Mahal (1949 Film)

Mahal (1949 Film)

Mahal (Hindi: महल; Urdu: محل; English translation: The Mansion) is a 1949 Indian Hindi film directed by Kamal Amrohi and starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala. It was India's first reincarnation thriller film.

Produced by Bombay Talkies studio, along with being Kamal Amrohi's directorial debut, it is also the movie which launched both playback singer Lata Mangeshkar and leading lady Madhubala into super-stardom. The songs, particularly "Aayega Aane Waala" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, are perennial favorites. Rajkumari sang two other well-known songs from the film "Mein woh dulhan hon" and "Yeh raat phir na aayge". The lyrics were written by Nakshab. Rajkumari also sang these songs live on a Channel 4 (a UK TV station) programme called 'Mahfil' aired on 24 March 1991.

Mahal made Lata Mangeshkar a popular name. Prior to Mahal, the records used to feature only the character name. Hence the first lot of records had “Aayega aane wala” credited to Kamini, the character played by Madhubala. The first time when the song was played on All India Radio many calls were received by AIR to know the singer's name. AIR had to in turn ask the record company and announce Lata Mangeshkar's name on air.