''Devar'' is a 1966 Hindi film directed by Mohan Sehgal. It stars

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...

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 ...

Deven Verma Deven Verma (23 October 1937 – 2 December 2014) was an Indian film and television actor, particularly known for his comic roles, with Bollywood directors like Basu Chatterji, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar. He also produced and directed fi ...

and

Shashikala Shashikala Saigal (née Jawalkar; 4 August 1932 – 4 April 2021), better known by her first name, was an Indian film and television actress, who played supporting roles in hundreds of Bollywood films beginning in the 1940s. Early years Shash ...

. The music is by Roshan and the 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 ...

; this is their only film together that met with success. The film is based on the short novel ''Naa'' by the noted Bengali writer Tara Shankar Bandopadhyay. This novel was already adapted into a 1954 Bengali movie of the same name, and the 1962 Tamil movie '' Padithaal Mattum Podhuma''. This movie is considered Mohan Sehgal's masterpiece, and was praised for Dharmendra & Sharmila's cool performances, and Deven Verma's commendable negative role. All of the songs from ''Devar'' were big hits at the time, and are still very popular, especially "Baharon ne mera chaman lootkar" and "Aaya hai mujhe phir yaad" by

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

, and "Duniya mein aisa kahan" by

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 ...

Plot

Shankar and Bhawariya are childhood lovers who have been parted by unfortunate circumstances. Shankar's cousin Suresh is an advocate. Matchmaker Ram comes up with marriage proposals for both the cousins. Following family traditions, it is decided that the boys will meet the respective brides by proxy. Suresh falls in love with Madhumati. He cooks up a wicked plot. He writes two letters to each of the families due to which an innocent and somewhat less educated Shankar is badly treated by his parents. One day accidentally Shankar learns that Madhumati is Bhawariya, the girl whom he used to love. So also, Bhawariya's brother, a handwriting expert learns of Suresh's wicked plan. Bhawariya's brother asks Suresh to accept his guilt before Ashok's parents presuming that it is Suresh sitting on chair, but it happens to be Ashok who listens this and learns of everything. In a rift between Shankar and Suresh, Suresh dies accidentally, for which Shankar is held the culprit. Madumati who is determined to see her husband's murderer hanged, changes her words and saves Shankar. The movie ends without Madumati ever knowing that Shankar is her childhood lover.

Reception

''The Essential Guide to Bollywood'' (2005) says that the film "contained deep elements of Bengali literature... The film is remarkable for projecting the ironic twists of fate in an unconventional format with the lead pair bound to the 'wrong' spouses till the very end." In 2014, ''

The Friday Times ''The Friday Times'' (TFT) is a Pakistani English-language independent newsweekly, based in Lahore, Pakistan. History and profile ''The Friday Times'' was first published in May 1989. TFT's founder-editor Najam Sethi and publisher Jugnu Mohsin ...

'' noted that this film was "probably the only role that omedian DevenVerma played that had shades of grey... He may have played a villain but many left the theatre wondering how such a good looking, suave man could have such a complex character."

Cast

as Shankar *

as Bhawariya/Madhumati *

as Shanta *

as Suresh *

Lalita Kumari Lalita or Lalitha may refer to: Hinduism * Tripura Sundari, or Lalita, a goddess in Shaktism * Lalita (gopi), a figure in Krishna tradition Film * ''Lalita'' (1949 film), an Indian folklore Oriya film * ''Lalitha'' (film), a 1976 Tamil film ...

as Basanti *

Durga Khote Durga Khote (14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her times, she remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starring in around ...

as Madhumati's mother * Dhumal as Ram Bharose *

Sulochana Latkar Sulochana Latkar (born 30 July 1928) known by her screen name Sulochana, is a well-known actress of Marathi and Hindi cinema and has acted in 50 films in Marathi and around 250 films in Hindi. She is most known for her performances in Marathi ...

as Shakuntala * Sabita Chatterjee as Lily *

Raj Mehra Raj Mehra 20 May 1913 1993), was an Indian character artist and film actor in Hindi language films, especially known for his role as a father of leading actors. During his career, he worked in over 300 Hindi films. Some of his popular roles a ...

as Thakur Mahendra Singh *

Tarun Bose Tarun Bose (14 September 1928 – 8 March 1972) was an Indian actor, active in Bollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. Early life and education Bose was born in Kolkata, though he grew up in Nagpur, where he studied at St. Francis High School. ...

as Advocate Gopinath * D. K. Sapru as Diwan Jaswant Rai (as Sapru) * Mumtaz Begum as Shankar's mother *

Bela Bose Bela Bose is an Indian dancer and actress who was active in Hindi films during the 1960s and 70s. Early life Bela Bose was born in Calcutta in a well-to-do family. Her father was a cloth merchant and her mother was a homemaker. Following a ...

as dancer in 'roothe saiyan' song * Brahm Bhardwaj as Public Prosecutor *

Nazir Kashmiri Nazir Kashmiri was a prolific character actor in Hindi cinema who appeared in over 100 films. His career extended from 1941 to 2008 spanning 67 years. He started his career in Lahore. He appeared in several Lahore productions before moving to Bo ...

as judge * Pardeep Singh

Soundtrack

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0060306 1966 films 1960s Hindi-language films