Gaali (1944)
Directed by R.S. Choudhury
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Synopsis by Jonathan Crow
Mehboob Khan's longtime screenwriter R. S. Choudhury directs this romantic melodrama. The film centers on Mangala (Nirmala), a beautiful, sightless widow who lives with her father-in-law Jaggu Chakravarty and her pretty unmarried sister-in-law Lali (Manju). Chakravarty tries to set up the handsome Tilak (Karan Dewan) with his daughter, but Tilak falls for the widow instead. Coming up against the village's conservative values -- which forbids a widow to remarry -- the situation creates a huge scandal, fanned by the evil gossip Baldev. Soon after a mob kills Chakravarty for immorality, Mangala and Tilak make love in a temple, whereupon widow's eyesight is magically restored. In spite of this, Tilak and Lali marry while Mangala lives a life of solitude.