Best posters of Bollywood movies for sale: Kaajal (1965).
Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the 1965 hit Hindi film directed by Ram Maheshwari that starred Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar, Dharmendra and Padmini in key roles.
Produced by Pannalal Maheshwari and presented by S. Dikshit under the Kalpnalok banner, Kaajal (1965) also starred Durga Khote, Helen, Tun Tun, Mehmood, Mumtaz, Jagirdar, Ramayan Tiwari and Mahendra in supporting roles.
Kaajal (1965) was based on Gulshan Nanda’s novel “Madhavi.” It told the story of a royal family headed by Rani Maa (Durga Khote) who has a son called Kunwar Saab Rajesh (Dharmendra). After the death of her trusted and loyal Munim Banwari (accountant), Rani Maa shelters his two children, Kaushal (Mahendra) and Madhavi (Meena Kumari) in her mansion. Madhavi grows up to be the perfect embodiment of virtue and loyally serves Rani Maa. She becomes the very soul of the royal mansion. Kunwar Saab Rajesh falls in love with Bhanu (Padmini), the daughter of Mr. Saxena (Jagirdar), who is visiting town after her college break. Madhavi convinces Rani Maa to embrace Bhanu as her daughter-in-law just like she embraced her as her own daughter despite her low caste status. The two get engaged despite initial opposition from Rani Maa, who considers the Saxena’s beneath her aristocratic status. After Kaushal drowns in a boat race, Madhavi is devastated. Kunwar Saab Rajesh steps in and takes the place of Madhavi’s lost brother. Kaushal’s loss puts Rajesh’s marriage on hold. In the meantime, Bhanu starts suspecting her fiance Kunwar Saab Rajesh and Madhavi of having feelings for each other. This suspicion only gets stronger once the two get married. Bhanu realizes that Madhavi knows everything about Rajesh’s likes and dislikes since the two have grown up together in the same mansion. Rajesh’s care and concern for Madhavi coupled with gossip from Bhanu’s maid Mumtaz (Jharna) only make matters worse. Rani Maa tries to arrange Madhavi’s wedding but she is seen as a black omen by prospective grooms. Madhavi’s mother died shortly after giving birth to her and her brother Kaushal’s death further fuels the superstition that Madhavi is accursed and Rajesh could be the next victim. Madhavi attempts suicide by jumping into a river but is saved by Moti Babu (Raaj Kumar). Rajesh asks Moti Babu to marry Madhavi but Moti requests for time to establish himself financially first. Upon hearing this, Rajesh immediately loans Moti a large sum of money to further his goal of buying a timber factory so that the marriage can be arranged promptly. Unknown to Rajesh and Rani Maa, Moti Babu is a womanizer and alcoholic who is simply using Madhavi to take advantage of Rajesh’s wealth. Moti begins to squander away the money that Rajesh loaned him for starting his business, by spending it on courtesan’s and alcohol. The story takes a gripping turn when Moti’s father (Ramayan Tiwari) arrives from South Africa. He is none other than Rani Maa’s old gardener Kalicharan (Kalu) who makes a shocking revlelation that Moti is actually her biological son, while Rajesh is Munim (accountant) Banwari’s son.
Printed and circulated during a subsequent release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 1970s), this vintage Bollywood poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.
This Kaajal poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by one of the leading Bollywood poster artists of Bombay called D.R. Bhosle.
King of Bollywood mnimalism, poster artist D.R. Bhosle’s flair over the paintbrush is seen in striking illustrations of key characters in this Kaajal movie poster. Raaj Kumar is seen trying to shoot Dharmendra with a rifle, while Meena Kumari is seen grappling with Raaj Kumar, trying to prevent him from doing so. The staircase of a royal mansion is seen in the background.
The title appears in a handwritten font in black, true to it’s meaning. Typography used in this best Bollywood movies poster is entirely in English, with only the title translated to Devanagari Hindi as well as Urdu at the bottom.
The success of the film at the box office as well as its stellar star cast is announced on the poster as “Winner of 40 Awards” and “11 Silver Jubilee Stars Together.”
The soundtrack album of Kaajal (1965) was composed by Ravi, while lyrics were penned by Sahir Ludhanvi. It featured blockbuster tracks such as “Choo Lene Do Nazuk Hothon Ko” sung by Mohammed Rafi and “Tora Mann Darpan Kehlaye” sung by Asha Bhonsle. “Yeh Zulf Agar Khul Ke” sung by Mohammed Rafi was also popular at the time of the film’s release.
