''Dharmputra'' is a 1961

Hindi film 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 ...

directed by

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the recipient of ...

based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen. This is Yash's second directorial venture. It was the first

to depict the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

, and Hindu fundamentalism. Produced by his elder brother B.R. Chopra, who was himself uprooted from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

, during the partition of India and established B.R. Films in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

in 1956. The film dealt with issues of religious bigotry, fanaticism and

communalism Communalism may refer to: * Communalism (Bookchin), a theory of government in which autonomous communities form confederations * , a historical method that follows the development of communities * Communalism (South Asia), violence across ethnic ...

amidst the backdrop of the partition.Dharmputra (1961): Review
/ref> Two years earlier, Yash Chopra had made his debut with ''

Dhool Ka Phool ''Dhool Ka Phool'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language film produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by B. R.'s brother Yash Chopra, being his first movie as a director, having been an assistant director in B. R.'s earlier film '' Naya Daur''. The ...

'' (1959), steeped in Nehruvian

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...

, wherein a Muslim brings up an "illegitimate" Hindu child and featured the classic song "Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega, Insaan Ki Aulaad Hai, Insaan Banega". The theme was reversed in this film as herein a Hindu family brings up an illegitimate Muslim child. This was Shashi Kapoor's first film as an adult actor playing the pivotal role of a Hindu fundamentalist. Noted actor

Rajendra Kumar Rajendra Kumar Tuli (20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999) was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. He was popularly known as the 'Jubil ...

made a special appearance for a song as did

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 ...

. At the

9th National Film Awards The 9th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in 1961. The awards were announced on 5 April 1962 and were prese ...

it was awarded the Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Plot

The film opens in 1925, during the

British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

and at the height of the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...

it is the tale of two

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

families, that of Nawab Badruddin and Gulshan Rai. The two families are so close that they virtually share the same house. The Nawab's daughter, Husn Bano, has an affair with a young man named Javed and gets pregnant. When the Nawab attempts to arrange her marriage with Javed, he finds that Javed has disappeared. Amrit Rai and his wife Savitri assist Husn with the birth of a baby boy, Dilip, and even adopt him and give him their family name. Young Dilip is the apple of the Badruddin and the Rai households. Husn is then reunited and marries Javed. In the meantime, while participating in a protest to force the British to leave India, the Nawab is killed. Years later, Husn Bano and Javed return to a warm welcome by the Rai family. Then she meets Dilip - not the Dilip she had left behind - this Dilip is fascist, a Muslim-hater, who has joined forces with other extremists, in order to force Muslims to leave India and even go to the extent of burning buildings and killing them. How can Husn and Dilip adapt to each other with so much hate and distrust between them?

Cast

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 Dilip Rai *

Mala Sinha Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...

as Husn Bano * Rehman as Javed *

Manmohan Krishna Manmohan Krishna (26 February 1922 – 3 November 1990) was a popular Indian film actor and director, who worked in Hindi films for four decades, mostly as a character actor. He started his career as a professor in Physics and held master's de ...

as Dr. Amrit Rai *

Indrani Mukherjee Indrani Mukherjee (born 1 March 1942) is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films during the 1960s and 1970s and starred in over 70 films. After playing the heroine in some films, notably '' Usne Kaha Tha'' (1960) and '' Aakhri Khat'' (1966 ...

as Meena *

Tabassum Kiran Bala Govil ( Sachdev; 9 July 1944 – 18 November 2022), known professionally as Tabassum, was an Indian actress, talk show host and YouTuber, who started her career as child actor Baby Tabassum in 1947. She later had a television career ...

as Rekha Rai *

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 ...

as Sudesh Rai *

Nirupa Roy Nirupa Roy (born Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara; 4 January 1931 – 13 October 2004) was an Indian actress who had appeared in Hindi films. Noted for her portrayals of tragedy and sorrow, Roy was known for her acting ability, and was uncharitab ...

as Mrs. Savitri Amrit Rai *

Leela Chitnis Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from 1930s to 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her later role ...

as Meena's Mother *

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 Nawab Badruddin (Husn Bano's Father) *

as Party Leader *

as Dancer

Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by N. Dutta with lyrics written by Sahir Ludhianvi. *The song "Saare Jahan Se Achha", was written by poet

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

Reception

The raw reconstruction of partition riots and sloganeering led to riot-like situations at theatres during screening the film, and the film flopped at the box office. After ''Dharmputra''s debacle, few directors ventured into the communal theme in

Hindi cinema 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 ...

that took it so bluntly, the next film which dealt with the issue was '' Garm Hava'', by

M.S. Sathyu Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu ( kn, ಮೈಸೂರು ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಸತ್ಯು) (born 6 July 1930) is a leading film director, stage designer and art director from India. He is best known for his directorial ''Garm Hava'' (1973), w ...

, made in 1973. The film's director Yash Chopra never made a political film again, and stuck to love stories till many decades later, when he touched the theme of religious harmony again with ''

Veer Zaara ''Veer-Zaara'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra, who co-produced it with his son Aditya Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as the eponymous star-crossed lovers: Veer Pratap Singh (Khan ...

'' (2004).

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

: President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi ;

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

* 1963: Best Dialogue: Akhtar ul ImanAwards

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

References

External links

* {{Yash Chopra 1961 films 1960s Hindi-language films Films directed by Yash Chopra Yash Raj Films films Films set in Delhi Films set in the partition of India Films scored by Datta Naik Films based on Indian novels Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners