My introduction to this film occurred when I was perhaps 12 years old. At the time, my sister and I relied mainly on Doordarshan–India’s sole TV channel way back then–for entertainment. A half-hour programme of Hindi film songs called Chitrahaar used to be among our favourite programmes. One day, on Chitrahaar, we saw Thandi hawaaein lehraake aayein. Both of us had heard the song before; one couldn’t live in the same house with a music-lover like my father and not have heard it—but we’d never seen it.
I don’t recall the exact conversation that followed, but I think I can paraphrase it pretty easily.
One goggle-eyed girl: My goodness! Who was that?
Second goggle-eyed girl: I don’t know. Oooh! Just look at him!
First goggle-eyed girl: Papa, who’s that?
Father of goggle-eyed girls, roused out of reading some papers: Who? Nalini Jaywant?
Goggle-eyed girls (in unison): No!!! The man! (Note: An Indian father—at least in those days—frowned on his daughters calling men ‘hunks’)
My father said that was Premnath, and we stared in disbelief. Premnath, for us, was a paunchy and rather repulsive figure from Johnny Mera Naam. By that time, Thandi hawaaein was over and we told ourselves we must have been mistaken. It took a few years—and Doordarshan’s telecast of Naujawan—to admit that yes, that figure we had seen was as handsome as we’d thought. And yes, also that he was Premnath. Not the Premnath of the 70’s (even the 60’s, as evidenced in Teesri Manzil), but a slender, broad-shouldered gorgeous Premnath who looked good enough to eat.
So now that you know what is the best thing about this film, I can proceed with telling you what it’s all about.
Our hero makes a very brief appearance right at the start of the film. He’s Raju, a mechanic who works in a garage, repairing cars. One day, Raju’s best friend, neighbour and colleague (?) comes racing in, looking for his sister Shyama (?). Raju says Shyama must be home, so her brother goes running off home to tell Shyama the bad news he’s just read in the newspaper: that Shyama’s beloved, the wealthy Kishore (?—someone help me with the cast, please!) has jilted her and is getting engaged to the equally wealthy Kamla (Nalini Jaywant). Shyama is heartbroken.
The scene now shifts to Kamla’s home, where it turns out that Kamla isn’t keen on marrying Kishore at all. Kishore is a dimwit and a wimp, as we soon discover in his conversations with his father (S N Bannerjee). Dad bullies Kishore into doing just about everything, and is now making no bones about the fact that he wants Kishore to marry Kamla for her money.
Kamla’s father (? Is this Nawab Kashmiri, one of the top billed actors in the cast?) throws his weight about with equal, if not more, disregard for other people’s feelings. When Kishore and his father arrive for the engagement, Kamla’s father makes it very clear to them that he’s agreed to the match because of their lineage. Kishore may be a moron, but he’s a moron with a good blood line. If it weren’t for that pedigree, this marriage wouldn’t ever take place.
Just before the engagement, Shyama sneaks into the house and tells Kamla that Kishore is hers.
Kamla is by now getting frantic. Fortunately, she has a steadfast friend by her side: her cousin Bimla (Yashodhara Katju), who also stays with them. Bimla suggests a way to stall Kamla’s looming engagement: pretend Kamla already has a beau. Kamla is jittery and tongue-tied and nearly chickens out of the entire plan, but Bimla’s made of sterner stuff: she soon convinces her uncle that Kamla cannot possibly marry Kishore because she loves someone else.
The uncle is stunned, but he loves Kamla deeply (not something I’d have suspected, seeing the callous way in which he was marrying her off). So he listens. And asks some questions. Who is this man? What is his name? Where does he live? Bimla and Kamla, groping for answers, hurriedly invent a lover for Kamla. Raj Kumar Saxena, they say; he lives in Burma.
Kamla’s father gives her an ultimatum: write to this Raj Kumar Saxena and summon him. If he arrives within 15 days (and of course if Kamla’s father approves of him), Kamla and Raj Kumar will get married. If he doesn’t turn up, or if Daddy doesn’t approve, Kishore will be summoned.
Now starts the fun. What do Kamla and Bimla do? Where do they produce a Burma-resident Raj Kumar Saxena from?
Bimla, ever enterprising, finds various candidates for the role—it’s not mentioned, but she seems to have advertised. Or used her social connections? All the men, surprisingly, have silly little moustaches and shifty eyes. Kamla is apprehensive; what will happen at the end of the 15 days? She doesn’t want to end up married to a stranger. Bimla tells her to stop worrying; they’ll sort out later. The priority is to get Kishore out of the way.
We now have an inexplicable, unnecessary and silly digression from the plot.
Kamla goes to meet (and hire) one of these prospective bridegrooms at a restaurant. The deal is interrupted by a huge furore—a woman sitting next to Kamla finds her bag missing and Kamla discovers that 500 rupees have been stolen from her too. Worse, the woman accuses Kamla of having stolen her bag. They end up in the police station, where Kamla is bailed out by a helpful man who pays off the nasty woman, escorts Kamla out—and then proceeds to pinch the expensive necklace Kamla’s wearing.
Bimla’s search for a makeshift beau for Kamla now brings her to a certain Preetam Pandey (?), an admirer of Bimla’s. Bimla is certain that Preetam will agree to pretend to be Raj Kumar Saxena until a more suitable solution can be found.
Bimla therefore takes Kamla—the latter pretending to be an ayah (why, the film doesn’t divulge, or Nupur Video have been doing some hectic editing). And while Bimla is away talking to Preetam Pandey, Kamla finds herself accosted by an admirer who tells her, without any preamble, that she’s the woman of his dreams. It’s Raju, whom we’ve met before.
One chance meeting (which is all huffy indignation on Kamla’s part), and she’s smitten. Soon after, again at the same park, Kamla meets Raju again, and discovers two startling facts about him:
(a) His actual name is Raj Kumar Saxena
(b) He’s lived four years in Burma
She’s so rattled that she overbalances and falls into a pond. When Raju tries to rescue her, he falls in too. The episode ends with Raju taking Kamla off to his home to dry off.
He manages to get her a change of clothes from Shyama next door, and Kamla, all dried and changed and looking like a gaon ki gori–a village belle—admits that she finds Raju very attractive. There’s much shy simpering (on her part), and some teasing flirtation (on his).
Raju goes off to work after a while, and when he returns, tells Kamla to change back into her own clothes. At this point, either the editor goes to sleep or Nupur strikes again—Kamla tells Raju that she has “told Shyama everything”. Huh? When did this happen? And why? And why does Kamla’s having told Shyama everything permit Kamla to keep wearing Shyama’s clothes? Why does she want to, anyway?
There’s a bit of a squabble here, with Kamla clinging onto the clothes as she rushes off in a taxi, and Raju yelling at her to return the clothes, as he follows on top of a lorry with which he’s hitched a ride.
He follows her all the way home and barges in. When Kamla’s father asks who this barbarian is, Raju tells him that Kamla and he are an item—only to have Kamla deny that she even knows him. That’s not a nice way for a Hindi film heroine to behave.
Raju storms off. Obviously. You can only push a self-respecting mechanic this far.
Then, a few days later, he runs into Kamla again. She’s been out by the beach, mooning about, when her car conks out—and the nearest garage, when she arrives there, happens to be Raju’s. While he goes about repairing her car, Kamla tries to tell him why she denied him in front of her father; she’d wanted to introduce him to the old man in her own time (considering Dad as given her a deadline, she doesn’t really have much time). Plus, she didn’t like the way Raju barged in. Why couldn’t he have at least cleaned up a little before coming?
Our man doesn’t take this at all well. He’s a mechanic, he says; a labourer. If she can’t bear his grease and filth, she’s welcome to her own pretty world. Goodbye!
When Raju asks for payment for the repairs on her car—Rs 2.50—Kamla hands him Rs 2,000. She says she doesn’t have change, and Raju flings the money in her face. They’re both furious and bitter, and there’s a lot of emotion in this entire scene (it’s a long one, too: 10 minutes). Mostly, it’s anger and a sense of having been betrayed by each other, but there are also moments of almost-sexual tension.
It ends with Kamla flinging the money back at Raju, telling him that the balance Rs 1,997.50 is a reward for him. He can do what he wants with it.
So what does he do but turn up that evening at her home, smartly dressed and introducing himself to her father as Raj Kumar Saxena, the man from Burma?
Now what? Why has Raju really come to her house? Is he, perhaps, really a wealthy man who’d been in disguise? Or is a makeover on the cards? How do rich and poor—if actually poor—reconcile? Do they, even?
What I liked about this film:
Premnath and Nalini Jaywant. Both leads make for great eye candy, and they’re fabulous together: not just do they look wonderful, there’s also superb chemistry here.
The music! Although S D Burman didn’t give Naujawan one of his all-over great scores, the film does have some fine songs. Thandi hawaaein lehraake aayein is my favourite, and there’s the delightful O piya piya piya piya, picturised on a Cuckoo and a bunch of admiring extras on the dance floor. And Jiya jaaye piya aaja, a beautifully soulful Lata song.
What I didn’t like:
The bit that ends with Kamla’s necklace getting stolen. What was that episode doing in this film? It has nothing important to do with the rest of the plot.
And one other thing: did you notice that most of the screen shots have actors in one corner or the other of the frame? I don’t know if this is the fault of the director/cinematographer or Nupur but it’s very irritating to watch a scene with only half or less of an actor’s face visible through most of it.
The odd thing about Naujawan is that the two halves of the film—the point at which Raju chases Kamla into her own home in pursuit of the clothes on the one hand, and everything beyond that on the other—seem as if they’re from two separate films. Part 1 is frothy and funny, what with Bimla and Kamla’s attempts to prevent her having to marry Kishore; Kamla’s meeting Raju and her banter with him; Kishore’s father, Kamla’s father, Bimla’s mad excuses to her uncle on Kamla’s behalf… and then, Part 2. Suddenly, all the humour goes out the window and it becomes dramatic and emotional. Bimla does provide some comic relief, but it’s minuscule.
Still, I liked Naujawan a lot. It was absorbing, it was romantic, and it had Premnath (and Nalini Jaywant). What’s not to like?
Oh: and just because I couldn’t stop taking screenshots, here’s one lovely one. Enjoy!
Dustedoff 
Premnath was indeed handsome. I loved him in Aan also as well as Barsaat. But somehow this filmm sounds like a whole lot of confusion. But maybe i can try it just for Premnath and nalini jayant :)
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There’s not a lot of confusion, but certainly more than there should have been. Frankly, this film suffers not from what Greta calls ‘the curse of the second half’ but rather the curse of the first half: it meanders and flounders in the first half, but finds its feet and becomes very focussed and absorbing in the second half. Both of them look better in the second half too! :-)
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What Aan stars Premnath as well?
This is one film though I have seen on DD when small, have completely forgotten about the cast.
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Yes, Premnath’s there in Aan as well. He’s the evil villain, and even though that was made in the same year as Naujawan, he looks a good deal different, and it’s not just the clothes.
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He does look different!
I’ll take him in Naujawan!
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Me too!
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Reading this review has brought a whole lot of college memories back. Well it is the song ‘thandi hawaaien lehraa ke aayen’ to be exact.
One of our class mates had these audio cassettes of old songs and No. 9 cassette had some lovely ones – this was one of them.
We called lovely songs No. 9 songs (nau number wala gaana) :)
Yes, I think this is one of those old films which have scenes you wonder about. I have some too.
Nevertheless it seems to be a film worth watching for the lead pair…and especially Premnath.
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ps:
LOL about the goggle-eyed girls!!! :-D
Meant to to write this in my previous comment.
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My sister and I used to keep a blank video cassette in the VCR whenever Chitrahaar or Rangoli used to come – we ended up taping a lot of great songs (we never recorded an entire programme, just the songs we liked). Saw them again and again until we (or at least I) reached the stage where we could sing along and often even knew which stanza was picturised how!
And I still get pretty goggle-eyed when I see Premnath in Naujawan! :-D Some things never change!
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Premnath! *sigh*
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What Premnath looked this good?
*sigh*
I don’t think I’ll manage to bring out any intelligible words for sometime. I’ll report tomorrow! ;-)
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Heh! :-D I’ll be waiting to see what you have to say!
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Yes, Premnath! I was shocked to find out what Premnath turned out to be in the 70s after watching Aan (1952, where he’s in color!).
“Thandi Hawayen” is a great song! I really want to see this film!
According to Surjit Singh, the Father is indeed Nawab (though perhaps not the one name Nawab)
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Thank you for the Nawab/Nawab Kashmiri confirmation! It must be Nawab Kashmiri, because after Premnath and Nalini Jaywant, he receives top billing – and in the story, after Kamla and Raju, Kamla’s father is the most important character.
Premnath is super in Aan too (by the way, part of my blog header is from Aan). It’s a pity he went to seed so soon. :-(
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I remember a young and rakish Premnath in ‘Barsaat’. One could quite understand why Nimmi would pine away for him.
Any goggle-eyed girl would. :)
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Yes, Nimmi did pine away for him pretty drastically, didn’t she? ;-) I wish some of his early films were more easily available. Or that one could run some software to tone him down in later films like Chaubees Ghante, which was good entertainment but where he’d already become pretty pudgy.
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The moment I read the title I was racking my brains to remember the killer song it had. Yessss Thandi Hawayein…
So many of the later day villians were actually VERY HANDSOME MEN. Pran, Prem Chopra and Premnath (PPP).
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All those Ps are quite a coincidence! And yes, they were very handsome too. Though I must admit that Premnath started villain roles only after he’d rather gone to seed. Most of his heartbreakingly handsome phase passed in hero roles. The same with Ajit. Also Rehman. But Prem Chopra was a villain even in his debut film, Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh!
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With Pran it’s actually the other way around.. He started out as a villain (50s & 60s) and then become the strong Pathan friend of hero in the 70s!
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Yes! I think the first film in which Pran was in a sympathetic role was Upkaar – and after that of course he did quite a few. Interestingly, I don’t recall ever having seen a film in which Prem Chopra was in a non-villainous role. Teesri Manzil, perhaps. to some extent – but not really. He’s not an especially likable character there either.
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Prem Chopra was one of the freedom fighters in Manoj Kumar’s Shaheed and had a non-villainous role in Hulchul too, I think!
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Ah, yes – you’re right, he played Sukhdev, I think – or was it Rajguru? – in Shaheed. And he’s a reformed prodigal brother in Upkaar too, if I remember correctly.
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Pran as Dr Kailash in Aah (1953) was a sympathetic character, which came as a surprise to me when I first watched the movie. He plays a great role in treating and nursing Raj Kapur, afflicted with tuberculosis. He also untangles crossed wires and facilitates the real lovers unite.
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Ah, yes. I’d forgotten about Pran’s role in Aah (frankly, that film was so depressing in the second half, I’ve forgotten much of it, including the cast – except the leads, of course).
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Pran in fact started off as a villain and then had a brief stint as a hero in Khandaan (1942) and though the film was a hit he resumed his career as a villain and then came the positive character of Malang Chacha in Upkaar.
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The plot seems the age-old ‘poor hero wins over the heiress’ but seems to compensate with the presence of young, dashing and handsome Premnath and lovely Nalini Jaywant!
Wish Premnath had remained in shape. Rather unfortunately all his features except for the base of his nose increased in size over the years providing him the required basic tools for his career as a villain!
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Yes, it’s quite a time-tested formula film, but I like the way in which the romance of the couple is shown in all its ups and downs; there’s emotion here with much less melodrama than is usual in Hindi films.
And yes, I agree with you – Premnath didn’t just get fat, his face also got really pudgy. Sad! :-(
BTW: In later years, he too got some good ‘avuncular friend’ roles – in Shor, for instance. Also Bobby, as far as I know, though I’ve only seen the film once, when I was about a year old!!
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I haven’t seen Shor, but in Bobby he is just loud and trying very hard to be a cross betwenn Koli and Punjabi father.
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“Trying very hard to be a cross betwenn Koli and Punjabi father.”
That must be difficult!! :-D
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I hadn’t seen Barsaat, because of Raj Kapoor, but having seen him in a couple of films where he isn’t the way I don’t like (charlie chaplin wannabe with sadness, but a smiley face), I braved this film for the sake of Premnath after reading a couple of comments here.
Raj Kapoor didn’t disappoint and Premnath as a rake was great.
I’m joining the club of ‘so sad he didn’t maintain his looks.’ :(
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I saw Barsaat ages back on Doordarshan, and am sorry to report that even there, Raj Kapoor was enough to put me off! I guess I wasn’t that forgiving in those days… RK didn’t appeal to me in any role. I don’t recall very much of the film, except Premnath dancing with Cuckoo, and then Nimmi weeping over his feet (a scene which has a hilarious history to it – apparently she just wasn’t being able to get the expression right, despite numerous takes and retakes. Eventually, Raj Kapoor sent Premnath off to wash his feet with soap and water. Next take, they canned it!) :-D
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‘Rather unfortunately all his features except for the base of his nose increased in size over the years providing him the required basic tools for his career as a villain!’—- HA! HA! Aptly put, Harvey, actually Madhu I am so used to seeing Premnath as a villain that I could never relate to him as a hero, but yes he and Nalini did make a good pair.
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Yes, Premnath made such a mark for himself as a villain that it’s a little difficult to accept him as hero! But I think he’s really good in films like Naujawan, Aab-e-Hayat, Aan (though a villain in that too) and Badal.
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DD was rather fond of young Premnath – I remember seeing a lot of his films back in the good old days. He looks even better as Chandrashekhar Azad in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (the latter played by Shammi Kapoor). Sadly, the film’s print was so completely messed up that I never got past the first 30min.
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Goodness, how did I miss Shaheed Bhagat Singh? I thought I’d seen – or at least heard of – everything that Shammi Kapoor acted in! Will look out for it and see if I can find something with a good print.
Bhagat Singh seemed to have been very popular with Hindi filmmakers, no? Including the one you’ve suggested, I can think of at least four versions.
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What? a bhagat singh film with Premnath and Shammi?
not that I’m a big fan of any of the three, but am quite astonsihed that so many bhagat singh films exist and that also with such an atypical cast!
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Yes, this is one cast I’d never have associated with a patriotic film. Manoj Kumar, of course. Dilip Kumar, yes. But Shammi Kapoor? Someone was being very adventurous with casting!
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I remember finding “Naujawan” both confusing and annoying. I think it’s because of the tone shift between the first and the second half. While the first half of the film was sort of silly and pointless, I found the second half waaay too tragic…rather unnecessarily so. I couldn’t get past the plot contrivances such as Kamla’s father turning out to be such an unrelenting and cruel jerk. But “thandi haawayen” (and all it’s “sister” songs like “rahen na rahen hum”) is indeed lovely.
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Yes, the two halves are too widely separated by mood to seem like the same film! Still, I did think the leads and the songs made up quite a bit!
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I, too, love ‘Thandi hawaayen’ and like dustedoff, had been hearing the song since childhood but only saw the scene containing the song recently. From hearing it, I had imagined it to have a classical backdrop, and was surprised to see it as an informal scene. But it was priceless to see the dancer turn round at the end and see the entire household following her!
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And the way she pretends nonchalance when she discovers that everybody’s up and following her about! :-) Yes, it’s a delightful song – good lyrics and music, but also a very good bit of picturisation.
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loved that scene too!
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and found the (for my ears) unusual playback of Kishore for Premnath. I had always thought that (in his pre-Aradhana days) Kishore refused to sing for anybody else other than Dev Anand. But I have read somewhere that in his early years he also lend his voice for Raj Kapoor.
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You’re right, I hadn’t realised that. I checked it up on imdb, and Naujawan seems to have been one of the first films he sang for. I do remember having read that S D Burman was the MD who first gave him a break. Towards the end of the 60’s, when his own onscreen career was sort of coming to an end and he was getting more popular as a singer, Kishore also started singing for people other than (as you point out) Dev Anand: in Satyakam, Pyaar ka Mausam and Abhilasha, for instance.
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I was stuck with Thandi hawaein ever since I read harvey’s comment on fb and today I finally made it a point to check the history behind it.
I love the song, but I had never seen its video. It’s so beautifully picturised!!! And once upon a time, Premnath was a very handsome man indeed! Movie on the whole sounds confusing, but I would love to see it just for the songs and for the eye-candy.
Recently, on Pran’s birthday, there was a program dedicated to him on Radio City – it seems he found running around trees and singing songs very embarrassing and that’s why he preferred playing the bad guy :-)
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Heh! I like Pran’s reason for not wanting to be the hero! :-D Though he did get to sing some songs (Kasme vaade pyaar wafa, Dil ki umangein hain jawaan, etc), at least he didn’t run around trees – unless you count that song in Half Ticket where he’s pursuing a Kishore Kumar in drag!
Yes, Naujawan is a bit confusing in the first half, but the eye candy is worth it. They’re gorgeous.
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Premnath in Aag was also good and a positive character as a painter and lover of art.
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It’s been a long time since I saw Aag, so long that I’d even forgotten it had Premnath in it! Must watch again.
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First time i heard the song “humse na puchho koi pyar kya hai”,that was in1953 when i had been a kid of 9years.after so many years i had a strong desire to reach to the source of the song.it is amazing to come across a review of film under this post.many worm thanks to you and at the same time must salute your father who has ignited in your heart a love for research work for indian cinema of bygone days.SUBIR MUKHOPADHYAY(ALLAHABAD)
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Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked this review. I will tell my father, too – he will be happy to hear your words. Incidentally, he has an Allahabad connection, too: he used to teach mathematics at Ewing Christian College before he joined the IPS. We still have relatives in your city.
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hi just wondered if you know whether there is an lp for this film?
thanks
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No idea, I’m afraid. :-( I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for LPs, though ebay might be an idea…
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Hello Madhulika
The intoxicating song… The films piece de resistance been a constant fav of mine but don’t know why, how and what, last couple of years the song particularly began to haunt me. I wanted to know something more about it and particularly about the vivacious Nalini Jaywant ( oh well…it was her that has been bringing me to the song) that I hit upon your site. And couple of youtube viewings later I discovered how she, Sachinda, Lata Mangeshkar and not in the least even this unknown film director, had created a masterpiece no less. It is much more than the song and it’s Nalini Jaywant certainly who pulls off arguably one of the best montage ever in Bollywood.
If you are on Instagram do check this take of mine on the song…
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCtaB89lFCgPIyFY9nRdSMQS2sgP8lJHp25OwU0/?igshid=xehgyu0150xz
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Thanks, Krishna, for the comment. Yes, it’s an amazing song, plus of course because of the personal connect to it (my uncle played the violin for the song), it is especially dear to me.
Could you give the link to your Insta rendition? Or let me know your Insta account? Thanks.
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Thanks for your quick response Madhulika. Wow! Your uncle worked with Sachinda? Like hearing someone d say someone was St Thyagaraja’s accompaniment no less.! 🙏🏽
My Instagram handle @riskykrish
Have also written short reviews on few other films on my page. Pls do have a look!
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Thanks, will certainly have a look! Now that you mention your Insta handle, I recall that you started following me just the other day. :-)
My uncle worked with most of the major composers of his day, and played in some big hit songs. Here’s an article my father wrote about him a couple of years ago, which includes a not-quite-comprehensive list of his songs:
https://madhulikaliddle.com/2018/09/14/guest-post-the-guitar-that-sang/
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Nice. Ajeeb dastan was also the first number I played on guitar as a kid but then misguided that I always have been, gave up guitar once my tutor reprimanded😐. Btw did your uncle ever try these numbers on the veena by any chance?
Yes I started following you on IG. Do check my takes on some films.
RSK
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No, I’m quite sure my uncle didn’t try playing these numbers on the veena. His instruments were the guitar and the violin.
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