''Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' ( en, One Rainy Night) is a 1981

Bollywood 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 ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

starring

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 ...

Raakhee Raakhee Gulzar (born Rakhee Majumdar on 15 August 1947 and known as Raakhee) is an Indian actress who has appeared in many Hindi films and Bengali films as well. In four decades of acting, she has won three Filmfare Awards and one National Film ...

, Amjad Khan and

Utpal Dutt Utpal Dutta () (29 March 1929 – 19 August 1993) was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the "Little The ...

. It was directed by

Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''Anand Ashram'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhi ...

. The film was simultaneously shot in two languages,

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 ...

and

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

. The Bengali version, titled ''Anusandhan'', became the highest grossing Bengali film of all time and remained at the spot for several years. The story was adapted from the novel ''Anushandhan'' by

Shaktipada Rajguru Shaktipada Rajguru ( bn, শক্তিপদ রাজগুরু) (1 February 1922 – 12 June 2014) was an Indian Bengali writer. Several of his novels have been adapted for the screen including the Ritwik Ghatak-directed '' Meghe Dhak ...

. The Hindi version was an average grosser. The film is remembered for the classic songs "Haye Wo Pardesi",“Apne Pyar Ke Sapne Sach Hue” and “Kaliram Ka Khul Gaya Pol”. The first song was remade by the Bombay Bicycle Club and the second was used in the international song Funky Bijou Anthem.

Plot

In a small village in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

, Sahuji (

) the merchant has woven a web of corruption in every layer of the social fabric. He supplies materials of inferior quality to the tea garden, and then bribes the accountants to pass his bills. When one of the managers, called "Boro Babu", (

Abhi Bhattacharya Abhi Bhattacharya (20 November 1921 – 11 August 1993) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Bengali cinema, who is most remembered for his roles in films of the 1950s and the 1960s, such as ''Yatrik'' (1952), ''Jagriti'' (1954), '' Anuradha'' (1 ...

), resists, Sahuji pays the workers to go on a strike against the Boro Babu. Besides, he is also involved in rampant smuggling of goods across the border, and everyone from the local jeweler to the local police inspector are part of his intricate web. While the father has created a position of influence by spreading corruption, his son Kaaliram ( Amjad Khan) has ushered in a reign of terror. He goes to local bars, drinks, and doesn't pay. Anyone standing in his way gets beaten up mercilessly, either by him or his thugs. After getting sufficiently intoxicated, he then indulges in carnal desire by forcefully taking away any of the unmarried village girls for a night of merriment. If the poor girl's parents try to fight back, their house is set on fire. Desperate villagers make a plea to the owner of the tea garden, who calls (presumably) the higher ups in police force and they promise to send someone. Next day, while crossing a bridge, Kaaliram and his thugs meet a mysterious stranger on a mule, whose face is completely covered in a

Sombrero A sombrero (Spanish , ) is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high pointed crown, an extra-wide brim (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck and shoulders of the we ...

-type hat popular in that region. The stranger, named Abhijeet (

), doesn't seem to be aware of Kaali's reputation and has no hesitation in fighting back strongly. Kaali vows to take revenge, but on a number of subsequent encounters, including a drum-playing competition, Kaali comes up second best every time. However, the ever so loyal police inspector ( Asit Sen), always comes to his rescue and prevents him from being sent to jail. However, Kaali's frustration grows. In the meanwhile, Abhijeet meets and falls in love with Rajni (

), the blind daughter of the Boro Babu. One rainy night, Kaali attempts to molest Rajni, but Abhijeet comes to her rescue. When the police inspector again attempts to drag his feet, Abhijeet erupts in anger, shows his identity as a very high level police officer, throws Kaali into jail, and suspends the police officer. Abhijeet marries Rajni and they settle down in a quaint little village named Sonarpur, awaiting the birth of their first child. Meanwhile, Kaalia gets out of jail and finds the whereabouts of Abhijeet and Rajni. He sends Abhijeet away from home by making a fake call for help, and then, enters Abhijeet's home and attacks Rajni, killing the unborn child. A clue found outside the house ties Kaali with the incident, and Abhijeet confronts him. However, as he is about to drag the handcuffed Kaalia to the police station, Sahuji, in an attempt to shoot Abhijeet, ends up killing his son. The story ends with justice, divine and otherwise, presumed to have been served to all (except the unborn child).

Cast

as Inspector Abhijeet Rai *

as Rajni (Tamosha in Bengali version) * Amjad Khan as Kaaliram Sahu *

as Suresh / Boro Babu (Rajni's father) *

as Hariya Sahu (Kaaliram's father) *

Prema Narayan Prema Narayan (born 4 April 1955) is a former Model and Bollywood actress-dancer. She has acted in Hindi and Bengali cinema. She was the Femina Miss India World 1971, and represented India at Miss World 1971. Early life Prema Narayan was born i ...

as Phulwa (Village belle) * Asit Sen as Police inspector *

Sujit Kumar Sujit Kumar (7 February 1934 – 5 February 2010) was an Indian actor and producer. He appeared in over 150 Hindi films in the 1960s through the 1990s, and in at least 20 Bhojpuri films. Sujit played the major lead actor in many films in ...

Nimu Bhowmik Nimu Bhowmik ( bn, নিমু ভৌমিক , 4 November 193527 August 2019) was an Indian actor recognized for his work in Bengali cinema. and considered to be one of the famous comic actors and villains of Bengali Cinema. Career H ...

Soundtrack

Hindi

Bengali

References

External links

* * {{amg movie, id=422099, title=Barsaat Ki Ek Raat 1981 films 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s Bengali-language films Films directed by Shakti Samanta Films scored by R. D. Burman Indian multilingual films 1981 multilingual films Films based on works by Shaktipada Rajguru