Naya Daur is a 1957 Indian drama film starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Ajit and Jeevan. Originally filmed in black and white, the film was colourized and re-released on 3 August 2007.During filming, the Naya Daur production was involved in a highly controversial and widely publicized court case. Initially the actress Madhubala was cast as the female lead. An advance payment was paid to her and shooting began and continued smoothly for 15 days. B.R. Chopra, the director of the film, wanted the unit to travel to Bhopal for an extended outdoor shooting. Ataullah Khan, the father of Madhubala, objected to this and claimed that the entire Bhopal schedule was a ruse to give Dilip Kumar the opportunity to romance his daughter (Kumar and Madhubala were in a relationship at the time). Finally, Chopra sued Madhubala for the cash advance she received from him for a film she now had no intention of completing. He also replaced her with the South Indian actress Vyjayanthimala. Madhubala obediently supported her father despite her commitment to Dilip Kumar. Kumar testified against Madhubala and Ataullah Khan in favor of the director B.R. Chopra in open court. The case was lost by Madhubala and her father amid much negative publicity. During the case, the film was released and declared a success. Chopra dropped the case and saved Madhubala from the humiliation of a possible prison sentence.

The film is set in post-independence India where Industrialization is slowly creeping in. The focus is on Tangawallahs who earn their living transporting people from place to place on Tangas(horse - carts). Their livelihood is threatened when the son of a rich landlord (Jeevan) begins operating a bus service in the town,which he subsidizes heavily with the sole intention of first driving the Tangawallahs out of the down and then making profits. Dilip Kumar plays one of the Tangawallahs who petitions the landlord over this injustice.Then, Jeevan’s character proposes a competition to decide which service is the best - The Bus or the Tanga? It is then decided that there will be a race between both the vehicles.

The Bus driven mechanically and the Tanga driven by Dilip Kumar’s character. If the Bus wins the race, the Tangawallahs would not complain further and if the Tanga wins, the Bus service would stop. This competition was a farce from the start itself since nobody could even dream that a horse cart could beat a machine operated bus. Dilip Kumar, however, accepts the challenge to everybody’s surprise. His logic is that they would anyway be driven to starvation if the Bus Service continues. This race at least gives them an opportunity to try and do something. However, the rest of the Tangawallahs do not share his hope. They blame him for his foolishness. In the end, he is left alone with nobody’s support except his sweetheart, played by Vyjyanti Mala.

As the movie unravels,a hopeless situation begins to turn around because of the way the people come together. Mishap after mishap occurs but nothing can deter the determined. The highlight of the film is definitely the heart stopping final race where the underdog wins and how?

Video Source: DVD
Host: Rapidshare
Chapters: 4

part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4