Although director Kidar Sharma was himself a renowned screenplay writer and lyricist, the music titles of “Jogan” have over them a looming question mark where authorship is concerned. Pandit Indra, Butaram Sharma, Himmatrai Sharma apart from Meera bhajans, are credited with the 14 lyrics (mostly mukhdas and antra) set to appropriate and compelling tunes by the relatively unknown Bulu C. Irani.
The musical gems include “Ghunghat ke pat khol,” “Eri mein to prem diwani,” “Mein to giridhar ke ghar jaaon” and the nearly climatic Meera rendition in Geeta Dutt's mellifluous voice. Geeta is credited with nine other renditions as well in the film. There are also two Shamshad Begum numbers picturised on Poornima apart from two Talat Mahmood songs that really add nothing to the narrative.
“Jogan”— a melodrama with tragic overtones has an agnostic Vijay (Dilip Kumar) attracted to a woman mendicant Surabhi (Nargis) who lives in the precincts of a village temple singing religious songs. Despite her protests and forebodings, Vijay pursues her relentlessly and at one point implores her to spell out her reasons for rejecting his overtures, since she seems to be making desperate efforts to suppress her own emotions.
She reverts to her past through a largely musical odyssey that shows her lost in a world of fantasy waiting for her lover. But her reverie is broken by a sudden twist. On the advice of a hanger-on, her alcoholic brother fixes her marriage to an older man in return for a large sum of money.
But Surabhi runs away and finds refuge in an ashram of mendicants under the patronage of Maha Mai (Protima Devi) who puts her through rigorous tests of devotion and celibacy.
She then comes to a village where the city lad Vijay is temporarily residing. He is instantly attracted first to her voice and then to her physicality. The narrative moves forward through short intense dialogues to reveal the jogan painfully resisting Vijay's overtures to a point of sheer helplessness from which the only escape is to return to the sanctity of the ashram. But she finds no peace there and eventually succumbs to her doom. Before leaving the village she bids Vijay not to pursue her beyond a particular tree.
Finding no peace, Vijay does succumb in a brief interlude to a nameless friend's (Rajendra Kumar in a fleeting debut appearance) persuasions and starts visiting a courtesan (Poornima) but returns to the village in pursuit of peace of mind.
Years later, another jogan comes to the village and hands over Surabhi's diary to a waiting Vijay, telling him that he can come face to face with her only at her samadhi, which he does to end the film.
Dilip Kumar minus the mannerisms developed later and also the excessive hand movements excels in gaining the audience's empathy, his expressions corresponding to the mood and situation. Nargis is her usual compelling self in a role demanding controlled performance. She emotes through her eyes and her natural dialogue delivery heightens the impact of scenes. However, Baby Tabassum as Mangu turns out to be a scene stealer.
Director Kidar Sharma relies extensively on close-ups and mid-shots to derive maximum advantage while cinematographer Mehta's generously generated light-and-shade contrast gives a heightened impact.
Made under the banner of Shree Ranjit Movietone by producer Chandulal Shah, this 116-minute black and white film was one of the top grossers of the year.
