''Chowkidar'' is a 1974

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 ...

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 Shyam Ralham. The film stars

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 ...

Yogeeta Bali Yogeeta Bali Chakraborty (born 13 August 1952) is a former Indian Bollywood actress. She was active in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. Biography Yogeeta Bali was born on 13 August 1952. She is the niece of actress Geeta Bali. Bali mar ...

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awa ...

and

Om Prakash Om Prakash (born Om Prakash Chibber 19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu as Om Prakash Chibber and went on to become a well-known character actor of Bollywood. His most well-known movies are Nam ...

in lead roles.

Plot

Shambhu (

) is a village Chowkidar (night watchman), who is helpful to the poor that are oppressed by Lala Dinanath ( Jeevan). He has a sister who was missing for about a year. One night during the patrol, he finds his sister coming from the house of the village chief Thakur Ranvir Singh (

D. K. Sapru Daya Kishan Sapru (16 March 1916 – 20 October 1979), was an Indian actor famed for a variety of character roles in Hindi cinema, particularly villains, judges and aristocrats in crime thrillers and dramas. His most notable performances were in ...

). It turns out that his sister had a love affair with the Thakur and went into hiding once she got pregnant and now the Thakur is not accepting the girl child. Shambhu's sister hands him the baby and commits suicide by jumping into a nearby river. Shambhu first takes the baby girl to Thakur, who again rejects the baby and dies accidentally in an attempt to shoot at Shambhu. Shambhu raises the girl child on his own. Meanwhile, Lala Dinanath has a son, whom he sent to the city for higher education and to become a doctor. He expects that his doctor son will help him in earning more money by exploiting the poor villagers. Thakur also has a son, whom he also sent to city for better education. After few years, Dinanath's son Shyam (

), now a doctor, returns to village and is appalled by the condition of the village and finds out that his father is the main reason. He decides to stay in the village and nurse them to wipe away his father's sins. Dr. Shyam's kindness toward the village people earns his respect and praise all around, but makes his father angry, as he is not earning any money. He subsequently forms a romantic relationship with Shambhu's grown up niece Radha (

). Thakur's son Gopal (

) becomes a playboy and return home to occupy his father's position, with his friend Vilaitiram (

Ram Mohan Ram Mohan (26 August 1931 – 11 October 2019) was an Indian animator, title designer and design educator, who was also known as father of Indian Animation and was a veteran in the Indian animation industry, who started his career at the Cartoo ...

). Vilaitiram is looking for an opportunity to blackmail Gopal with the help of dancer Bela (

Jayshree T. Jayshree Talpade (born c. 1953) is an Indian actress and dancer who mostly plays in Bollywood films. Career Talpade began her career at age 5 in 1958 with ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai''. She gained popularity when she started performing item dances i ...

). When Gopal tries to make advances toward Radha when he sees her for first time, she resists and ends up injuring Gopal. With the help of Vilaitiram, Gopal sends his goons to kill Radha, but Dr. Shyam saves her. Realising that he can never lay hands on Radha as long as Shyam is present, Gopal calls Bela to the village. Bela traps Shyam in a small home and accuses him of raping her in front of the whole village. Heartbroken, Radha and Shambhu decide to leave the village. As the job is done by Bela, she is no longer required and Vilaitiram tries to kill her. Again, Shyam comes and saves her. Now realising her mistake, she confesses everything to Shyam. Meanwhile, Gopal's goon had kidnapped Radha. So, now vindicated, Shyam goes to save Radha and just reaches in time. A fight starts between Gopal and Shyam. Gopal's paternal aunt comes and stops the fight. She tells everyone that Radha is actually Gopal's sister, a secret she and Shambhu had been hiding since long ago, but now it is necessary to tell everyone. Deeply ashamed, Gopal decides to self immolate and burns the house. But Radha and others forgive him and stop him from killing himself. The story ends in peace with Gopal accepting Radha as his sister.

Cast

as Dr. Shyam *

as Radha *

as Gopal * Jeevan as Lala Dinanath *

as Shambhu *

as Vilaitiram *

as Thakur Ranvir Singh * Asit Sen as Munim * Sulochana as Mangala *

as Bela

Soundtrack

All of the songs are written by

Rajinder Krishan Rajinder Krishan Duggal (6 June 1919 – 23 September 1987) also credited as Rajendra Krishan, was an Indian poet, lyricist and screenwriter. Biography Rajinder Krishan was born in a Duggal family at Jalalpur Jattan on 6 June 1919, in Gujrat ...

& music by

Madan Mohan Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as th ...

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0429776, title= Chowkidar 1974 films 1970s Hindi-language films 1974 drama films Films scored by Madan Mohan