''Namak Haraam'' () is a 1973 Indian
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-language
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
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...
. The music is 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 ...
, the screenplay by
Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
, and 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 ...
. The film stars
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...
and
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
. It 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 fil ...
,
Asrani
Govardhan Asrani (born 1 January 1940), popularly known simply as Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character roles, ...
,
Raza Murad
Raza Murad (born 23 November 1950) is an Indian actor who appears primarily in Hindi films.
He has over 250 Bollywood film credits. Murad has also appeared in Bhojpuri and other regional-language films and on Hindi television.
Early life
He i ...
,
A. K. Hangal,
Simi Garewal
Simi Garewal (born Simrita Garewal; 17 October 1947) is an Indian actress, director, producer and a talk show host. She is the recipient of two Filmfare awards and an ITA Award. She is known for her work in Hindi films like ''Do Badan'', '' Saa ...
and
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 ...
. Rajesh Khanna received his third
BFJA Awards for Best Actor (Hindi) {{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
The Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards is the oldest Association of Film critics in India, founded in 1937. Frequent winners include Rajesh Khanna (4 awards), Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor ...
in 1974 for this film and Amitabh Bachchan had won his second
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the awards star ...
in 1974.
This was the second Hrishikesh Mukherjee film that starred Khanna and Bachchan after ''
Anand''. "Diye Jalte Hai", "Nadiya Se Dariya" and "Main Shayar Badnaam" are the most memorable melodies, all rendered powerfully by
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music.
He ...
and picturised on Rajesh Khanna. And Kaka, as he was called by friends and fans alike, won the hearts of millions by his meaningful acting and face impressions. The film proved out to be a box office superhit and was the 5th highest grossing film of 1973. The film was remade in Tamil as ''
Unakkaga Naan''. The core plot of the movie was based on the sub-plot of the 1967 Telugu movie ''
Prana Mithrulu'' which itself was loosely inspired by the storyline of the 1964 movie ''
Becket
''Becket or The Honour of God'' (french: Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu) is a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in 117 ...
''.
[https://www.bobbytalkscinema.com/recentpost/Namak-Haram-1973--Becket--436]
Plot
The story focuses on two friends, Somu (
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...
) and Vicky (
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
). To avenge the fact that Vicky is insulted by the union leader of his factory, Somu infiltrates the factory as a worker and later the
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
as its leader. However, Somu is moved by the plight of the workers and is influenced by their ideals, which leads to a confrontation between the two friends. This story concentrates on the rise of
unions with the backdrop of
Bombay
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 second- ...
's textile mills and inflation in the early 1970s.
Controversies
It is said that according to the initial script,
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
had to die in the last scene. When
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...
got to know this, he pressurized
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...
to change the ending so he dies in the end instead of
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
. It was Khanna's view that death in the end gets viewers' sympathy. The same had happened in ''
Anand'', getting lot of popularity for Khanna. Although Mukherjee did not want this change, Khanna was such a big star, he had to do this. This made Amitabh very angry and he vowed never to work with Khanna again.
Cast
*
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...
as Somnath Chander Singh (Somu)
*
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
as Vikram Maharaj (Vicky)
*
Simi Garewal
Simi Garewal (born Simrita Garewal; 17 October 1947) is an Indian actress, director, producer and a talk show host. She is the recipient of two Filmfare awards and an ITA Award. She is known for her work in Hindi films like ''Do Badan'', '' Saa ...
as Manisha
*
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 fil ...
as Shyama
*
Asrani
Govardhan Asrani (born 1 January 1940), popularly known simply as Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character roles, ...
as Dhondu, Shyama's brother
*
A. K. Hangal as Bipinlal Pandey
*
Manju as Rama, Pandey's assistant
*
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 Damodar Maharaj
*
Manmohan Manmohan means 'Winner of the heart'. It is another name of Krishna, the Hindu deity, one of the "avatars" (or "incarnation") of Lord Vishnu. Manmohan may also refer to:
*Man Mohan Adhikari (1920–1999), former Prime Minister of Nepal
*Manmohan (a ...
as Jai Singh
*
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 Somu's mother
*Manisha
as Sarla, Somu's sister
*
Raza Murad
Raza Murad (born 23 November 1950) is an Indian actor who appears primarily in Hindi films.
He has over 250 Bollywood film credits. Murad has also appeared in Bhojpuri and other regional-language films and on Hindi television.
Early life
He i ...
as Alam
*
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 ...
as Courtesan
Music
The song "Nadiya Se Dariya Dariya Se Saagar" was listed at #18 on the
Binaca Geetmala annual list 1974
''Binaca Geetmala'' was a weekly countdown show of top filmi songs from Hindi cinema. It was popular and had millions of listeners. ''Binaca Geetmala'' was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to the Vividh Bharati Servi ...
.
Awards and nominations
, -
, rowspan="4", 1974
,
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
,
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the awards star ...
,
, -
,
Asrani
Govardhan Asrani (born 1 January 1940), popularly known simply as Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character roles, ...
,
Filmfare Best Comedian Award
The Filmfare Best Comedian Award was given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise an actor who had delivered an outstanding performance in a comic role.
Although the awards started in 1954, awards fo ...
,
, -
,
Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
,
Filmfare Best Dialogue Award
The Filmfare Best Dialogue Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Here is a list of the award winners since 1958 and the films for which they won.
Superlatives
;Most Awards
*Gulzar – 4
*Rahi ...
,
, -
,
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...
,
BFJA Awards for Best Actor (Hindi) {{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
The Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards is the oldest Association of Film critics in India, founded in 1937. Frequent winners include Rajesh Khanna (4 awards), Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor ...
,
References
External links
*
{{Hrishikesh Mukherjee
1973 films
Indian buddy films
1970s Hindi-language films
Films about the labor movement
Films directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Films scored by R. D. Burman
Hindi films remade in other languages
Films with screenplays by Gulzar