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Ek Hi Raasta
Poster
Directed by	B. R. Chopra
Written by	Mukhram Sharma
Screenplay by	Mukhram Sharma
Story by	Mukhram Sharma
Produced by	B. R. Chopra
Starring	Ashok Kumar Sunil Dutt Meena Kumari Daisy Irani Jeevan Shrinath
Cinematography	M. N. Malhotra
Edited by	Pran Mehra
Music by	Hemanta Mukherjee
Production company	B. R. Films
Distributed by	B. R. Films
Release date	13 April 1956 (1956-04-13)
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Ek Hi Raasta (lit. 'Only one way') is a 1956 family-drama Indian Hindi film directed and produced by B. R. Chopra. It starred Sunil Dutt, Meena Kumari, Ashok Kumar, Daisy Irani, Jeevan and Shrinath in main roles. The music for the film was scored by Hemanta Mukherjee. Having directed a few films earlier, Chopra formed his own production house B.R. Films in 1955 and Ek Hi Raasta was the first film produced under this banner. The film was remade in Telugu as Kumkuma Rekha (1960) and in Tamil as Pudhiya Pathai (1960).

Plot

The film starts with the portrayal of a happily married couple, Amar and Malti who have a son, Raja. Amar and Malti are both orphans and hence are sympathetic towards orphans generally. Prakash is a rich bachelor businessman for whom Amar works. While working in Prakash's factory, Amar catches another worker Munshi stealing money from the factory locker.

To take revenge for his humiliation at the hands of Amar, Munshi murders him. To escape his depression over the loss, Prakash begins helping Malti and her child. Munshi tries to humiliate the family by spreading rumors of an affair between Prakash and Malti in public. To save the honour of Malti, Prakash marries her. The child Raja however refuses to accept Prakash as his father. Munshi provokes Raja against Prakash and claims that Prakash was the real murderer of Amar. Out of anger, Raja tries to shoot Prakash but fails. Raja runs away from home carrying with him the infant son of Prakash and Malti. Prakash rescues the two children from the railway track. After being convinced of Prakash's sincerity, Raja accepts him as his father

Soundtrack

The music for the songs was composed by Hemanta Mukherjee. He also sang few of the songs himself, of which "Chali Gori Pi Se Milan Ko Chali" was based on Bhairavi raga.

Production

The film was directed and produced by the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner B. R. Chopra under the B. R. films banner. Founded in 1955, the production house's first creation was this film.

The music was directed by well known singer Hemanta Mukherjee, with the lyrics written by one of the dominating musical forces in Indian Cinema, Majrooh Sultanpuri. The story, along with the screenplay and dialogue were written by Mukhram Sharma. Assistant directors included Balbir Kumar, O. P. Bedi and B. R. Chopras' brother, Yash Chopra.

Reception

The film proved to be successful at the box office and was screened for more than 25 weeks; which was called "Jubilee Hit". The banner went on to produce many more successful films such as Naya Daur (1957), Sadhana (1958), Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Waqt (1965) and more. Child actress Daisy Irani's role as Raja was also well appreciated. She was also seen in Chopra's next film Naya Daur.

References

1. ^ Annu Kapoor (2014). The Golden Era with Annu Kapoor (Masti channel) (Television) (in Hindi). India: Masti channel. Event occurs at 10 p.m; 4 June 2014 (IST). Retrieved 5 June 2014.
2. "Ek Hi Raasta (1956) | Movie Review, Trailers, Music Videos, Songs, Wallpapers". Bollywood Hungama. 1 January 1956. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
3. "Ek Hi Raasta (1956) – Movie Review, Story, Trailers, Videos, Photos, Wallpapers, Songs, Trivia, Movie Tickets". Gomolo.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
4. "Ek Hi Raasta (1956) Music Review & Rating | Movie Songs & Videos of Ek Hi Raasta hindi Movie". Gomolo.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
5. Dr. Krishna N. Sharma. Raaga Bhairavi in Hindi Songs. O. B. Publication. p. 12. ISBN 8191007711.
6. Gulzar; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal, eds. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 137. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5.
7. B. K. Verma (1999). History of Indian Cinema. Frank & Co. pp. 114–115.
8. ^ "Ek Hi Raasta (1956) Cast and Crew | Actor Actress Director of Ek Hi Raasta hindi Movie". Gomolo.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
9. "B.R. CHOPRA – Purposeful Film Maker – 30th Recipient – 1998 Dadasaheb Phalke Award". ultraindia.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
10. Tilak Rishi (2012). Bless You Bollywood!: A Tribute to Hindi Cinema on Completing 100 Years. Trafford Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 9781466939639. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
11. "Famous playback singer Hemanta Mukherjee". Screen. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
12. Zaheer, Sajjad; Azfar, Amina (2006). The Light. Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-19-547155-5.
13. "The life and times of Yash Chopra". Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
14. Dwyer, Rachel (2002). Yash Chopra: Fifty Years in Indian Cinema. Lotus Collection. p. 42. ISBN 8174362347.
15. D. P. Mishra (2006). Great masters of Indian cinema: the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winners. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India). pp. 109. ISBN 8123013612.
16. "Small steps to the big screen". Tribune India. 15 March 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
17. Dubey, Bharti. "Finally, kidspeak". Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
18. "Metrolife filmi fundas". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 12 June 2014.

External links

• Ek Hi Raasta at IMDb
• Ek Hi Raasta (1956) on YouTube

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