Baiju Bawra (1952 film)

Baiju Bawra is an award-winning 1952 Hindi movie directed by Vijay Bhatt. It stars Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari.

The movie is based on the legend of Baiju Bawra from the days of Mughal Emperor Akbar in India. Baiju (Bhushan) is the son of a musician who also grows up to be a musician. He comes to believe that Tansen, the famed musician at the court of Akbar, is responsible for his father's death. The movie then follows Baiju's attempt to avenge his father's death by challenging Tansen to a musical duel.

The film was both a commercial and critical success and catapulted both its lead actors into stardom. Meena Kumari went on to win the first-ever Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1954, the first of four Best Actress trophies she won in her career. The film's music director, Naushad, also received the inaugural Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj"; this was Naushad's first and only Filmfare Award win.

Plot

Tansen is known to be the greatest classical vocalist ever to have existed in India, and was one of the nine jewels (Navaratnas) of Emperor Akbar’s court. Nobody could sing in the city unless he or she could sing better than Tansen. If this was not the case, he or she was executed. Baiju Bawra is the story of an unknown singer, Baiju, who is on a mission to defeat Tansen in a musical duel to avenge the death of his father.

When Baiju is still a child, Tansen's sentry tries to stop Baiju’s father from singing,...
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