Mr & Mrs. 55 – A Well Made Film With Problematic Preaching

Mr & Mrs. 55, directed by Guru Dutt, tells the story of cartoonist Pritam (Guru Dutt) falling in love with rich heiress Anita (Madhubala). But Anita lives with her feminist aunt Seeta Devi (Lalita Pawar) who believes marriages are nothing but a way for society to shackle women. How Pritam works around this is what forms the film.

Technically the film is superb – from acting to music to cinematography! While Guru Dutt and Madhubala look charming & have crackling chemistry, the former’s camaraderie with #JohnnyWalker is clear from the get go. The ensemble cast is well chosen, especially Tun Tun playing Pritam’s landlady. The dialogues by Abrar Alvi are simple yet impactful & dont seem aged even today!

The film’s title seemingly aims to present the ideal couple of the year of the film’s release but instead leaves one with doubts about what it is really celebrating.

While it is necessary to view the film in the social context of the time, it is also imperative to understand that in a newly independent country, a better message could’ve been delivered. For ex Anita’s ‘feminist’ aunt has actually been portrayed as a scheming man-hater. I kept hoping that the film would redeem her character but was left disappointed. The fact that Anita, a modern city girl, is impressed by Pritam’s sister-in-law’s comments about a woman desiring married life, even if it involves birthing 3 children in 4 years or getting a slap or 2 by the husband leaves one uncomfortable. I tried to assuage myself thinking that maybe Anita will go back home & forget all this but unfortunately the film didn’t take that route. Instead it had her berate her aunt using problematic statements like how Seeta Devi should teach Indian women to “change their husbands like foreigners do”! Her aunt’s rebuttal that such a response would be expected from an uneducated woman and not someone as privileged as Anita is also drowned in illogical rhetoric.

My issue with Mr & Mrs. 55 is not that none of the above probs were addressed in the film but the fact that by the end, a well made film by director Guru Dutt seems to validate such regressive thoughts.

PS-The cartoons featured were by the legendary R. K. Laxman.

👩🏾‍💻 – YouTube

Direction: Guru Dutt

Cast: Guru Dutt, Madhubala, Johnny Walker, Lalita Pawar, Tun Tun, Yasmin