Paigham

About the film

Paigham (transl. Message) is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by S. S. Vasan. The film stars Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala in the lead roles, with Raaj Kumar, Pandari Bai, B. Saroja Devi, Motilal and Johnny Walker in other important roles. The film's music was composed by C. Ramchandra. This was the first time Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar appeared in a film together. They later appeared together once again over three decades later for the 1991 film Saudagar. The film was declared a blockbuster at box office.

The film was later remade in Tamil as Irumbu Thirai by Vasan, with Vyjayanthimala and Saroja Devi reprising their roles.

Plot

The movie traces the lives of the family of a widowed lady, her two sons and daughter.

Mrs. Lal, a widowed lady lives with her two sons, Ram and Ratan, her unmarried daughter, Sheela; Ram's wife, Parvati, and her children. Ram works in a mill and Ratan is studying engineering in Calcutta. When Ratan returns, he is offered a job at the same mill, and falls in love with a typist named Manju, much to the chagrin of Malti, the daughter of the mill owner, Sewakram.

When Ratan finds out that Sewakram has been defrauding the mill employees, he decides to form a union, a move that is opposed by his brother Ram, who is devoted and loyal to Sewakram. Things go from bad to worse when the workers decide to go on strike, while Ram decides to throw Ratan out of the house. Word gets around that Ratan is against Sewakram, and soon he gets blacklisted.

Soundtrack

All songs were music by C. Ramchandra and lyrics by Pradeep.

Accolades

At the 7th Filmfare Awards, Ramanand Sagar won the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue, Raaj Kumar was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and Dilip Kumar was nominated for Best Actor.

Key details