Yahudi (1958)

Director:

Bimal Roy

Writers:

Nabendu Ghosh (writer)
Aga Hashr Kashmiri (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Musical

Plot:

A Jewish woman is romantically involved with a Roman prince at the time of Jewish persecution in Rome. |

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dilip Kumar	...	Prince Marcus
Meena Kumari	...	Hannah
Nasir Hussain	...	Brutus
Sohrab Modi	...	Ezra, the Jew
Nigar Sultana
Murad
Helen
Tiwari
Cuckoo
Anwar Hussain
Minoo Mumtaz
Kumari Naaz		(as Baby Naaz)
Kamala Kumari

Runtime:

170 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Bombay Films Corporation

Soundtrack:

Dil Mein Pyar Ka Toofan

Roman era story from Bimal Roy

I've seen plenty of films depicting the Roman era which include Hebrew characters, but this is the first Indian production, and directed by one of my favorite directors, Bimal Roy, who has never disappointed me. This film has the usual elements I prize in his films: beautifully composed images and wonderful music that isn't too Westernized. It doesn't look like it had an extravagant budget, but neither does it look cheap; the sets and costumes, while different that what I'm used to seeing in a sword & sandal movie (particularly the costumes), are perfectly adequate. Some of the wigs and beards look kind of fake, though. Other than dance sequences and the occasional comic relief (the latter not much in evidence here), Roy's films don't strike me as relying on flashy acting, and here (as in his 1955 version of Devdas), Dilip Kumar's somewhat restrained affect could pass for subtlety. I guess the acting style is more naturalistic. Dilip's wig, though seems unnatural, kind of shiny or metallic looking. Perhaps the intention was to suggest bronze or lighter colored hair. The only plot point that seemed really questionable was the late reveal of Meena Kumari's character's parentage -- I think the character would have been old enough to know where she came from.