Sundari is a stage dancer and singer, a flirt, quarrelsome, and generally up to no good. She meets with Havaldar Pritam, and both are attracted to each other. Circumstances force Pritam to arrest Sundari for viciously assaulting another woman, but he lets her escape, and is severely reprimanded by the Kotwal. Sundari feels sorry for him. She meets with the Kotwal and pleads with him to forgive Pritam, which he does. Pritam is grateful to Sundari for saving his career, and both continue to romance each other. What Pritam does not know that Sundari belongs to a gang of thieves, the leader of which is her long-time boyfriend, currently in prison, a notorious gangster by the name of Rahu.
Acting
Nalini Jaywant owns every frame as the morally flexible Sundari.
Direction
Kardar balances song, scandal, and suspense with 1951 swagger.
Costume
Stage performer glamour meets street-smart chic.
Director
Abdul Rashid Kardar
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jadoo arrived during Bollywood's 1951 crime wave, when audiences couldn't get enough of 'good girl/bad girl' dualities and morally compromised heroines.
Nalini Jaywant was notorious for refusing typecasting; Sundari's chaotic energy—dancer, thief, romantic chaos agent—was her middle finger to demure heroine expectations.
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