Bhagyawan (1953)

The first Hindi film and an uninhibited weepie by the master of the Marathi melodrama, Dharmadhikari. The orphan Chanda (Alhaad) has to survive on the charity of an uncle and an aunt. He has an elder brother Suraj (Nene) who does not like the attention his wife bestows on the boy. After innumerable hardships, Chanda runs on to the railway track to commit suicide but he suddenly notices the oncoming train is hurtling towards a major accident. He manages to stop the train and saves the lives of his tormentors who, coincidentally, happen to be on the train. The excessively melodramatic style, though common in Marathi, was new to the Hindi cinema. It was later practised by Shantaram and by the ex-Prabhat film- makers involved in this production: Dharmadhikari, Nene and Anant Mane, the latter the assistant director on this movie.