Prakashchand Helen as Dancer Cuckoo as Dancer Minhaj Ansari as Dancer Asit Sen as Lalchand (dead man) S N Bannerjee as Renu's father Production On the sets of Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Madhubala rekindled a friendship with Kishore Kumar, who was her childhood playmate and also her friend Ruma Guha Thakurta's ex-husband. Following a two-year-long courtship, Madhubala married Kishore in court on 16 October 1960. Kishore Kumar made Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, hoping it would fail commercially; he wanted to show losses in his income, and thus avoid paying a huge income tax to the authorities. To his disgust, the film became a success; as he did not want to add to his earnings, he gave Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and all its rights to his secretary Anoop Sharma, who retained the copyright. The income tax case on Kishore Kumar was not solved even after forty years. Soundtrack The music is composed by S. D. Burman with Jaidev and his son, R. D. Burman as the assistant music composers, and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The songs "Hum The Woh Thi" and "Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si" were based on Tennessee Ernie Ford's "The Watermelon Song" and Merle Travis's "Sixteen Tons" respectively. The soundtrack was popular with audience, and was placed at #51 in Film Companion's list "Top 100 Bollywood albums". The song "Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si" was listed among the Top 25 Rain Songs of Bollywood by Rediff. Reception Box office Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, the second highest-grossing Indian film of 1958, grossed ₹2.5 crore, including a nett of ₹1.25 crore at the box office. Adjusted for inflation, its gross was equivalent to about ₹485 crore in 2016, and it remains one of the highest-grossing Indian films in the history (when adjusted for inflation). Critical reception Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi has received overwhelming positive reviews by modern-day critics. Author Dinesh Raheja, writing for Rediff.com, said that "if the best screwball comedies are those that continue to connect even with the modern generation, this fifties jest-setter is a sureshot winner." He also commented favourably on Madhubala and Kishore Kumar's chemistry, adding that Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi was the finest of the five films they made together. Sandipan Deb of Mint called it "best Hindi movie ever made", noting its treatment of female characters: Remakes Saade Maade Teen (2007), Marathi film Dilwale (2015) See also Hulchul (2004) film References Bibliography External