Akeli Mat Jaiyo (Don't Go Alone), 1963
Showcard, c. 1963, 45 X 37.5 cm
Tinted silver gelatin print and paint on textured board with screen printed lettering.
Meena Kumari became famous at the age of six, credited in films as Baby Meena. As a young woman, she was renamed Meena Kumari and played many roles portraying innocent lovestruck women, tormented and suffering. This theme was paralleled in her personal life as she fell into alcoholism and endured a difficult marriage to Kamal Amrohi who had directed her in many of her most popular roles. After many years of separation, the two reunited to make a film based on their love story. She died in 1972, shortly after the release of the film.
"In this showcard, star Meena Kumari's face conveys both strength and perserverance as she must once again choose duty over true love, symbolized by the smaller male figures that flank her. As seen in other showcards in this collection, Kumari commonly played the role of a love struck heroine who had to expereince suffering and hardship.
The film Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963) was produced by Ranjit Movies and directed by Nandlal Jaswantal. Music by Madan Mohan. Black and white, Hindi, starring Meena Kumari, Rajendra Kumar, and Agha."
--Text by Dr. Deepali Dewan and Alexandra McCarter, based on Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Showcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011. Copyright of and reproduced here with the generous permission of the Royal Ontario Museum.
Literature
Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Showcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011, p. 70, Cat. no. 15.