
9."Zindagi Bhar Nahin"Lata Mangeshkar & Mohammed Rafi3:18
Total length:47:00

Reception

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Box office

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Barsaat Ki Raat was released on 9 December 1960, to a positive response from critics and audience. In India, the film had a box office gross of ₹3.5 crore, with a nett of ₹1.75 crore, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 1960.[1] The Best of the Year gave its inflation-adjusted nett as ₹516.8 crore.[10] Box Office magazine calculated its inflation-adjusted gross by comparing the collection with the price of gold in 1960, which gave it an adjusted gross of ₹785.88 crore in 2011.[4]

The film was listed at number 22 by Box Office magazine in their list of "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years" which feature all-time highest-grossing Bollywood films by using the relative price of gold in different years to arrive at a hypothetical current value of box-office collections of past films.[11]

Critical reception

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Contemporary reviews were generally positive. On 30 December, The Indian Express noted Santoshi's direction and performances, particularly of Madhubala and Shyama.[12] Most of the praise was directed towards the film's "outstanding feature", the qawwalis.[12] Recent reviewers have acclaimed the film for its music and performances. Film critic Venkat Parsa of The Siasat Daily applauded the innovative themes Barsaat Ki Raat uses and stated that the film "stands apart [and] breaks away from the past trends". Parsa also noted the lyrics of "Zindagi Bhar Nahi Bhoolegi", which begins with Amaan narrating his encounter with Shabnam and then singing the "graphic detail", that proves that lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi was "a progressive and revolutionary poet".[13] In the conclusion, Parsa described the film as the "greatest-ever musical of all times of the Indian cinema".[13] Writer Monica Kar, in a typical mixed review, found the story to be "a little predictable and not very exciting by modern standards" but its treatment to be "delightful".[14] She appreciated the scene in which Amaan and Shabnam meet: "[It] portrays confusion, a little fear, a little mystery, a little attraction. Madhubala is brilliant in this one scene."[14] Madhubala's dramatic performance has been especially noted by critics and is cited to be one of the finest of her career.[15][16]

Legacy

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Barsaat Ki Raat is considered a milestone in the history of Indian cinema and is known for popularizing the romantic musical genre in films.[13]

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Canadian singer Buffy Sainte-Marie covered the song "Maayus To Hoon Vade Se Tere" from the movie, which she titled "Mayoo Sto Hoon". The song was released on her debut album, It's My Way!, in 1964.[citation needed]

The songs "Na To Karavan Ki Talash Hai" and "Yeh Hai Ishq Ishq" were remade for the 2025 Indian film Dhurandhar by Shashwat Sachdev as "Ishq Jalakar (Karvaan)", sung by Shahzad Ali, Subhadeep Das Chowdhury and Armaan Khan, and "Move (Yeh Ishq Ishq)", sung by Sonu Nigam and Reble, respectively.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "BoxOffice India.com". 12 February 2010. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) Cast – Actor, Actress, Director, Producer, Music Director". Cinestaan. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". 24 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Worth Their Weight In Gold! | Box Office India : India's premier film trade magazine | Bollywood news, reviews, interviews, box office collection". 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Top hundred highest-grossing Indian films". 22 April 2006. Archived from the original on 22 April 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Barsaat Ki Raat | Indian Cinema – The University of Iowa". indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Barsaat Ki Raat". Apple Music. 1960. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  8. ^ Bhattacharjee, Rudradeep (15 July 2017). "Roshan at 100: The ultimate playlist, plus the story of the three lives of a single song". Scroll.in. Retrieved 14 December 2025. The story goes that it was Khayyam who had originally been signed on to compose the music for Barsaat Ki Raat (1960). But when R Chandra, the film's producer and elder brother of its leading man Bharat Bhushan, insisted that the composer use the tune of the qawwali Na Toh Butkade Ki Talab Mujhe, sung by the famed Pakistani duo of Mubarak Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan, Khayyam put his foot down. He was promptly shown the door, and Roshan was brought in. As the producer had the singers' permission, Roshan had no qualms about using the tune. The resulting song Na Toh Carvaan Ki Talaash Hai, an epic 12-min qawwali that took almost 24 hours to record, became a rage and is perhaps the first song that comes to mind when we think of great film qawwalis. The other songs of the film, especially the romantic title track 'Zindagi Bhar Nahin Bhoolegi', too hit their mark.
  9. ^ "Bollywood's Top 10 Qawwalis!". Rediff. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Barsaat Ki Raat – Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget, Reviews, Cast, etc". BOTY. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years | Box Office India : India's premier film trade magazine". 17 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Barsaat Ki Raat". news.google.com. 30 December 1960. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b c "Barsaat ki Raat: Greatest-Ever Musical". The Siasat Daily. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Barsat ki Raat Part 1: A Musical Romance | Film and Music Review | Silhouette". Silhouette Magazine. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Top 10 Movies Of Madhubala". TopYaps. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Remembering Madhubala's best roles". filmfare.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Dhurandhar: Massive public demand pushes early release of 'Ishq Jalakar – Karvaan'". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
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