''Arth'' () is a 1982 Indian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is ''Saaransh'' (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film F ...

, starring

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

and

Kulbhushan Kharbanda Kulbhushan Kharbanda (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. He is best known for his role as the antagonist Shakaal in '' Shaan'' (1980), Starting off with the Delhi-based theatre group 'Yatrik' in the 1 ...

in lead roles and Smita Patil,

Raj Kiran Raj or RAJ may refer to: History * British Raj, the 1858–1947 rule of the British Crown over India * Company Raj, the 1757–1858 rule of the East India Company in South Asia * Licence Raj, the Indian system of elaborate licences, regulations ...

and Rohini Hattangadi in supporting roles. It features some of the most memorable soundtracks by

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

duo,

Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian cl ...

and

Chitra Singh Chitra Singh () is an Indian ghazal singer. She, alongside her husband, Jagjit Singh, popularized the ghazal genre. Respectfully known as the "king and queen of the Ghazal world," the husband and wife duo created some of the most successful Indi ...

. The semi-autobiographical film was written by

about his extramarital relationship with Parveen Babi. It is one of the 25 Must See Bollywood Movies as compiled by Indiatimes Movies. The film was remade in Tamil as ''

Marupadiyum ''Marupadiyum'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, filmed and directed by Balu Mahendra. The film stars Revathi, Nizhalgal Ravi, Arvind and Rohini. A remake of the 1982 Hindi film ''Arth'', it focuses on Thulasi, a wife ca ...

'' (1993) by

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan-born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as ...

. In 2017, Pakistani actor and director

Shaan Shahid Armaghan Shahid PP ( ur, ; born 27 April 1971), better known by his stage names Shaan Shahid ( ur, ) or Shaan, is a Pakistani actor, producer, model, writer and director. Shaan has established himself as one of the most popular leading acto ...

released, ''

Arth 2 ''Arth – The Destination'' is a 2017 Pakistani romantic drama film, written, directed and co-produced by Shaan Shahid under his banner 5th Element. It stars Shahid as Ali, a struggling musician, with Humaima Malick, Mohib Mirza and Uzma Ha ...

'' and Bhatt acted as a "mentor" during production.

Plot

Pooja, who grew up as an orphan girl and always dreamt of owning a house, becomes insecure when she finds out that she and her husband, Inder, have to leave the apartment they rent. The twist that occurred when Inder gives her the keys of a new house proves to be double-edged, when it is revealed that he is in love with another woman, Kavita, with whom he earned the money (in the film industry) for the new apartment. While previously giving advice to her maid cheated by her husband, now Pooja becomes herself involved in a similar situation. When Inder deserts Pooja for Kavita, she chooses to leave the apartment for a women's hostel with only 2000 that she had when she got married. She is helped by Raj to surpass the difficulties of life as a single person, to find a job and to rely morally on herself. Raj and Pooja become good friends. Gradually, Kavita's mental instability deepens her fears of insecurity, even after Inder requests Pooja to sign the divorce papers. Raj falls in love with Pooja and proposes to her. She refuses saying she is empty and cannot give him anything. Raj tries to persuade her saying that she cannot spend the rest of her life feeling miserable about the past and that she should try to find a new life for herself. Pooja promises to think about it. Pooja's maid, whose only aim in life is to secure a good education for her daughter, has saved 1000 towards her admission fees. She finds out that her drunk husband has stolen the money. Furious, she searches for him to find him in the arms of his lover after spending all the money. She kills him and goes to the police station and confesses her crime. Worried about her daughter, she calls Pooja who promises to take care of the daughter. After the insistence of Kavita's mother and her personal doctor, Pooja personally assures Kavita that she is not interested in Inder any more. However, Pooja's attitude only convinces Kavita that breaking Pooja's marriage was a mistake. To escape from her feeling of guilt and insecurity, she breaks-up with Inder. The latter tries to revive his relation with Pooja, but is rejected. Pooja continues to live with her maid's daughter and refuses to marry Raj saying that she has found a new meaning to life in being independent and being a mother to the child and marrying Raj will only weaken her.

Cast

as Pooja Inder Malhotra *

as Inder Malhotra * Smita Patil as Kavita Sanyal *

as Raj * Rohini Hattangadi as Pooja's maid *

Dina Pathak Dina Pathak (née Gandhi; 4 March 1922 – 11 October 2002) was an Indian actress and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was an activist and President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). A doyenne of Hindi a ...

as Kavita's mother *

Om Shivpuri Om Shivpuri (14 July 1938 – 15 October 1990) was an Indian theatre actor-director and character actor in Hindi films. A National School of Drama, New Delhi alumnus, Shivpuri became the first chief of the National School of Drama Repertory Co ...

as Kavita's doctor * Mazhar Khan as Harish *

Gulshan Grover Gulshan Grover (born 21 September 1955) is an Indian actor and producer who has appeared in over 100 films. He is popularly known as the "Bad Man" of Bollywood because of his ability to create an impact with his negative roles in films. Early ...

as Gulshan *

Dalip Tahil Dalip Tahil (born as Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He studied at Sherwood College in Nainital, India. After attending Aligarh Muslim University for a year, he graduated from St. Xavier's C ...

as Dilip *

Gita Siddharth Gita Siddharth (died 14 December 2019) was an Indian actress and social worker. She acted in mainstream Bollywood as well as art house cinema, like '' Parichay'' (1972), ''Garm Hava'' (1973), and ''Gaman'' (1978). She was best known for her ro ...

as Aparna *

Siddharth Kak Siddharth Kak is an Indian documentary maker, television producer, and presenter, best known as the producer and presenter of Surabhi (1990–2001). Subsequently, Kak established the 'Surabhi Foundation' with the assistance of Ford Foundation ...

as Anil *Shammi as Mrs. Bhalla *

Chand Usmani Chand Usmani (3 January 1933 – 26 November 1989) was an Indian actress in Hindi films from the 1950s to the late 1980s. She won the 1971 Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is best remembered for playing self-sacrificing wives an ...

as School Administrator *Kiran Vairale as Pooja's Hostel Room-Mate

Soundtrack

Box-office

The film was made on a budget of 1 crore and grossed 2 crore at the Box-office and was declared as "Hit" by the Box-office.

Awards

References

External links

Review at rediff.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arth (Film) 1980s Hindi-language films Films featuring a Best Actress National Award-winning performance Films about adultery in India Indian feminist films Films directed by Mahesh Bhatt Hindi films remade in other languages Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing National Award Hindi-language drama films