''Aradhana'' () is a 1969 Indian Hindi

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film directed by

Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''Anand Ashram'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhi ...

, starring

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

and

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

. It won the

Filmfare Award for Best Film The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. E ...

at the

17th Filmfare Awards The 17th Filmfare Awards were held on May 11, 1970. '' Aradhana'' led the ceremony with 9 nominations, followed by ''Jeene Ki Raah'' with 6 nominations. '' Anokhi Raat'' won 4 awards, including Best Screenplay (Hrishikesh Mukherjee) and Best ...

. Tagore won her only Filmfare Best Actress Award. Originally released in Hindi and dubbed in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, ''Aradhana''s huge success led to two remakes: the

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

Sivagamiyin Selvan ''Sivakamiyin Selvan'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language film directed by C. V. Rajendran, starring Sivaji Ganesan, Vanisri and Latha. It is a remake of the Hindi film '' Aradhana'' (1969). The film was released on 26 January 1974. Plot ...

'' (1974) and the

Telugu film Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

''Kannavari Kalalu'' (1974). This film is counted among the 17 consecutive hit films of

between 1969 and 1971, by adding the two hero films '' Marayada'' and '' Andaz'' to the 15 consecutive solo hits he gave from 1969 to 1971. ''Aradhana'' was a blockbuster in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The theme of the movie was based on the 1946 film '' To Each His Own''.

Plot

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

officer Arun Varma sings "

Mere Sapno Ki Rani "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" () is a popular Hindi song from the 1969 Bollywood movie ''Aradhana (1969 film), Aradhana''. The song was composed by Sachin Dev Burman and performed by Kishore Kumar. In the film, Rajesh Khanna, the male protagonist, sings ...

" atop an open jeep along with his co-pilot Madan, while Vandana, the daughter of a doctor Gopal Tripathi demurely sneaks glances at him from a mini train. After a brief romance, they wed in a temple without rituals and with only God as a witness. After which it starts raining and they have to stay in a hotel, and sleep with each other. This is where Vandana becomes pregnant. Soon afterward, Arun dies in an air crash. His family refuses to accept the unwed Vandana since her marriage with Arun was never formalised. Meanwhile, her father also dies, leaving her destitute. Vandana's son is finally born, she puts him up for adoption so that she can legally adopt him the next day but she is forced to let a childless couple adopt him. Determined to be a part of his life, she accepts the responsibility of becoming his nanny. The boy is named Suraj. Her employer's brother-in-law Shyam arrives and lusts for Vandana. He tries to rape her when no one is around, but Suraj arrives and stabs him to death to save Vandana. When the police arrive, Vandana takes the blame for the murder and is arrested while Suraj runs away and forgets this mishap as he grows up. Several years later, when Vandana is released from jail, she is befriended by the jailor who takes her home and introduces her to his daughter Renu. Vandana comes face to face with Suraj(who looks just like his father) when she discovers that Renu is dating him. Suraj, just like how his father wished, is an air-force officer. He slowly starts remembering that he has seen Vandana somewhere, although Vandana wants to hide the truth as she feels Suraj may be embarrassed upon realising his parents' background and history. Vandana makes herself at home at the jailor's house. Suraj is injured in an air crash like his real father Arun but survives. While he is recuperating in the hospital, Vandana meets Madan, who knows that Suraj is Arun and Vandana's son. He wants to tell Suraj the truth, but Vandana does not want Suraj to know that he is her son, fearing the consequences. Later when Vandana is not around, Suraj sees her diary where Arun's photo is found. Realising that Arun and Vandana are his true parents, he salutes Vandana's self-sacrificing attitude and acknowledges her publicly as his mother.

Cast

as Vandana Verma / Vandana Tripathi (Arun's Widow) *

as Flight Lieutenant Arun Verma / Suraj Kumar Verma / Suraj Kumar Saxena (Double Role) *

Sujit Kumar Sujit Kumar (7 February 1934 – 5 February 2010) was an Indian actor and producer. He appeared in over 150 Hindi films in the 1960s through the 1990s, and in at least 20 Bhojpuri films. Sujit played the major lead actor in many films in ...

as Air Commodore Madan Verma *

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 ...

as Air Commodore Ganguli (Retd) *

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Bengali films, such as ''Harano Sur'', ''Bhanu Goenda Jahar Assistant'', and ''Shilpi''. B ...

as Gopal Tripathi *

Anita Guha Anita Guha (17 January 1932 – 20 June 2007) was an Indian actress who usually played mythological characters in films. She became known for playing the title role in ''Jai Santoshi Maa'' (1975). Previously, she had played Sita in other mytholo ...

as Mrs. Prasad Saxena *

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'' ...

as Ram Prasad Saxena *

Manmohan Manmohan means 'Winner of the heart'. It is another name of Krishna, the Hindu deity, one of the "avatars" (or "incarnation") of Lord Vishnu. Manmohan may also refer to: *Man Mohan Adhikari (1920–1999), former Prime Minister of Nepal *Manmohan (a ...

- Shyam * Madan Puri as the Jailor * Asit Sen as Tikaram *

Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...

as Renu Verma (Suraj's Wife) *

Subhash Ghai Subhash may refer to: People * Subhash Agarwal, Indian professional player and coach of English billiards and snooker * Subhash Awchat (born 1960), Indian artist and author based in Mumbai * Subhash Bapurao Wankhede (born 1963), Indian politician ...

as Flight Lieutenant Prakash (Suraj's colleague and friend) *Krishna Kant as Mr. Verma (Arun's Father)

Production

The film was scripted by

Sachin Bhowmick Sachin Bhowmick (17 July 1930 – 12 April 2011) was an Indian Hindi film writer and director. Writing was his main work and he wrote stories or screenplays for over 94 films. He is best remembered for directing the light romantic black c ...

. The theme of the movie was based on the 1946 film '' To Each His Own''. A day prior to the shooting of ''Aradhana'', producer Surinder Kapoor showed Samanta his latest film, '' Ek Shrimaan Ek Shrimati'' with

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

as the lead, which was also written by Sachin Bhowmick. Much to his surprise, this film had a similar ending to his own film. The following day, Samanta decided to scrap his film, when writers

Gulshan Nanda Gulshan Nanda (1929 – 16 November 1985) was an Indian novelist and screenwriter. Many of his novels were adapted into Hindi films in the 1960s and 1970s, including more than a dozen big hits of the period — ''Kaajal'' (1965), '' Kati Patang'' ...

and Madhusudan Kalelkar visited his office. Upon hearing the issue, it was Gulshan Nanda who suggested to have a double role of father and son in the film. Originally, the first hero was to die by the interval and a new hero was to step in. The same evening, while Aradhana was being cancelled, Nanda recited a story of ''

Kati Patang ''Kati Patang'' () is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It was a box office success. The film stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations ...

'' to Samanta, which he instantly liked, so for the next couple of hours they first rewrote the second half of ''Aradhana'', and subsequently went on to discuss ''Kati Patang''. The "Roop Tera Mastana" song sequence, which lasted more than three minutes and 30 seconds, was filmed in a single take. Sharmila Tagore believes this was done due to time constraints.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by

S. D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...

, with lyrics by

Anand Bakshi Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930 – 30 March 2002) was an Indian poet and lyricist. He was nominated for the Filmfare award for Best lyricist a total of 40 times, resulting in 4 wins. Early life Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Prakash Vaid) was born ...

. Sachin Dev Burman had written the music for the songs of ''Aradhana'' with his son,

Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

, and completed the recording of the songs in the voices of

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

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 ...

Asha Bhonsle 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 ...

Mohd. Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

and

S.D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...

himself. In "Roop Tera Mastana",

Kersi Lord Kersi Lord (14 February 1935 – 16 October 2016) was an Indian film score composer, music arranger and accordion player. He was particularly well known for his association with noted Indian music composers like Naushad, Madan Mohan, S D Bur ...

played the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

Homi Mullan Homi Mullan (1940 - 2015) was an Indian percussionist born in Kolkata. He is widely recognised for his musical contributions to Bengali and Hindi films. Mullan worked with musical directors including; S. D. Burman, Madan Mohan, Naushad and R. D. B ...

played the duggi and Manohari Singh played the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. This track was also reused in Tamil Remix Version as "Jean Pants" sung by

K.S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various In ...

and Stylebhai.

Awards

;

: Won *

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

–

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

–

* Best Male Playback Singer –

for "Roop Tera Mastana" Nominated *

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

–

* Best Actor –

* Best Supporting Actress –

* Best Music Director –

* Best Lyricist –

for "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" * Best Story –

Box office

''Aradhana'' estimated worldwide gross: (). Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to in 2017, or in . *India: () in 1969. Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to in 2017. *

: 11.85 million Rbls ($14.29 million, 108.5 million) in 1972. Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to () in 2017. In terms of estimated box office footfalls, it sold ticket sales in India and tickets in the Soviet Union, for a combined tickets sold worldwide.

Impact

''Aradhana'' had a large impact on Indians in general. It inspired many to take up films as a vocation, one of them being the popular Indian actor

Tom Alter Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Early life Born in Mussoorie i ...

, who confessed in an interview that he headed to

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...

after being impressed watching Rajesh Khanna in ''Aradhana'' in 1970.

Notes

References

External links

*
The Aradhna Syndrome
{{FilmfareAwardBestFilm 1961–1980 1969 films 1960s Hindi-language films Films scored by S. D. Burman Indian aviation films 1969 romantic drama films Films directed by Shakti Samanta Films set in Darjeeling Hindi films remade in other languages Indian Air Force in films Indian romantic drama films Films with screenplays by Sachin Bhowmick Indian remakes of American films