Sharada

I have seen one other movie directed by L.V. Prasad which also had Meena Kumari in the lead role. That was Miss Mary also made in 1957. Though Miss Mary was based on a more lighter mode, Sharada had a very serious social issue in its story. What happens when an adult son Chiranjeeb finds that his lady love is married to his father after he returns from a short break from home. Both Meena Kumari as Sharada, the religious hard working Asram girl and Raj Kapoor as Chiranjeeb as the son of a wealthy father played their role extremely well. Director Prasad captured the scenes of their surprise and agony in a very realistic way when they both put the truth behind the mishap. After being dejected and feeling hopeless Chiranjeeb resorted to drinking with Om Prakash providing a very well acted sidekick. The music was so so with the exception of the wonder girls Sai and Subhalakhsmi presenting a spectacular dance sequence. This is another one of Meena Kumari's tragic roles and she played those moments admirably and this is the second movie I saw after Baiju Bawara where the movie ended with Meena Kumari dying.