Phagun (1958) :
Brief Review -
Nagin (1954) restored again in Madhubala's most memorable year ever. Madhubala became a huge star in this year, 1958, as she acted in a total of 6 films, and 4 of them were commercially successful. It wasn't about commercial success, but the kind of craze, the popularity she got, and the roles she played in those 4 films. Phagun was one of them, and she has the largest screen time in this film, overtaking the lead hero. She played the lead heroine in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and shared the screen with two Kumars. In the same year, she played the lead opposite Dev Anand in Kala Paani and then the leading lady opposite her CKNG co-star Ashok Kumar in Howrah Bridge. Some of the most evergreen songs were filmed on her in this film. Phagun has "Ek Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya" and that epic snake charming flute. Her chemistry with Bharat Bhushan fell flat, and I would blame Bharat for that, not Madhubala. She was great, and you can see that on the screen. It's Bharat who looks dull, gets boring dialogues, and mostly mute scenes. That's not romance. Maybe it was for the kind of culture those characters belong to, but definitely not for the audiences in the late 50s. Speaking of the story, you might remember Vyjayanthimala and Pradeep Kumar's Nagin (1954), right? Then Phagun is the same story again, with a nice touch of reincarnation and a few twists of memory loss. The screenplay drags due to the addition of too many songs that aren't really "hit numbers," except the one I mentioned above. Jeevan has played a very good role, and I'd like to take that "dhatura laga ke" with me forever. Nishi and Dhumal's characters add to a fun love story, but we don't know what happens to them later. Bibhuti Mitra's direction is okay. There are flaws, for sure. But there are some fascinating romantic segments and ideas too.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.
