Gumnaam

Gumnaam (pronounced [ɡʊm.nɑːm], translation: Unknown or Anonymous) is a 1965 Indian Bollywood thriller film directed by Raja Nawathe, starring Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Pran, Helen and Mehmood. The film is a loosely-inspired adaptation of the 1939 mystery novel And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.[1][2]

Gumnaam
Film poster
Directed byRaja Nawathe
Written byCharandas Shokh
Dhruva Chatterjee
Based onAnd Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Produced byN. N. Sippy
StarringManoj Kumar
Nanda
Pran
Helen
Mehmood
CinematographyK. H. Kapadia
Edited byD. N. Pai
Music byShankar–Jaikishan
Production
company
Prithvi Pictures
Distributed byUltra Films
Release date
24 December 1965
Running time
145 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box officeest. 2.6 crore ($5.46 million)

It was remade in Tamil as Naalai Unathu Naal.

Plot

Khanna, a wealthy man, hires an assassin to murder his rival, Sohanlal. Khanna then informs the victim's niece, Asha, of his death, on the phone. As Asha screams, an intruder enters and shoots Khanna dead.

A few days later, Asha wins a trip to a foreign country with six others: Barrister Rakesh, Dharamdas, Kishan, Dr Acharya, Madhusudan Sharma, and Kitty Kelly. The aircraft carrying the six winners and crew member Anand is forced to make an emergency landing at an unknown island. However, as soon as Anand and all the passengers alight from the plane, it takes off, leaving everyone stranded.

A mysterious, unseen woman starts singing a song. The song is heard at different points in time during the film without the woman being seen. Then the group notices a mansion and enters it. The mansion seems to be unoccupied except for a butler. Dharamdas finds a diary that reveals that they are all connected to a crime, and that they will all be killed.

Anand discovers Dr Acharya has brought with him a bottle of poison, and Dharamdas has brought a dagger. The butler's actions indicate the presence of an unknown person in the house.

Anand starts flirting with Asha while Rakesh and Kitty become close. Everyone is suspicious of everyone else.

Anand and Asha find Kishan's corpse. The killer has left a note stating that Kishan had murdered Sohanlal. The group deduces Dharamdas killed Kishan but he pleads innocence. Dharamdas is later found dead. Anand concludes the culprit is among them.

It becomes clear that everyone in the house was connected to Sohanlal. Kitty was Sohanlal's secretary. Rakesh wrote Sohanlal's will on Khanna's orders. Kitty sent the will to Rakesh on Khanna's instructions, though neither knew about the other.

Anand notices Rakesh hiding an axe. Later, Dr. Acharya arrives, screaming that Sharma has been killed with an axe. The killer leaves another note stating Sharma was Khanna's co-conspirator in Sohanlal's murder.

Anand accuses Rakesh of Sharma's murder. Dr. Acharya catches the butler acting suspiciously. He learns the butler's secret and a scuffle ensues between them. The doctor enters the dining room, utters Anand's name, and collapses in the presence of Asha and Kitty. They realise that he has been stabbed. Asha starts questioning her faith in Anand.

Kitty goes for a walk by herself and is strangled. Rakesh and Asha, searching for Kitty, find her corpse. Anand's hat is lying near the corpse. Rakesh sees Anand and starts chasing him, but loses his trail. In a fit of rage, Rakesh tries to rape Asha. She escapes but runs into Rakesh again as he collapses with two daggers in his back. The mansion's lights go out, which indicates the killer has arrived and that Asha is next.

The killer approaches her and she faints. He carries her into a secret room and revives her. Sharma, the killer, tells Asha he convinced Dr. Acharya to help him fake his own death. He then murdered the doctor. Anand appears and reveals he is a police inspector. Sharma is an escaped convict whose real name is Madanlal.

Madanlal reveals that he, Khanna, and Sohanlal were partners in smuggling. However, after Madanlal was caught by the police, the other two betrayed him. Khanna then had Sohanlal killed to usurp his share of the money as well. After Madanlal was released, he killed Khanna and ensured his targets "won" the lucky draw and took the trip.

Madanlal ties up Anand and Asha and plays Russian Roulette with them. However, the butler secretly frees Anand. As Madanlal is about to shoot Asha with the only bullet, Anand attacks Madanlal. In the ensuing melee, Madanlal escapes the mansion and runs toward the shore. A plane full of policemen arrives and Madanlal is arrested. The "ghost" woman who sings the ominous song turns out to be the butler's mentally ill sister. Anand, Asha, the butler and his sister leave on the plane.

Cast

Soundtrack

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Planet Bollywood[3]

Critic Shahid Khan rated the soundtrack 9 out of 10 stating, "Gumnaam is sometimes unfairly overlooked but I believe that it is one of Shankar–Jaikishan's best albums."[3] Lyrics by Shailendra & Hasrat Jaipuri

SongSinger(s)
"Jaan Pehechan Ho" Mohammed Rafi
"Gumnaam Hai Koi" Lata Mangeshkar[4]
"Ek Ladki Hai Jisne Jeena Mushkil Kar Diya" Mohammed Rafi
"Jaane Chaman Shola Badan" Mohammed Rafi and Sharda
"Peeke Hum Tum Jo" Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar
"Gham Chhodke Manaao Rang" Lata Mangeshkar
"Aayega Kaun Yahaan" Sharda
"Hum Kaale Hain To" Mohammed Rafi

Reception

Box office

It was the 8th highest-grossing film in India in 1965, grossing 2.6 crore.[5] This was equivalent to $5.46 million in 1965.[n 1]

Awards and nominations

Notes

  1. 4.7619 Indian rupees per US dollar in 1965[6]

References

  1. "Aboard the mystery train | Cinemaexpress". Cinema Express. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Before Manoj Kumar became the flagbearer of patriotic films like Upkaar, he starred in Agatha Christie's most appreciated book, And Then There Were None. Featuring Mehmood, Pran, Helen among others, it is a faithful adaptation of the novel in which eight people land up on an island and begin to die mysteriously. A few years back, the film was called to mainstream attention when the film's opening song, Jaan Pehechan Ko, was used in a 2011 Heineken commercial.
  2. Choudhury, Bedatri D. (16 July 2020). "Noir Meets Nawathe: Close-Up on "Gumnaam"". MUBI.
  3. "Gumnaam Music Review by Shahid Khan". Planet Bollywood. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  4. Tripathi, Abhishek (8 September 2020). Indian Film Music and The Aesthetics of Chords. Zorba Books. p. 109. ISBN 978-93-90011-48-3.
  5. "Archived copy". boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "PACIFIC Exchange Rate Service : Foreign Currency Units per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1950-2016" (PDF). Fx.sauber.ubc.ca. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2018.


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