Father’s House
S.U. Sunny, 1950, 132 min

Introduced by Ranjit S. Ruprai and followed by discussion with film critic Phuong Le

Dilip Kumar is Ashok, the new postmaster in Madhuban and the focus of a heart-breaking love triangle with the poor, mischievous postman’s daughter (Nargis as Bela) and the rich, haughty daughter of the local grandee (Munawar Sultana as Usha). This is a love story filled with tragedy, yet it became the second-highest box office hit in India in 1950. Legendary film composer Naushad produced the film as well as providing the music for classic songs sung by Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Talat Mahmood. The leaving of the parental home for a new life with one’s beloved is considered to be a time of both celebration and sadness for a woman in Indian culture. It is also often used as a metaphor for the departure of a soul from the world to be in union with the divine. It is this interplay that makes the songs and story of Babul both joyous and melancholy.

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Our Mother’s House
Jack Clayton, 1967, 105 min

Introduced by Ranjit S. Ruprai and followed by discussion with film critic Phuong Le

“If we tell, we go to hell.”

Jack Clayton’s strange, gothic film takes place in a shadowy, old house in south London. A home in which secrets must be kept by 7 children about their dead mother as they try to continue their lives whilst avoiding the orphanage. What happens to a parental home when it suddenly becomes parentless? The children, including a pre-Oliver! Mark Lester, form a mother cult with a sacred shrine and disturbing seances. Into this bizarre situation returns the absent father, played by Dirk Bogarde, a charming and devious character. This rarely screened British film is a marvellous curio.

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Programme supported by Film Hub London: www.filmlondon.org.uk/filmhub