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Bankay Behari Lal (Santosh) lives in a
village - Chandar Nagar with his mother (Bibbo) and sister. He is an
unemployed graduate. However he has great ambitions to get hold of big
chunk of money by any means and therefore every night tries his luck in
the casino. The movie starts with Bankay silently leaving his house for
the casino where a singer is dancing and singing:
Wah re badalte zamane Kabhi chhakka kabhi teen aanay
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Bankay plays a game of cards with
landlord’s son Khairati (Azad) and wins. However Khairati realizes that
Bankay has tricked him with the cards. Therefore when the following
night Bankay wins again, Khairati blames him of foul play and they have
a heated argument. During their fight Khairati is severely injured.
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Bankay is scared and runs away to the
house of his friend Pandit Lekh Raj (Asif Jah). Pandit advises him to
escape to the city. He writes a referral letter for Bankay in the name
of his friend Banarsi Daas (Ajmal) who lives in the city. He asks Bankay
to stay overnight at the Rest House and take the morning bus to the
city.
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Bankay then goes to the Rest House. While he
is still talking to the caretaker of the rest house he listens to some
female screams. Bankay immediately enters insdie and finds a thief
trying to attack a girl while an old man has been tied to the bed. When
the thief sees Bankay, he jumps out of the window. Bankay unties the old
man who thanks him and introduces himself as a businessman Kishori Lal
(M. Ismail) and the girl as his daughter Saroj (Musarrat Nazir). |
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After arriving at the city Bankay visists
Banarsi Daas’ residence. His daughter Meena (Sabiha) is at home. He
waits for Banarsi Daas and when later comes, Bankay gives him the letter
from his friend Pandit Lekh Raj. Banarsi Das welcomes him and invites
him to stay at his house. Bankay’s charming personality impresses Meena.
She has a pet bird in a cage, whom she talks and expresses her feelings
in a song:
O maina na janay kiya ho gaya Kahan dil kho gaya o maina
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The following morning Banarsi Das writes
a referral letter to the Manager of his previous company and asks Bankay
to go there for a job. The Manager appoints him on a temporary job
subject to confirmation by the company owner who was out of town on
vacation. Bankay works hard and after a month when he gets salary, he
sends some portion of it to his mother. In the evening he takes Meena to
the Theatre. They watch the song:
Dil ki yeh aawaz hay pyar hona chahiye
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When they return home Meena finds that
her father has died. Before his death, he wrote a letter addressed to
Bankay, requesting him to marry Meena. To fulfill Banarsi Dass’ last
wish, Bankay marries Meena.
Now
Owner of the company returns from the vacation. When Bankay goes to his
office, he finds that he is Kishori Lal, the same old man who was saved
from the thief. Saroj is also there and she recommends to find a better
job assignment for Bankay who is then promoted as a Manager. That
evening Kishori Lal invites Bankay for dinner. While Bankay is at
Saraoj’s residence, Meena is waiting for him. When he doesn’t arrive on
time she sings:
De ke pyar ka payam sanwli saloni shaam aagai
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When Bankay returns home he discloses
this good news to Meena that he has been promoted as Manager of the
company.
The
following day Kishori Lal congratulates Bankay on his new position. When
Kishori Lal asks Bankay if he is married, he denies it. Then Kishori Lal
advises Bankay to spend his evenings with him and that way he would be
able to give company to Saroj as well. |
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In the evening when Bankay visits Kishori
Lal's house, he proposes him to marry Saroj on one condition that after
the marriage he would have to reside at Kishori Lal’s house. Bankay has
always been dreaming of becoming a rich person. Without thinking twice
he accepts this proposal.
When
Bankay returns home late at night, Meena is still waiting for him for
the dinner and it upsets her that he has already taken his dinner
outside. During their argument Bankay tells Meena that it was her
father’s last wish that he was forced to marry her. This statement makes
Meena feel highly disgraced. She says that the death was better than
that kind of life. |
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The other day Kishori Lal informs Bankay
of the progress of his marriage arrangements. He also advises Bankay to
move to Kishori Lal’s house. Now Bankay is very upset that why he gave
misleading information about his marriage that has caused all this
trouble. As he cannot sleep so he goes to a pharmacy to get sleeping
pills. There he sees a bottle of poison. While the pharmacist is busy,
Bankay is able to steal little quantity of Poison. At home he dissolves
the poison into Meena’s coffee. When Meena is drinking the coffee, the
bird starts crying loudly. After consuming coffee, Meena collapses down
and at the same time the bird escapes from the cage. |
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Bankay takes Meena’s dead body in his car
and dumps her far away in the jungle. After a while a snake bites Meena.
The poison from snake when reacts with the poison inside Meena, the
affect of both poisons is defused. This makes Meena alive again. She
gets up in search of water but falls down due to weakness. Some
villagers pick her up and provide her food and shelter. One of the
villager (Fazal Haq) explains how Meena got cured with snake’s poison.
In her
distressed situation, Meena sings:
Dil ke arman lutay
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An old villager offers Meena to take her
to the city to find her a job.
Bankay
is feeling guilty now for murdering Meena. He sings:
Aate ho yaad bar bar kaisey tumhain bhulain hum
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It is just a coincidence that the old
villager takes Meena to Kishori Lal’s house for whom he is doing laundry
work. Kishori Lal is in need of someone who could perform the extra work
due to forthcoming marriage of Saroj with Bankay, so he employs her as
domestic helper. The news of Bankay’s marriage with Saroj was a shock
for Meena. However she controls herself and starts working there as
Basanti. |
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That night Bankay takes dinner at Kishori
Lal’s house. After dinner, Bankay and Saroj both go out for shopping.
Seeing them together, Meena sings:
Ulfat ki nai manzil ko chala tu banhain dal ke banhon main
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The
following day Kishori Lal receives a telegram informing him of the
arrival of Ashok (Aslam Parvez) who had been the fiancée of Saroj. He
was serving the Army. He disappeared during the war and was declared
dead. The news of his arrival makes Kishori Lal joufull. He explains to
Bankay that now with Ashok's return, he is not in a position to marry
him with Saroj.
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That evening Bankay visits Saroj and
expresses his disapproval to the new situation but Kishori Lal makes it
clear that he was just an employee of their company and he had no right
to talk to them in that manner.
Next
day Bankay is fired from his job and Ashok takes over. Saroj offers
Bankay some money as compensation but he rejects it. At home Bankay
finds that the birds has returned to the cage. |
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He misses Meena and in his frustration he
enters the Kishori Lal’s house at night and fires at Saroj to kill her.
Saroj is badly injured. Kishori Lal calls the Hospital and the Police
for help. Meena donates her blood to save Saroj’s life.
Bankay
returns back so that Kishori Lal can handover him to the Police. However
Saroj request her father not to call the Police. She pardons Bankay and
tells him that she has a gift for him. She then takes him inside her
bedroom where Meena was waiting for Bankay.
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Bankay now decides to return to the
village because he has learned his lesson. He will no more run after the
money. They are leaving when Kishori Lal brings a bag of 100.000 Rupees
and presents to Meena. Bankay refuses to accept it but Kishori Lal gives
it to Meena as a gift of a father. She accepts it.
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