''Dharam Karam'' is a 1975 Hindi

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 ...

produced by

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

and directed by

Randhir Kapoor Randhir Raj Kapoor (born 15 February 1947) is an Indian actor, film producer and director who worked in Hindi cinema. He was an established actor of the 1970s and received two Filmfare Award nominations. However, his career declined in the ea ...

, who also stars as father and son in the film, respectively. The film also stars

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fi ...

Premnath Prem Nath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath, was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in over 100 films throughout his career. ...

and Dara Singh. The music is by R.D. Burman and the lyrics by

Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was ...

, who received a Filmfare nomination as Best Lyricist for the hit song "Ek Din Bik Jayega." The song is played 4 times during the film, with playback singing by Kishore Kumar,

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 Sushma Shrestha. Of the three of them, only Mukesh received a Filmfare nomination as Best Male Playback Singer for the song. According to one source, the film performed "Below Average" at the box office.

Plot

Shankar is a

hoodlum A hoodlum is a thug, usually in a group of misfits who are associated with crime or theft. Early use The earliest reference to the word "hoodlum" was in the December 14, 1866, ''San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin'' after the Hoodlum Band was ...

who lives in a shanty hut with his pregnant wife, Kanta, and makes a living as a career criminal. He prays to Lord Shiv that if he is blessed with a male child, he will ensure that the child does not take to his path, but instead grows up to a decent and honest human being. His wife does give birth to a baby boy, and Shankar loots the ill-gotten gains of another hoodlum named J.K. A furious J.K. hunts down Shankar in an attempt to abduct his son, but Shankar takes his child and switches him with one belonging to renowned stage artist, Ashok Kumar. Shankar gets into a scuffle with J.K. and his men, killing one of them, getting arrested, tried in Court, and being sentenced to 14 years in jail. Kanta passes away, while Dharam is left in the care of a wrestler, Bhim Singh, and a midwife, Ganga. Dharam is taught to be a hoodlum but wants to focus on becoming a singer, while Ranjit has taken to alcohol, gambling, and a life of crime under J.K. himself. After his discharge, Shankar finds to his delight out that Ashok has brought up Ranjit and both are stage actors. Then his world descends into chaos when he finds out that Ranjit is Dharam, while his very son, Ranjit has taken to a life of crime. Angered at Dharam, he beats him up and asks him to be a hoodlum like himself, he also beats up Ranjit and asks him to obey Ashok and follow in his footsteps. Watch as things spiral out of control when a vengeful J.K. abducts Shankar and holds him hostage - the ransom - the dead body of Ashok - at all costs - and the person has chosen to carry out this task is none other than Dharam!!

Cast

as Ashok 'Bonga Babu' Kumar *Raj Rani as Kanta *

as Dharam *

as Basanti *

Prem Nath Prem Nath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath, was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in over 100 films throughout his career. ...

as Shankar Dada * Dara Singh as Bhim Singh *

Pinchoo Kapoor Pinchoo Kapoor (1927 – April 28, 1989) was an Indian actor born in Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India in 1927. He acted in many Hindi films during the 1970s and 1980s. His film career lasted from 1969 to 1989. He is best remembered for his rol ...

as J.K. *

Narendra Nath Narendra Nath (1935–1998) was an Indian actor. Early life and background His full name is Narendra Nath Malhotra. He was first cousin of actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Prithviraj's mother was the elder sister of Narendra's father. Two of his ...

as Ranjit A. Kumar *

Urmila Bhatt Urmila Bhatt (1 November 1933 – 22 February 1997) was an actress of Hindi cinema. She started acting in Drama Theatre. She joined Sangeet Kala Academy in Rajkot as a folk dancer and singer. It was during that time that her famous Gujarati dra ...

as Ganga *Alka as Neena * Master Satyajeet as Young Dharam *Baby Pinky as Young Basanti *Master Sailesh as Young Ranjit A. Kumar

Music

Music was Composed by

R. D. 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 released by Saregama.

References

External links

* {{Raj Kapoor Films scored by R. D. Burman 1970s Hindi-language films R. K. Films films