Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath

Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1962 Hindi film directed by Suraj Prakash that starred Ashok Kumar, Nanda and Shashi Kapoor in key roles.

Produced by Hiren Khera and presented by Kewal Suri under the Limelight banner, Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath (1962) also starred Nasreen, Achala Sachdev, Mridula Rani and Bihari in supporting roles.

Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath (1962) told the story of a young doctor called Deepak (Shashi Kapoor) who works as a resident surgeon at Sarvodaya Hospital in Bombay. He travels to his home town for his sister Sheela’s wedding, where he meets her best friend Rajni (Nanda). Studying in Bombay, Rajni lives in a women’s guesthouse. When Deepak holds Rajni’s hand to apply henna (mehndi), he instantly falls in love with her and mischievously writes his name on her hand. After the wedding is over, the two are returning individually to Bombay and meet again at the train station. Deepak tries to get Rajni to reveal her address in Bombay so that he can meet her there but she plays hard to get. However, fate brings them together again as their luggage gets mixed up. Deepak finds an address note in Rajni’s suitcase mentioning Marina Guesthouse and goes to meet her there. He is teased and sent away by the girls living at Rajni’s women’s hostel. When she learns about Deepak’s visit, Rajni decides to go meet him at Sarvodaya Hospital where he lives and works. However, she suffers a car accident enroute and is brought to the same hospital unconscious. Deepak is shocked to see the woman he deeply loves in such a tragic state. He nearly faints while administering emergency treatment to Rajni at the casualty ward. Seeing his state, senior surgeon Dr. Mehta (Ashok Kumar) is called in to complete the bandaging procedure. Dr. Mehta confronts Deepak about his emotional connection with his patient and learns he is in love with her. When Rajni makes a full recovery, Dr. Mehta, who is a father figure to Deepak, advises the couple to tie the know at the earliest. Deepak’s mother gives her consent and Rajni goes to her mother’s house to seek her approval as well. She finds the house locked and learns that her mother has gone to her village and she follows after. There Rajni learns the bitter truth that her father abandoned her mother on the very next day of their marriage. Villagers question Rajni’s mother’s character as well as the legitimacy of her birth. Rajni confronts her mother upon hearing this and returns back to Bombay. She is heartbroken and does not want her shame to become a part of Deepak and his family’s life. Rajni tells Deepak she was only playing him and is not interested in marriage. Deepak is crushed and the trauma begins to affect his work. In the middle of a surgery, Deepak nearly passes out thinking of Rajni, risking his patient’s life. Medical negligence cases start piling up and Deepak loses the scholarship he was selected for. Deepak’s mother meets with Rajni to persuade her but she refuses to marry him. Upon pressing her for the reason behind her refusal, Rajni finally relents and confesses to Deepak’s mother that she is an illegitimate child and does not want to bring shame to their family. Deepak’s mother tells Rajni that her secret is safe with her and returns back. A deadly plague sweeps a neighboring village and a volunteer list of doctors is compiled by Dr. Mehta. Knowing well Deepak’s fragile state of mind, he cancels his name from the list. However, with no desire to live after losing Rajni, Deepak side steps Dr. Mehta’s authority and goes to the plague devastated village in a suicide mission. Upon hearing the news, Dr. Mehta rushes to Rajni’s home to inform her but she has already left for the plague devastated village in search of Deepak after learning about his decision. Rajni’s mother opens the door and Dr. Mehta is shocked to see that she is the same woman he had abandoned years ago. Dr. Mehta now realizes that Rajni is his very own daughter and he goes to the plague devastated village to rescue them both. He finds Deepak has already collapsed with a plague infection. However, with Dr. Mehta and Rajni by his side, Deepak makes a miraculous full recovery. Deepak and Rajni finally get married and all ends well.

Printed and circulated during the theatrical run of the film (somewhere in the 1960s), this Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath poster was designed and printed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This old Bollywood poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by a Bollywood poster art studio in Bombay.

Actress Nanda is seen in a striking illustration on the top, dancing to the title song of the film, “Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath Re” sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Picturesque mountains are seen in the background behind her. Large close up hand drawn portraits of the three lead stars appear below. Nanda is seen playfully pressing Shashi Kapoor’s cheek with her fist, while Ashok Kumar is depicted smoking away.

Typography used in this Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath poster is entirely in Devanagari Hindi, with the title illustrated in red in a wavy typeface, accentuated with an orange border. Lettering in this Shashi Kapoor poster is set against a minimal white background, making it stand out in contrast.

The soundtrack album of Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath (1962) was composed by duo Kalyanji-Anandji, who were assisted by duo Laxmikant–Pyarelal, while lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. It featured memorable songs such as “Mohabbat Agar Na Hoti Toh” sung by Mohammed Rafi, title track “Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath Re” sung by Lata Mangeshkar and “Aap Ne Yun Hi Dillagi Ki” sung by Mukesh.