Mr. & Mrs. 55

Guru Dutt poster for sale: Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955).

Featured here is a rare original Bollywood poster of the timeless Guru Dutt Hindi film, Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955).

This is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the 1955 classic social romantic comedy that featured one of the greatest filmmakers in Indian cinema, Guru Dutt in the lead role opposite the “Marilyn Monroe of Bollywood,” Madhubala.

Produced and directed by Guru Dutt, Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955) also starred Lalita Pawar, Johnny Walker, Kumkum, Cuckoo and Jagdeep in supporting roles.

Written by Abrar Alvi, the film was a satire on marriages of convenience and was a major critical as well as commercial success at the box office.

The film is considered a landmark in Indian cinema for several reasons. It was one of the few comedy films made by Guru Dutt. After two failures at the box office, namely Amar (1954) and Naata (1955), Madhubala’s career had taken a turn for the worse. So much so that the press labelled her as “box office poison.” Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955) was a turning point in her career and responsible for reviving it. Madhubala’s character of wealthy heiress “Anita Verma” in the film is considered by many as one of her most memorable performances. The cartoons in the film were illustrated by legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman.

In 2019, the film was included in Time Out’s list of “100 Best Bollywood movies,” making this Guru Dutt poster, highly collectible.

Printed and circulated during the initial release run of the film in theaters (somewhere in the late 1950s), this Mr and Mrs 55 poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This old Bollywood poster was originally designed by a Bollywood poster design studio in Bombay in mixed media format, i.e. using a combination of both hand painted oil on canvas as well as photographic collage techniques.

A stunning over painted photo of the lead couple is depicted prominently in this Mr and Mrs 55 poster. Guru Dutt is seen on his knees tying the strap of Madhubala’s sandal. The actress is dressed in a see through Western outfit and appears looking away indifferently, while holding an umbrella to protect her from the sun.

Typography used in this vintage Guru Dutt poster is primarily in English, with a translation of the title appearing in Devanagari Hindi as well on the top left. The background of this old Bollywood poster is minimal white, giving the artwork in the foreground a stunning appearance.

Music of Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955) was composed by maestro O.P. Nayyar, while lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The song “Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji” sung by Mohammed Rafi and Geeta Dutt is a timeless classic, forever etched into history.

“Thandi Hawa, Kaali Ghata” sung by Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum was another memorable song, as were “Preetam Aan Milo” and “Neela Aasmani” sung by Geeta Dutt. “Dil Par Hua Aisa Jadoo” was another peppy number sung by Mohammed Rafi in the film.