In the year 1968 Bollywood gave us a film that continues to charm every generation. Directed by Jyoti Swaroop this musical comedy starred Sunil Dutt Saira Banu Mahmood Kishore Kumar and Om Prakash in key roles. You must have guessed it right till now! Yes its Padosan. The film had everything: humour heart and music that never went out of style. Even after 57 years lovers still dedicate one of their iconic songs to express their feelings. The movie was produced under the banner of Mahmood Productions by Mahmood and N.C. Sippy. Rajendra Krishan wrote the screenplay and dialogues while the story came from Arun Chowdhury. The legendary R.D. Burman composed the music and Rajendra Krishan also penned the lyrics. Which songs from ‘Padosan’ still rule hearts today? The film featured nine songs most of which became instant hits. From “Main Chali Main Chali” and “Kehna Hai Kehna Hai Aaj Tumse Pehli Baar” to “Mere Samne Wali Khidki Mein Ek Chand Ka Tukda Rehta Hai” and “Ek Chatur Naar Kar Ke Shringar” each song remains a musical gem. Few know that Padosan was actually a remake of the 1952 Bengali film Pashher Bari which itself was based on a short story by Arun Chowdhury. The Hindi remake turned out to be one of the biggest hits of 1968 ranking sixth in box office collections that year. Made on a budget of around Rs 80 lakh the film went on to earn Rs 2.8 crore worldwide a massive success for its time. Why did Kishore Kumar initially refuse the film? Though the film featured big names like Mahmood and Sunil Dutt it was Kishore Kumar who stole the show. Interestingly Kishore Da didn’t want to do Padosan initially. Mahmood however was determined. For nearly a month he tried to convince Kishore Kumar. When nothing worked Mahmood went to the extent of setting up a tent outside Kishore Da’s house shouting all night for him to agree. Finally an amused and exhausted Kishore Kumar said yes. What’s the story behind ‘Meri Pyari Bindu’? The fun fact about the song “Meri Pyari Bindu” is that its choreography happened purely by chance. The choreographer didn’t show up on the day of the shoot and Mahmood didn’t want to postpone filming. Kishore Da known for his spontaneous genius stepped in and choreographed the entire song himself. The result? One of the most entertaining sequences in Hindi cinema. Did Kishore Kumar really outshine Manna Dey? In Padosan Kishore Kumar’s character outperforms Mahmood’s character in a musical face-off. Manna Dey had lent his voice for Mahmood and when R.D. Burman told him that his character would lose to Kishore Kumar in the film Manna Dey reportedly got upset. Later Mahmood personally explained the comic angle of the sequence after which Manna Dey laughed and agreed. During recording Kishore Da improvised by adding quirky nonsensical words into the song leaving everyone in the studio surprised. Once the final version was played everyone unanimously praised Kishore’s brilliance. How did Mahmood prepare for his South Indian role? Mahmood’s portrayal of a South Indian character remains one of the funniest and most memorable performances in Bollywood. To perfect the accent and body language he spent a great deal of time with South Indians and even shaved his head to get the look right. His dedication paid off as his character became a cultural icon of comedy. Highlights: Kishore Kumar agreed to Padosan only after Mahmood camped outside his home for days. The song “Meri Pyari Bindu” was choreographed entirely by Kishore Kumar. Padosan remains one of Bollywood’s most-loved comedy classics even after 57 years.