indian cinema heritage foundation

Diwana (1952)

  • GenreDrama, Romance
  • FormatB-W
  • LanguageHindi
  • Run Time146 min
  • Length4320.84 meters
  • Number of Reels16
  • Gauge35 mm
  • Censor RatingU
  • Certificate Date24056
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The story is about a prince, Ashok, who falls in love with Lali, a member of a nomadic community which is currently inhabiting in his region. When Ashok and Lali confess their love for each other, Phulwa, who has been sent by Lali’s father to look for her, is jealous of their relationship and returns to Lali’s father and lies to him about their relationship. Lali’s father is enraged because he thinks that the prince has insulted their community. In the meantime, Ashok and Lali get married but Lali’s father does not readily accept their marriage. His condition is that he will accept the marriage only if the Queens accept Lali as their daughter-in-law. However, when Ashok learns that the queens do not accept her, he decides to leave with Lali and settle elsewhere. When he joins the march of the nomads, Phulwa poisons Ashok’s water and unknowingly, Lali hands over the water to Ashok. Ashok falls ill, and the queens come to take him back to the palace where he can be treated correctly. When he gets well, the queens convince him that Lali was the one to poison his water, as she was a gold-digger and was just behind his wealth. Enraged and upset, Ashok reluctantly marries Mangala, the princess of King Thakur Amar Singh. Lali then gives birth to a boy, Ratan, whose father is Ashok. A few years later, Ratan saves Ashok from a snake who was close to biting Ashok. Unbeknownst to who Ratan is, Mangala shows Ratan her gratitude and slowly grows fond of him. Soon, she employs him in the palace. Unfortunately, Ratan meets with an accident while carrying a coffer upstairs and injures his head severely. In his last few moments, he reveals that he is the son of Lali and Ashok and he tells Ashok that his mother had not poisoned his water. A heartbroken Ashok carries Ratan’s corpse to Lali and the couple grieve their son’s death. After his cremation, Ashok and Lali, together, arrive at the palace and Ashok stands up for Lali against Mangala. Lali, unable to bear the constant insults from Mangala, leaves without uttering a word and Ashok follows the love of his life. 

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