Nagin (1954)

A primitivist love fantasy and a big hit for Vyjayanthimala. She and Pradeep Kumar play professional snake catchers for different tribal groups. When they fall in love (encouraged by the hero’s villainous rival, played by Jeevan) their respective clans go to war. A snake sent to kill the hero bites the heroine instead, but he then rescues her by sucking the poison out of her body. This skeletal plot holds together the dances choreographed by Sachin Shankar, Yogendra Desai and Hiralal and executed by the sinuous Vyjayanthimala. Major hit songs include Man dole mera tan dole sung by Lata Mangeskhar and introducing Hemanta Mukherjee as a front-line Hindi composer as well as Kalyanji’s clavioline which simulates the snake-charmer’s flute. The number was adapted from Bijon Bhattacharya’s play Jiyankanya which is also a distant source for the plot.