My first impression upon reading the title was to expect a retelling of the Aladdin story and there is a magic lamp and a genie, but there are no other similiarities.Tarzan Aur Jadui Chirag is a 1966 Hindi Classic movie starring Azad, Sunita, B.M. Vyas, Tun Tun and Sheikh. Shyam Nagar Palace officials panic when their Queen gives birth to the heir of the throne. With the old king dead, the new child is the rightful king, and their rule as regents will end. They bribe the mid-wife to steal the child, a boy, and kill him so the prime minister’s son can take the child’s place.
The mid-wife abducts the child and carries him to a distant forest. A loyal member of the palace follows her and shoots the midwife. Before she dies, she throws the child into in a raging river.
Moses, I mean baby Tarzan, floats in a wicker basket through rapids and around rocks, survives a waterfall, and is rescued by a native villager. He leaves the child on the shore and goes for help. Before he can return, an elephant takes the baby.
Believing her son, the new King dead, the Queen flees for her life, and lives the life of a pauper.
The child is taken by a herd of elephants, who take care of him. The young Tarzan does a credible Tarzan yell and the elephants obey him. Years later, when the child has grown up. He is swimming in a lake one day and an oil lamp appears floating upright in the water. He recovers the lamp. When he leaves the water a gigantic genie appears. The genie is friendly and carries Tarzan on his back through the air past the Shyam Nagar Palace.
They are seen by some hunters. Meanwhile the palace magician, named Bing Pong and played by Amrit Rana, conjures gifts for the adult pretender to the throne, played by B. M Vyas. An evil magician works hard to win the future king’s trust. The magician meets with the hunting party who saw Tarzan ride the genie. The magician tries unsuccessfully to conjure a female genie. Tarzan, now living a tree house, intervenes. For reasons probably cut from the available version of the film, he summons elephants to destroy the hunting camp and fights at least 50 palace guards. He is unarmed, but defeats them all. A gigantic cyclops appears and threatens the village and the hunting party. Everyone runs and Tarzan, Son of the Elephants, rescues Mala, a beautiful young woman, and they fall in love.
They have a “Me Tarzan, you Mala” moment. They swim with Mala fully clothed, ride elephants, and run through the forest. Mala tries to teach Tarzan how to speak as humans do with hilarious results.
Tarzan and Mala are interrupted when a lion threatens an old woman. Tarzan kills the lion. He doesn’t know the old woman is his mother. (Note – the lion fight scene appears to be pirated from Tarzan the Fearless)
Meanwhile the magician summons a female genie who explains that Tarzan is the heir to the throne and has fallen in love with Mala. When the prime minister learns Tarzan may be the heir to the throne, he conspires with the villagers and hunters to kill Tarzan. The officials, the hunters, and the villagers search for Tarzan. The prime minister wants Mala for his son.
Meanwhile, Tarzan realizes the old woman was his mother and is brokenhearted he didn’t stay with her. Is his grief he throws away the magic lamp. A woman who looks a lot like Joan Crawford in a headscarf and sunglasses finds it.
A gorilla appears and attacks Maya and one of the hunters (Sheikh, think chubby Barney Fife). Tarzan kills the gorilla. The genie appears and saves Tarzan from a cobra and flies away bearing Tarzan and Mala. Later, two hunters (Not Barney Fifes and the magician find Tarzan and shoot him three times. He calls his elephants.
The elephants rescue Tarzan and take him to Mala and her friend. Tarzan is dying. The magic lamp has escaped from the Joan Crawford lady and danced its way back to Tarzan. Mala rubs the lamp and the genie reappears. He gives her a medicine bottle that heals Tarzan when she sprinkles the contents on him.
The healed Tarzan finds the hunters who shot him and the magician. They run away and Tarzan, Tun Tun, and the funny hunter fight a hundred or so guards and villagers. Mala rows a dugout canoe across the river and she and Tarzan are reunited.
The prime minister is furious and orders his guards to capture Tarzan and Mala. Tarzan is chained and Mala is tied. They are going to be thrown into a raging inferno inside a giant effigy of a gorilla’s head. Tun Tun runs on screen screaming uncontrollably. The giant cyclops is right behind her. It chases everyone from the village and then disappears from the film, apparently having no purpose other than to chase the villagers.
Tarzan escapes off-screen and battles more castle guards. The funny hunter and his assistant disarm the evil magician by tickling him to distraction.
Tarzan throws the hunter off a cliff. Tarzan rejoins Mala at the village. The prime minister figures that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em and blesses Mala and Tarzan. Tarzan’s mother appears. Everyone hugs and lives happily ever after.
Two film release companies have pirated artwork and produced
new posters to advertise copies of the film.
.
.
Most of the songs have been deleted from the abridged
version of the film.
AAnkhon Mein Kajra translates as Kajra Eyes. Kajra is
heavy black eyeliner. Pyar Ke Parwano Ka roughly as Allow my Love.”
Azad Irani appeared in 19 films as Tarzan and a
few others playing a jungle man with other names.
Previous films in which he appeared in this series are
Toofani Tarzan 1962, Tarzan and the
Circus, Tarzan and the Gorilla, Tarzan and the Sorcerer,
and
Tarzan,
My Beloved.
A detailed biography of the actor appears in the Unauthorized
Tarzan Movie article, Toofani Tarzan 1962.
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6732.html
Additional information on Azad Irani may be found
at the following links:
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6733.html
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6735.html
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6739.html
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6740.html
The song title above translates as “You’re in my thoughts.”
After an exhaustive search for the actress Sunita (aka Suneeta) who played the female lead, Mala, I have not been able to determine with total reliability who the actress Sunita is. A modern actress using the name, Sunita, dominates all internet search activity. The most likely candidate is Sumita Sanyal. I’m not concerned with the name change from Sumita to Sunita – Changes in spelling was common from one film to the next. Additionally, translations complicate the issue even more. She was an actress in the Bengali language film industry in India, also known as Bollywood.She was born Manjula Sanyal in Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, British India. Her father was Girija Golkunda Sanyal.
Director Bibhuti Laha (of Agradoot) gave her the screen name, Suchorita, in his film Khokababur Pratyabartan. After that, director Kanak Mukhopadhay decided to make it shorter into Sumita. Famous actress Lila Desai was her friend and introduced her to Agradoot. After she got a chance in Khokababur Pratyabartan, she acted in more than 40 films in Bengali, including Sagina Mahato, opposite Dilip Kumar and in the lead role in Kuheli, alongside Biswajit and Sandhya Roy. She also has acted in a number of Hindi films, the most notable of which was Anand in 1970, opposite Amitabh Bachchan. She also acted television serials, professional stage and in group theatre with the notable association with "Ranga Sabha". She was a part of many of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films like Guddi, Anand, and Aashirwad.
B. M. Vyas also appeared in Tarzan and Hercules. Brijmohan Vyas, better known as B. M. Vyas, was born in the Churu district of Rajasthan on October 22, 1920. In a career spanning close to fifty years, Vyas acted in nearly two hundred films. Biographical information on him is available at the Unauthorized Tarzan article about that film. I have attached a photo from Sumita’s obituary along with a publicity photo from Tarzan Aur Judui Chirag.
The two appear to the same person. But, I could be wrong.www.erbzine.com/mag67/6738.html
Dalpat plays the evil hunter in the film. He had a small role in Rocket Tarzan. He appeared in over 141 films, but information about him is largely unavailable. A few incomplete filmographies exist. He may appear in other Unauthorized Tarzan films, as yet un-reviewed in this series. In both of the photos below, he appears with Fearless Nadia, who appeared in the 1937 version of Toofani Tarzan.
The comic actress, Tun Tun, has appeared in three of the films reviewed previously in this Unauthorized Tarzan film series, Tarzan Toofani 1962, Tarzan and the Sorcerer, and Tarzan, My Beloved. Tun Tun was the screen name of Indian singer and actress-comedian, Uma Devi Khatri, who was called "Hindi cinema's first-ever comedienne”. Biographical information and photographs are available at: 
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6732.html
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6739.html
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6740.html
Amrit Rana is an actor, known for Wahan Ke Log (1967), Dilli Ka Thug (1958) and The Thief of Baghdad (1969). He plays the evil magician in this film and has the most annoying laugh ever recorded.Shakila Banno Bhopali appeared in previously reviewed unauthorized Tarzan Films, Rocket Tarzan and Tarzan and Hercules. Photos and detail about her tragic death are available at: www.erbzine.com/mag67/6734.html The actress, Kammo, makes her third appearance in Unauthorized Tarzan Film articles previously published. She was in Tarzan and the Circus and Tarzan, My Beloved. Information about her is limited, but more information is available at:
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6738.html
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6735.html And last, but not least, Zippy the monkey has a walk on part, at least it’s only a walk-on in the 94 minute version of the film, but at least an hour has been cut from the version available. Zippy could have had a significant role in the film, but alas, it was cut along with several songs.
www.erbzine.com/mag67/6740.html
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