Madhumati

Madhumati
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Bimal Roy
Screenplay by	Rajinder Singh Bedi
Story by	Rajinder Singh Bedi Ritwik Ghatak
Produced by	Bimal Roy
Starring	Vyjayanthimala Dilip Kumar Pran Johnny Walker
Cinematography	Dilip Gupta
Edited by	Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Music by	Salil Chowdhury
Production company	Bimal Roy Productions
Release date	12 September 1958 (1958-09-12)
Running time	166 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	est.₹8.1 million
Box office	est.₹40 million

Madhumati is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in lead roles, with Pran and Johnny Walker in supporting roles. The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. But they face challenges in their relationship finally leading to a paranormal consequence. The film was ranked 11th in the Outlook Magazine's 25 leading Indian directors' poll for selecting Bollywood's greatest films in 2003.^[2]

Madhumati was filmed in various Indian locations, including Ranikhet, Ghorakhal, Vaitarna Dam and Aarey Milk Colony. The soundtrack album was composed by Salil Chowdhury and the lyrics were written by Shailendra. The film was released on 12 September 1958. It earned ₹40 million in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, and one of the most commercially successful and influential Indian films of its time. It received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the technicality, soundtrack, and performance of the cast.

Madhumati was one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation, and was described by analysts as a potboiler that has a gothic and noir feel to it. It inspired later regional and international films that have reincarnation-based themes. It led the 6th Filmfare Awards with 12 nominations and won 9 awards including Best Film, Best Director for Roy, Best Music Director for Chaudhary, Best Female Playback Singer for Mangeshkar—the most awards for a film at that time—a record that it maintained for a record 37 years. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It was remade in Malayalam as Vanadevatha (1976).