This controversial film faced sedition charges, writer went underground to evade arrest, still broke box office records

The era of Indian films truly began with Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra in 1913. Eighteen years later, Ardeshir Irani brought the talkies with Alam Ara. But it took another decade for there to be films that would be the modern equivalent of all-time blockbusters, films that succeeded across India. The first of these was released in British India at the height of World War II. And though it broke box office records, the journey was controversial to say the least.

India’s first blockbuster and its controversial release

Kismet, starring Ashok Kumar, was released in 1943. The film is widely regarded as the first Indian feature to introduce the concept of anti-hero. Due to its hero being a morally ambiguous figure, it came under severe criticism. Film critic Babu Rao Patel of Filmindia magazine heavily panned it for glorifying crime and portraying a criminal in good light. Others followed suit. Yet Kismet was a runaway hit, becoming the first Indian film to gross Rs 1 crore at the box office. It remained the highest-grossing Indian film for the next few years. The record was eventually broken in 1948 when Shaheed earned Rs 1.5 crore. Kismet sold 3.5 crore tickets in India. That was a record it held for a longer time – for around 14 years till Mother India came and obliterated that with 10 crore ticket sales.

Kismet and the sedition controversy

But the glorification of crime charge wasn’t even the worst thing to befall Kismet. The film’s popular song Door Hato Ae Duniyawalon created a much bigger furore. The song slipped past the censors at the time despite its nationalistic theme and lyrics. In the film, the song was meant for the Germans and Japanese, with whom the British were at war at that time.

However, soon it became clear that the song was being used by Indian nationalists during the freedom struggle. Since the song released only months after Gandhi’s Quit India Movement, it became an anthem of protest for freedom fighters soon. At screenings of Kismet, the reels would be rewound and the song played multiple times on public demand. Due to this, the song’s writer Kavi Pradeep had to go underground to avoid arrest on charges of sedition. An arrest warrant was issued against his name but Pradeep remained at large. The British even wanted to ban the film at one point but decided against it. In the end, Kismet proved to be a game-changer for Indian cinema.