Barsaat Ki Raat

Barsaat Ki Raat poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the 1960 black and white Hindi romantic musical directed by P.L. Santoshi that starred the Marilyn Monroe of Indian cinema, Madhubala in the lead role opposite Bharat Bhushan.

Produced by R. Chandra and released under the Shri Vishwa Bharti Films banner, Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) also starred Shyama, Chandrashekhar, K.N. Singh, Peace Kanwal, S.K. Prem, Khurshid Bawra, Ratna Bhushan, Mumtaz Begum, Praveen Paul, Babu Raje, Baby Shobha and Rashid Khan in supporting roles. The screenplay of the film was co-written by P.L. Santoshi and Bharat Bhushan.

Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) told the story of a romance that transcends societal barriers imposed by wealth and status. Shabnam (Madhubala) is captivated by a young Urdu poet called Amaan (Bharat Bhushan) after reading his musical poetry, despite never having seen him in person. Amaan is struggling to make a mark in the world of music and establish himself financially. When he gets a call from a radio station, Amaan travels to Hyderabad for work. He has to deliver a freshly composed poem within a short time span for the radio station and searches for inspiration. On a rainstorm night, Amaan collides with Shabnam and is mesmerized by her beauty. He goes on to compose a poem called “Barsaat Ki Raat” (Monsoon Night) based on his unforgettable encounter with a beautiful stranger and recites it on radio. When Shabnam hears it, she realizes the man she accidentally bumped into is actually the poet she adores. Destiny brings the two together again as Amaan’s friend inspector Shekhar (Chandrashekhar) recommends him as a tutor for Shabnam’s younger sister Razia (Baby Shobha). However, the romance is short lived as Shabnam’s father, police commissioner Khan Bahadur (K.N. Singh) gets wind of the same. He plans to get Shabnam arranged married to a wealthy judge’s son who is a barrister called Aftab Ahmed from Lucknow. Enraged that his daughter has fallen for a poor poet who is not worthy to match the status of their family, Khan Bahadur insults Amaan and casts him out of his house, warning him of dire consequences if he returns. Shabnam is madly in love with Amaan and decides to run away from her home to be with him. The two manage to leave Hyderabad for Amaan’s hometown and settle there, while police commissioner Khan Bahadur and inspector Shekhar are frantically searching for them. When Amaan sings a poem on radio, his location is disclosed and the couple moves to Jabalpur seeking refuge at Amaan’s friend advocate Sudhakar’s (Rashid Khan’s) house. Knowing full well that the police are chasing them, the advocate recommends the two get married immediately to avoid trouble with the law. However, before the wedding can be solemnized, inspector Shekhar lands up at their doorstep and takes Shabnam back to her home in Hyderabad. Shabnam’s father decides to take her and the family to Lucknow to solemnize her wedding with the rich barrister Aftab after Eid. Coincidentally, Amaan also heads to Lucknow and ends up staying at his friend’s place who is none other than barrister Aftab with whom Shabnam’s marriage has been arranged with. A series of twists and turns follow after which the two lovers unite again on a rainy night. In the end, Shabnam’s mother and Aftab together convince Khan Bahadur to let go of his anger and allow Shabnam to marry the man she so dearly loves.

Printed and circulated during a subsequent release of the film (somewhere in the late 1960s), this Barsaat Ki Raat poster was designed and printed for publicity of the film in north Indian theaters but never ended up being used.

This vintage Bollywood poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by poster artist J.S. Gola at Rais Studio Delhi. The artist’s printed signature is seen on the bottom right of this Madhubala movie poster.

A stunning hand drawn illustration of lead couple Bharat Bhushan and Madhubala in a romantic pose sitting drenched on a stormy rainy night is seen dominating this old Bollywood poster. True to the film’s title, black rain clouds are illustrated on the top. Actress Shyama who play’s a supporting role that adds a love triangle twist to the plot is seen hand painted in a large close up on the top right of this Barsaat Ki Raat poster.

Typography used in this Madhubala poster is primarily in English, with only the title translated to Devanagari Hindi. The main English title appears in yellow accentuated with a blue border.

The soundtrack album of Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) was composed by Roshan, while lyrics were written by Sahir Ludhianavi. It was a blockbuster upon it’s release and contained gems like the title track, “Zindagi Bhar Nahi Bhoolegi Woh Barsaat Ki Raat” and “Maine Shaayad Tumhe Pehle Bhi Kahi Dekha Ha” both sung by one of the greatest playback singers in Indian cinema, Mohammed Rafi.