Barsaat (Rain) is a 1949 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars the famous duo of Kapoor and Nargis as well as Prem Nath. It was also the introduction of actress Nimmi  in her first film role. 

Barsaat begins with a flashy car on the the valley of Kashmir, winding hill roads. In it are two young men on a holiday. Pran (Raj Kapoor) and Gopal (Premnath) enjoy their affluence by driving a huge foreign car down to the mountains. Pran would like to get to the city, Gopal wants to spend the night in the hills – he had met a young woman there the previous year.

Neela (Nimmi) is waiting for him as she had promised. He promises, just as soon as the monsoons begin. He has to leave in the morning. He goes with her to a festival the next day, she demurs and Gopal agrees. Pran accompanies him to the venue where Neela is dancing. It interests Gopal only for a while, though, and soon the two men are on their way again, much to Neela’s distress.

They have to find a house to stay in. Both Pran and Gopal like a house jutting over the water, though Gopal’s interest in the house is due to the chowkidar’s nubile daughter, Reshma (Nargis). The pure notes of Pran’s violin continue to draw Reshma to him. Her father having returned home, Reshma slips away to meet Pran in the night, half swooning into his arms. Pran’s belief that time waits for no one, that lovers have to always be ready to face hurdles, has a huge impact on the innocent Reshma.

Film told the story of two diametrically opposite men – city slickers both, their attitudes towards life and love couldn’t be more different. Gopal is only lives for the moment. Pran is a poet who looks humorously upon his friend’s adventures and misadventures though his philosophy of life and love is more serious. It is the love story of these two men and their loves.

Premnath, similarly, played the path of a thoughtless cad to perfection. Nimmi sings the plaintive Barsaat mein hamse mile tum at their parting, he callously tosses peanuts and chomps on them. It’s not just his face; his entire body language, the careless lounging, the disinterested departure before the performance ends – speaks volumes. 

The madness of Pran’s grief shakes the foundation of Gopal’s cynicism, then the strength of Reshma’s faith teaches him what true love means. The character slowly grows in empathy and there is true repentance, an aching wish to be a better man and the urge to make reparation. The value of ‘forever love’ is a lesson that’s tragically learnt. Premnath also gets most of the humorous throwaway lines in the film, as befits his character.

The much-acclaimed poster and publicity  for the movie were illustrated by the master artist Dr S. M. Pandit. Film saw the debut of Shailendra as lyricist and Shankar-Jaikishan as music directors. Film’s music is immortal and will continue to enchant the melody. Actress Bimla Kumari appears swaying in the song ‘Hawa mein udta jaaye’, the song become very popular as well. The movie contains a foot-tapper also – ‘Patli Kamar Hai Tirchhi Nazar Hai’ on which famous dancer Cuckoo has delivered a mesmerizing performance. The story and dialogue writer Ramanand Sagar went onto become a famous independant director.

This black and white movie is technically superior. Almost everything is perfect. The picturization of certain songs in the rain is simply wonderful. Raj Kapoor believed in presenting the songs of his movies on the screen in the most beautiful manner possible, thus making the audience love to watch them again and again. Barsaat is a standing example of this belief and ability of himself.

Barsaat is the monsoon season, or even the rains, but there’s nary a drop on screen until the climax when the rain clouds hint at the darkness of grief. However, the mood is always there, evoked by song, by music, by words… Jal Mistry’s cinematography captures the misty hills and vales beautifully, framing scenes so that one gets the feeling of being in the hills during the rains. His elaborate framing of shots and the performances lift spirits. His innovative chiaroscuro created deft shadows and angled lighting, lending gloss to the narrative. Premnath is perfectly cast and has a scruffy charm. It was Premnath’s first success. Nimmi gets to lip sync to such hits as Jeeya bekarar hai and Barsaat mein. She makes an arresting debut.

Photos courtesy Google. Excerpts taken from Google.