Night Club movie poster for sale.
Featured here is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the 1958 hit black and white Hindi film directed by Naresh Saigal that featured Ashok Kumar and Kamini Kaushal in lead roles.
Released under the Varma Pictures banner, Night Club (1958) also starred Mubarak, Helen, Gope, Nishi, Dhumal, Iftekhar, Maruti, S. Nazir and Ram Mohan in supporting roles.
A crime thriller, the story of Night Club (1958) centered around a popular night club owned by mob boss Pran (played by Mubarak). On the surface it is a legitimate establishment; in reality, the night club is a front for Pran’s criminal activities. Undercover police officer Vijay infiltrates the mob by securing a job as general manager of the night club and begins to gain Pran’s trust. One day he obtains vital information that the mob is planning a major heist to loot smuggled gold. He passes on the tip to his childhood friend and colleague, inspector Kishore (played by Ashok Kumar). However, his true identity is discovered shortly after and Pran murders him after finding out that he is a mole.
Vijay’s body is removed from the night club and dumped on the outskirts of the city. Every trace of the crime is erased. Without evidence, Kishore cannot arrest the powerful mob boss. Vijay leaves behind his younger sister Bindu (played by Kamini Kaushal), whom he single-handedly raised after they lost their parents at an early age. Bindu now joins the mob by winning Pran’s trust. When inspector Kishore finds Bindu working for Pran, he is shocked and confronts her. She reveals her true intent and the two team up to avenge Vijay’s death and bring the mob boss to justice.
Printed and circulated during a subsequent release run of the film (somewhere in the 1960s), this old Night Club movie poster was originally designed 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 a movie poster design studio in Delhi and features striking artwork.
Actress Kamini Kaushal is illustrated in a large hand drawn close up portrait on the left, smoking a cigarette. Her portrait is flanked by a quirky hand painted illustration of lead actor Ashok Kumar on the right, who is seen wearing a police uniform in his character of an inspector. A smaller full length drawing of Mubarak who plays a mob boss is seen at the bottom. Wearing a trenchcoat and fedora hat, he is depicted carrying a walking stick and standing under a street lamp.
For the 1950s, depicting a woman smoking a cigarette on a movie poster was considered a breakaway from social norms, which makes this old Bollywood poster highly collectible!
Typography used in this Night Club movie poster is primarily in English with a translation of the title appearing in both Devanagari Hindi as well as Urdu at the bottom. The main English title of the film is seen written in a stylized type in yellow with a red border, giving it the appearance of a neon sign.
Night Club (1958) was dedicated to Gope (Gope Kamlani), one of Bollywood’s famous comedians who starred in over a hundred films in his illustrious career. Gope passed away a year before the film’s release on 19 March 1957.
The soundtrack album of Night Club (1958) was composed by Madan Mohan, while lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. It was one of the rare albums of Indian cinema that featured songs sung by only female playback singers. Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum sang the seven songs featured in the film. The album is remembered for popular song “Sanam Jab Ghar Se Nikal Ke Chalo” sung by Asha Bhosle.
