Mr. & Mrs. 55

Mr and Mrs 55 poster for sale.

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 Mr and Mrs 55 poster, highly collectible.

Printed and circulated during the release run of the film in theaters (somewhere in the 1960s), this vintage Bollywood poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This Mr and Mrs 55 poster was originally hand painted on canvas by a Bollywood poster design studio in Bombay. The signature of poster painter Manohar is seen on the bottom left.

A stunning illustration of the lead couple is depicted prominently on the top of this original 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.

The scene is seen played out in reverse at the bottom of this Guru Dutt poster. Madhubala is seen dressed in an Indian outfit (saree) and her head modestly covered, stooping down to touch the feet of her husband Guru Dutt, who appears indifferently looking away and puffing a cigarette. A large close up illustrated portrait of Madhubala smiling is seen on the top of this Mr and Mrs 55 poster.

Typography used in this vintage Madhubala poster is primarily in Devanagari Hindi, with a translation of the title appearing in English as well on the top left. The background of this old Bollywood poster is divided into two parts, with the left appearing in green and the right in yellow. Musical notes are seen hand drawn in the background, capitalizing on the success of the film’s soundtrack album.

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.