Taxi Driver (1954): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1954, Taxi Driver is a romance and music film directed by Chetan Anand, running about 133 minutes.

What it’s about. About a taxi driver in Mumbai, Mangal, who is called "Hero" by his friends. A driver who drives a cab by day, then drinks at night, listens to his singer girlfriend, Sylive, and then goes into a drunken stupor - and wakes up with a hangover. One day, while assisting another taxi driver, Mangal comes to the assistance of a damsel in distress, who is being molested by two thugs. Mangal gallants rescues her, and attempts to take her to her destination, to no avail, as the person she is looking for has moved. The next day, Mangal and the young woman, Mala, again attempt to seek Ratanlal, a music director, but the entire day is spent in vain. Mala lives in Mangal's tiny apartment and both become attracted to each other. When Mala finds out about Sylvie, she leaves him. He goes in her search, but finds that she has become a famous singer with the help of her music director friend.

Who’s in it. Taxi Driver stars Dev Anand as Hero, Kalpana Kartik as Mala, Sheila Ramani as Sylvie and Johnny Walker as Mastana, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.0/10, Taxi Driver has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Prime Video with Ads and rent or buy it from Amazon Video. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Taxi Driver page.

If you liked it. Fans of Taxi Driver tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Your Name., Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Cinema Paradiso.