Half Ticket is a 1962 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Kalidas and produced by Bombay Talkies. Starring Madhubala, Kishore Kumar and Pran, the film revolves around Vijay, a good-for-nothing young man who decides to leave his house when his father forces him to get married.
| Half Ticket | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Kalidas |
| Written by | Surid Kar Ramesh Pant |
| Produced by | Bombay Talkies |
| Starring | Madhubala Kishore Kumar Pran |
| Edited by | Raj Talwar |
| Music by | Salil Chowdhury |
Release date |
|
Running time | 168 min. |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | est. ₹1 crore (est. ₹119 crore as of 2011)[2] |
Half Ticket is one of the last films to star Madhubala, as well as her final collaboration with her husband Kishore Kumar. It was a critical and commercial success and has become a cult film since its release. In 2020, The Indian Express listed the film in its "10 Bollywood comedies to watch in your lifetime".[3]
Plot edit
Vijay (Kishore Kumar) is the good-for-nothing son of a rich industrialist, who becomes bored of his father's constant railing and the efforts to marry him off, with the intention of getting him "settled" in life. So Vijay walks out of his home and decides to leave for Bombay and start life afresh there. However he does not have enough money for a train ticket.
Vijay gets a burst of inspiration from a plump child called Munna, who is waiting in line with his mother (Tun Tun), and decides to pass himself off as a child in order to get the eponymous half-ticket.
Now disguised as Munna, Vijay is used as a mule for a diamond smuggler (Pran) without his knowledge. On the train, Vijay also meets Rajnidevi (Madhubala) and falls in love with her.
The rest of the film follows Vijay's exploits as he avoids capture by the diamond smuggler and his girlfriend (Shammi), romances Rajnidevi while avoiding her auntie-ji (Manorama), and reunites with his father.
Cast edit
- Madhubala as Rajnidevi / Asha
- Kishore Kumar as Vijaychand vald Lalchand vald Dhyanchand vald Hukumchand alias Munna / Vijay's Mother
- Pran as Notorious Thief Raja Babu aka Chacha
- Shammi as Lily Raja Babu's Mistress
- Manorama as Asha's Aunty
- Pradeep Kumar as Special Appearance
- Moni Chaterjee as Seth Lalchand Vijay's Father
- Tun Tun as the Real Munna's Mother
- Helen as Stage Dancer in the song Woh ek Nigah (Special Appearance)
Production edit
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Soundtrack edit
| Half Ticket | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 1962[4] | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 27:00 | |||
| Language | Hindi | |||
| Label | Saregama | |||
| Producer | Salil Chowdhury | |||
| Salil Chowdhury chronology | ||||
| ||||
All lyrics are written by Shailendra; all music is composed by Salil Chowdhury
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Are Le Lo Ji Hai Yeh Dil Ka Heera" | Kishore Kumar | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Chand Raat Tum Ho Saath" | Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar | 4:03 |
| 3. | "Ankhon Mein Tum Dil Mein Tum Ho" | Geeta Dutt & Kishore Kumar | 4:09 |
| 4. | "Aake Seedhi Lage Dil Pe Jaise" | Kishore Kumar | 3:40 |
| 5. | "Woh Ek Nigah Kya Mili" | Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar | 4:14 |
| 6. | "Chil Chil Chilla Ke" | Kishore Kumar | 4:16 |
| 7. | "Are Wah Re Mere Malik" | Kishore Kumar | 3:15 |
| Total length: | 27:00 | ||
Release edit
Half Ticket was released on October 19, 1962.[5]
Critical reception edit
Critic reviews were generally positive. Sukanya Verma wrote, "Fabulous soundtrack, frolicking premise and frothy dialogues led by the King of Comedy (Kumar) and Queen of vivacity (Madhubala), there is nothing half-hearted about this [film]."[6]
Film Geek stated: "The movie makes a little more sense than that—only a little—but it matters not at all, as Kishore Kumar's limitless zany energy, Madhubala's irresistible charm, and several absolutely superb songs combine to make Half Ticket a delightful and hysterical ride."[7]
Box office edit
In India, the film had a box-office gross of ₹1 crore, with a nett of ₹0.5 crore, becoming the twelfth highest-grossing film of 1962.[8] The Best of the Year gave its inflation-adjusted nett as ₹251 crore.[9] Box Office magazine calculated its inflation-adjusted gross by comparing the collection with the price of gold in 1962, which gave it an adjusted gross of ₹119 crore in 2011.[10]
Legacy edit
Half Ticket is considered an important comedy film made in 1960s Bollywood.[11]
References edit
- ^ "Half Ticket - Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget, Reviews, Cast, etc". BOTY. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Worth Their Weight In Gold! | Box Office India : India's premier film trade magazine | Bollywood news, reviews, interviews, box office collection". 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "Seriously Funny: 10 Bollywood comedies to watch in your lifetime". The Indian Express. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "Half Ticket". Apple Music. 1962. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "Half Ticket - Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget, Reviews, Cast, etc". BOTY. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ Sukanya. "Half Ticket: Kishore Kumar's return ticket to childhood!". Sukanya Verma. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Half Ticket (1962)". Filmi Geek. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ India, Box Office. Top Earners 1962. boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "Half Ticket - Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget, Reviews, Cast, etc". BOTY. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "Worth Their Weight In Gold! | Box Office India : India's premier film trade magazine | Bollywood news, reviews, interviews, box office collection". 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "Best Clean Comedy Films in Hindi in 100 years from 1913-2013". IMDb. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
External links edit
- Half Ticket at IMDb
