''Saudagar'' (transl. Merchant) is a 1991 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, directed by

Subhash Ghai Subhash may refer to: People * Subhash Agarwal, Indian professional player and coach of English billiards and snooker * Subhash Awchat (born 1960), Indian artist and author based in Mumbai * Subhash Bapurao Wankhede (born 1963), Indian politician ...

. It starred two legends of the Hindi silver screen,

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

and

Raaj Kumar Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film ''Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four ...

, in lead roles. It was the second film in which the two actors came together after the 1959 film ''

Paigham ''Paigham'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by S. S. Vasan. The film stars Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala in lead roles, with Raaj Kumar, Pandari Bai, B. Saroja Devi, Motilal, Johnny Walker in other important roles. T ...

''. It featured the debut performances of

Vivek Mushran Vivek Mushran (born 9 August 1969) is an Indian actor. Career After leaving Sherwood College, Nainital, he started his career in 1991 with the blockbuster Hindi movie '' Saudagar'' and has appeared in many other movies, including Ram Jaane, the ...

and

Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu language, Telugu, Bengali language, Bengali, Mala ...

, the latter becoming a noted Bollywood actress in later years.

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Indian cinema and Theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himself as one of the most popular actors ...

, Anupam Kher,

Mukesh Khanna Mukesh Khanna (born 23 June 1958) is an Indian actor, talk show host and producer who works in Hindi language films and television shows. He is best known for his portrayal of Shaktimaan, the superhero character in ''Shaktimaan'' (1997–2005) ...

Dalip Tahil Dalip Tahil (born as Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He studied at Sherwood College in Nainital, India. After attending Aligarh Muslim University for a year, he graduated from St. Xavier's Co ...

Gulshan Grover Gulshan Grover (born 21 September 1955) is an Indian actor and producer who has appeared in over 100 films. He is popularly known as the "Bad Man" of Bollywood because of his ability to create an impact with his negative roles in films. Early ...

Dina Pathak Dina Pathak (née Gandhi; 4 March 1922 – 11 October 2002) was an Indian actress and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was an activist and President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). A doyenne of Hindi a ...

and

Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), popularly known as Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model. He has been in the Bollywood industry for over four decades, and , has appeared in over 220 films in 13 languages namely Hi ...

are also featured in the movie. The story line is influenced by the famous play ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' and Mandhaari's role is parallel to that of

Friar Laurence Friar Laurence or Friar Lawrence is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. Role in the play Friar Laurence is a friar who plays the part of a wise adviser to Romeo and Juliet, along with aiding in major plot developments ...

in ''

''. The film was a silver jubilee success all over India and the highest grossing

Indian film The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

of 1991. It as among the top 10 grossers of the 1990s decade''.'' ''Saudagar'' received eight nominations at the

37th Filmfare Awards The 37th Filmfare Awards were held in 1992. ''Lamhe'' led the ceremony with 13 nominations, followed by ''Saajan'' with 11 nominations, ''Saudagar'' with 9 nominations, ''Henna'' with 8 nominations and ''Hum'' with 7 nominations. ''Lamhe'' ...

, and won two awards including

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

for

. It was Dilip Kumar's penultimate film and final box office success.

Plot

The movie starts with Mandhari, an old crippled man, telling a story of two friends to some kids. In the story, Rajeshwar Singh, a rich landlord's son, and Veer Singh, a poor farmer's son, become friends. They are naughty kids, calling each other as Raju and Veeru respectively. As the duo grow up, Raju decides to get his sister Palikanta's marriage arranged with Veeru. Neither his sister nor Veeru have any objections to the marriage. However, as luck would have it, a girl's marriage is disrupted due to her in-laws demanding dowry. Veeru steps in to save the face of the girl and her parents by marrying her. While Raju is shocked by this development, his sister, who was secretly in love with Veeru, commits suicide. Devastated and distraught, Raju now declares that Veeru is solely responsible for everything that happened, making him his mortal enemy. With these new developments, the duo has their territories marked. They come to an uneasy and unwritten truce: no one will kill a living soul from the other's territory, but anybody entering the other person's territory will be doing so at their own peril. Chuniya, kin of Raja, sees an opportunity to leech off the money of Rajeshwar by keeping the two sides at war. Chuniya has Veer's son Vishal killed, making the latter believe that Rajeshwar will stop at nothing to eliminate Veer. Over the years, the tension escalates. The clashes between the former friends become a headache for the Commissioner. Mandhari, who is now revealed to be a beggar and part of the story, happens to be one of the lucky few who do not have any fear of death from either side. Mandhari claims to the Commissioner that the day he finds out a solution to the problem, he will dance on one leg. Here, Rajeshwar's granddaughter Radha and Veer's grandson Vasu meet each other. Radha and Vasu are unaware of the enmity and fall in love. When Mandhari finds about this, he happily completes his pledge to himself and reveals the truth to the lovers. Then, he reveals his plans to end the enmity, according to which Radha will infiltrate Veer's home, while Vasu will infiltrate Rajeshwar's. The lovers succeed in doing so and try to make the old friends see reason. Aarti, Vishal's widow, learns the true identity of Radha but keeps quiet. Meanwhile, Chuniya has completely infiltrated Rajeshwar's bastion. He starts making murky deals with shady parties who are interested in acquiring the whole region. He decides to stoke the fires once again, which he does by abducting, raping and killing a girl named Amla from Veeru's territory. Chuniya's machination works, exposing the lovers as well. Radha and Vasu's pleas fall on deaf ears. However, Chuniya's luck doesn't last long. The people with whom Chuniya had dealt with attack Rajeshwar, exposing Chuniya's real face. A distraught Rajeshwar and a sympathetic Veer finally sort out their enmity of decades. Here, Chuniya grows desperate and has Radha and Vasu captured. The people from both sides unite to fight against Chuniya. Soon, Radha and Vasu are saved, but they are unaware of the fact that their grandfathers have reconciled. Raju and Veeru kill Chuniya but get fatally wounded themselves. As the friends die in each other's arms, the final chapter on this friendship and enmity is closed. The story cuts to the present, revealing that Radha and Vasu got married and they formed a trust in the name of their grandparents, which is taking the care of the education of the children Mandhari is retelling the story too. Radha and Vasu inaugurate the school as Aarti looks on.

Cast

... Veer Singh aka Veeru/Dadaveer *

... Rajeshwar Singh Thakur aka Raju/Dada Thakur *

... Gagan Singh(Vishal's brother; Veer's younger son) *

... Radha Singh Thakur *

... Vasudev Singh aka Vasu/Krishna * Ved Thappar... Young Rajeshwar Singh * Rubina Khan... Palikanta Singh Thakur(Rajeshwar's Sister) * Malvika Tiwari... Rajeshwar's wife *

... Chuniya Chand Chaukhan aka Chuniya Mama *

Zahid Ali Zahid Ali ( ur, زاہد علی; born 30 June 1976) is a Norwegian stand-up comedian. He is known for his participation in the TV2 show '' Rikets Røst'', which is hosted by Otto Jespersen. After the publicity this show resulted in, he has beco ...

... Young Veer Singh * Anupam Kher... Mandhaari *

... Baliram *

... Gajendra Singh Thakur aka Gajja(Radha and Kunal's father; Rajeshwar's son) * Anand Balraj... Devendra aka Deven *

... Vishal Singh(Special appearance, Veer's elder son) *

Deepti Naval Deepti Naval (born 3 February 1952) is an Indian-born American actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema. Her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and 'clos ...

... Aarti Singh(Vishal's Wife) *

... Veer's Sister aka Badi Bi *

Pallavi Joshi Pallavi Joshi (born 4 April 1969) is an Indian actress, writer, and film producer who works primarily in Hindi films and television. In a career spanning across films and television, Joshi is the recipient of such accolades as two National Film ...

... Amla Singh Thakur(Kunal's wife) *

Akash Khurana Akash Khurana is an Indian actor, screenwriter, theatre artist and entrepreneur. His first screen appearance was in Shyam Benegal's '' Kalyug''. He has appeared in nearly 60 films, including ''Ardh Satya'', ''Saaransh'', ''Naam'', ''Beta'', ' ...

... Police Commissioner *Abhinav Chaturvedi... Kunal Singh Thakur(Radha's brother; Amla's husband) *

Archana Puran Singh Archana Puran Singh (born 26 September 1962) is an Indian actress and television personality. She is known for her comedy roles in several Bollywood movies and as a judge in the comedy shows ''The Kapil Sharma Show'' and ''Comedy Circus''. She ...

... Cameo Role *

Shubha Khote Shubha Balsavar (''née'' Khote) is an Indian film and television actress who has worked in several Hindi-language and few Marathi-language films. She is also a former women's national champion in swimming and cycling. Early life and education ...

... Cameo Role *

Govind Namdev Govind Namdev (born 3 September 1954) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Namdev made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's ''Shola Aur Shabnam (1992 film), Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1992). He has acted in numerous movies, often as ...

... Cameo Role

Soundtrack

The music for the film was composed by the legendary duo of

Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...

, and the lyrics were written 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 ...

Awards

References

External links

* {{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations Saudagar 1990s Hindi-language films Films directed by Subhash Ghai Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Films based on Romeo and Juliet