Aashirwad (transl. Blessing) is a 1968

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film, directed by

Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...

. The film main stars

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

, Veena,

Sumita Sanyal Sumita Sanyal (9 October 1945 – 9 July 2017) was an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. She made her debut opposite Uttam Kumar in Bibhuti Laha's ''Khokababur Pratyabartan'' (1960). She subsequently appeared ...

and

Sanjeev Kumar Sanjeev Kumar (born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was an Indian actor. He is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. He acted in genres ranging from romantic dramas to thriller ...

. The film is notable for Ashok Kumar & Veena life time performances and its also inclusion of a

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

-like song performed by Ashok Kumar, "Rail Gaadi" & "Nav Chali".

Plot summary

The protagonist Jogi Thakur (

) is a simple man of high principles. He is a resident son-in-law who, with his wife, has been bequeathed property and estates by his father-in-law. He breaks his marriage to an autocratic landlady (

Veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...

) when he finds out that on his wife's order, the chief accountant of the estate has cunningly obtained his signatures on an order that the houses of the poor be burnt. He leaves home, vowing never to return as long as he lives, leaving his daughter Neena behind. He moves to Mumbai where he makes a living by entertaining children in a park (the famous song "Rail Gaadi", said to be India's first rap number). He is specially fond of a girl whose name, incidentally, is Neena (played by baby Sarika), too. Unfortunately, the girl takes ill and dies. Jogi then returns to his village, Chandanpur, where he finds that the daughter of one of his villager friends, Baiju, has been abducted. He rushes someplace where she is about to be raped by the estate's cunning chief accountant, and he kills him to protect the girl. The villagers make up a phony story to save him, but he opts to tell the truth in the court and is jailed. There, he starts tending to the garden and composes philosophical poems. The doctor at the jail, Dr. Biren (

) takes a special liking to him. Coincidentally, Neena, Jogi Thakur's daughter is set to be married with the doctor. Jogi Thakur finds this out by chance as he is tending to the garden outside doctor's room and overhears their conversations. He also learns that his daughter hates criminals. And so he shields his face from her on the few occasions that they meet. Unfortunately, he takes ill just as he is granted pardon by the government for his good behaviour. The doctor, has come to think of him as a father figure. He tells Jogi Thakur that the day he will be out of jail will be the eve of his marriage. Jogi Thakur is taken by the desire to see his daughter being wedded, and hurries to see her. However, he does not want anyone to recognize him. Finally he joins the beggars who have gathered for a treat for the marriage, where his daughter and son-in-law are serving food. He manages to give his blessings to her and hurries out. However, as he collapses on the road, he is recognized and people gather around him. The news reaches his daughter who rushes to the spot to meet with her father at his last moment. Adorned with such wonderful songs such as "Rail Gaadi" sung by Ashok Kumar himself, "Ek Tha Bachpan" by Lata Mangeshkar (sung by Jogi Thakur's daughter) and finally the memorable "Jeevan Se Lambe Hai Bandhu Yeh Jeevan Ke Raste" by Manna Dey (sung by the bullock-cart driver who carries Jogi Thakur near his village in the night), the movie is an emotional journey through a man's life who stands by his principles only to be finally overcome by love for his daughter.

Cast

as Shivnath "Jogi Thakur" Choudhary *

as Doctor Biren *

as Neena "Bittu" S. Choudhary *

Veena (actress) Veena (4 July 1926 – 14 November 2004), also known as Veena Kumari, real name Tajour Sultana, was an Indian actress. Early life and background Veena was born as Tajour Sultana on 4 July 1926 in Quetta, Baluchistan Agency, British India.< ...

as Leela S. Choudhary, Rani maa *

Sajjan (actor) Sajjan (15 January 1921 – 17 May 2000) was a Bollywood and stage actor. He acted in several plays and movies from the 1950s to the 1980s. His best known films are ''Bees Saal Baad'', ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'', ''April Fool'', ''Rail Ka Dibba'' ...

as Ramdas munimji *

Harindranath Chattopadhyay Harindranath Chattopadhyay (2 April 1898 – 23 June 1990) was an Indian English poet, dramatist, actor, musician and a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency. He was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu ...

as Baiju "Dholakia" *

Padma Khanna Padma Khanna is an Indian actress, dancer and director. She appeared mainly in Hindi and Bhojpuri films in the 1970s and 1980s. She is most remembered for her role in the film '' Saudagar'' with Amitabh Bachchan and also as Queen Kaikeyi in Ram ...

as Rukmini * Bipin Gupta * S.N. Banerjee as Mohan/Mamaji * Amar Kumar * Brahm Bhardwaj advocate for Jogi Thakur * Leela Gandhi as dancer in 'Saf Karo, insaf karo' *

Abhi Bhattacharya Abhi Bhattacharya (20 November 1921 – 11 August 1993) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Bengali cinema, who is most remembered for his roles in films of the 1950s and the 1960s, such as ''Yatrik'' (1952), ''Jagriti'' (1954), '' Anuradha'' (1 ...

as Jailor *

Sarika Sarika Thakur is an Indian actress and costume designer. In 2005, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the English-language film ''Parzania''. She was also awarded the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for her work i ...

as Munni/Neena * Baby Deepali as young Neena/Bittu * Dev Kishan as Mahadev street movie vendor * Harbans Darshan M Arora as Munni's (Sarika) father * Kedarnath Saigal as radio broadcaster (Ek tha bachpan) * Amol Sen as guard of medical ward in jail. * Ashim Kumar as bullock cart driver (Jeevan se lambe hai bandhu)

Soundtrack

The music of the film was by

Vasant Desai Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was an Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram films like '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' (1955), '' Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' (1957), Vijay Bhatt's '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959), ''Samp ...

, with lyrics by

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

. Harindranath Chattopadhyay wrote the song "Rail Gaadi..." * "Ik Tha Bachpan" -

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

* "Rail Gaadi Chhuk Chhuk Chhuk Chhuk" -

* "Jeevan Se Lambe Hain Bandhu Yeh Jeevan Ke Raste" -

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...

* "Jhirjhir Barse" -

* "Saf Karo, insaf karo" -

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

* "Kanno ki ek nagri thi" - Ashok Kumar, Harindranath Chattopadhyay * "Naav chali" - Ashok Kumar

Awards

*1969

Filmfare Best Actor Award The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1954, presented annually at the Filmfare Awards to an actor via a jury. This is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi (Bollywood) films. The award was first ...

for

*1969

National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actor (), is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India instituted since 1967 to actors who have delivered the best performanc ...

for

*1969

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several a ...

References

External links

*
''Rail Gaadi'' at Geeta-Kavita.com
{{Hrishikesh Mukherjee 1968 films 1960s Hindi-language films Films directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee Films featuring a Best Actor National Award-winning performance Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners