Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955)

Mr. & Mrs. 55, loosely based on a play written by Abrar Alvi called Modern Marriage, sparkles with wit and imagination.

Mr. & Mrs. 55 Director:Guru Dutt Producer: Guru Dutt Music: O.P. Nayyar    Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri Cast: Guru Dutt, Madhubala, Johnny Walker, Tun Tun, Lalita Pawar, Kumkum, Cuckoo, Agha  Mr. & Mrs. 55, loosely based on a play written by Abrar Alvi called Modern Marriage, sparkles with wit and imagination. A young, naive heiress Anita (Madhubala), in custody of a martinet and flamingly feminist aunt (Lalita Pawar) is forced into a 'marriage of convenience' with an unemployed cartoonist Preetam Kumar (Guru Dutt) in an attempt to save her millions - a move orchestrated by the scheming aunt. However, in the course of her ostensibly married life, she learns the true meaning of marriage and the deep significance of being an Indian wife, much to the dismay of her aunt, who, in adherence to her wayward beliefs, has been trying to instill every kind of anti-male sentiment in her niece's. Mr. & Mrs. 55 was a satirical comedy showing a strong concern for westbound society and its changing values. To make it effective, film's poster was divided into two parts. One part showed the hero, dressed in western clothes, buckling heroine's shoes and in the other part heroine was shown in sari touching hero's feet. The film was full of fluid camera movements, long tracking shots, brilliant use of light and shade and close-ups, fine performances and outstanding music. Mr. and Mrs. 55 was more like an American film and perhaps Guru Dutt's most Hollywood influenced film.