Osian's Auction Catalogue The Greatest Indian Show On Earth | September 2014

53 Dev Anand in KALA BAZAR.1960 Directed by Vijay Anand Various release Lobby Cards / LBY 9.7 x 11.7 in (24.7 x 29.7 cm) Provenance Private Collector, Mumbai ` 24,000 – 36,000 US$ 400 – 600 GBP 240 – 360 Lot of 19 "Kala Bazar is amongst the earliest instances of a film reproducing a real-life incident. It so happened that Mehboob Khan had finished his magnum opus Mother India. Shockingly, distributors were wary of picking up the film that did not have a top-notch hero to boost its market credibility. Mehboob, however, opened his own distribution office and held a gala premiere in Bombay, attended by virtually the who's who of the industry. The premiere was later incorporated into Kal Bazar, the tale of a tout who does black marketing of cinema hall tickets. Back in 1960s, 'Do ka char, panch ka dus' decided whether a film was a hit or a flop. The louder the voices of these touts, the greater the chance of the film being a runaway hit! The opening sequences of Kala Bazar bring back to life those days. And to think it was the premiere of Mother India that was being picturised!" Vijay Lokapally, reprinted in Ziya Us Salam (Editor).'Housefull: The Golden Age of Hindi Cinema'. New Delhi: Om Books International 2012; p.124-25. 98 THE “RAJ-DILIP-DEV” TRINITY DEV ANAND AS FOCUS