''Dastaan'' () is a

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

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 ...

produced and directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars

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 ...

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the Fi ...

, Bindu,

Prem Chopra Prem Chopra (born 23 September 1935) is an Indian actor in Hindi and Punjabi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years. He has a soft-spoken diction despite being a villain in most films. His 19 films, with him as antagonist ...

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and

Madan Puri Madan Puri (30 September 1915 – 13 January 1985) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His brothers were actors Chaman Puri and Amrish Puri. As a character actor mainly in negative roles (villain), he acted in about 430 films in a ca ...

. The film's music is by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. ''Dastaan'' was a commercial failure and Dilip Kumar's first outright flop in 6 years since '' Dil Diya Dard Liya'' (1966). This movie is based on director's own 1951 film named '' Afsana'', starring

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 ...

in leading role.

Plot

Anil and Sunil are identical twin brothers. They have a friend named Meena who likes Sunil. As a child, Sunil gets separated from his family in a fair, due to heavy storm. None of the trio remembers the incident. Sunil has lost his memory, found by a man named Sahay, who renames him Vishnu. Vishnu Sahay (

) grows up to become a reputed Judge. He has everything, money, fame, happiness and a seemingly devoted wife Mala ( Bindu). However, he is blissfully unaware that Mala and his best friend Rajan (

) are having an affair behind his back. Meanwhile, Anil (also

) has grown into a Don Juan. He is involved with a dancer and also flirts with Meena (

), who, however, wants nothing to do with him and still in love with Sunil. One day, Anil accidentally kills a man and runs to Mussoorie to hide from the cops. Judge Vishnu Sahay comes to the same hotel as Anil. When Anil sees Vishnu, he observes that they are lookalike. If Vishnu's facial hair and spectacles are removed, even the police will have a hard time distinguishing between him and Anil. Vishnu does not realize this. Anil spikes Vishnu's coffee and knocks him out. After removing Vishnu's facial hair and glasses, he checks out of the hotel as Vishnu. However, his plan turns out to be disastrous as Vishnu's car suffers an accident, killing Anil on the spot. From the look of things, the police assume that Vishnu has died. Meanwhile, the real Vishnu is taken into custody as Anil after he gets up. He is, however, proved innocent in court. He sets out for home, expecting to surprise his wife. However, he is shocked to see that his wife and friend are celebrating his death. He learns of their adultery and leaves distraught and dejected. Mala and Rajan are unaware of his return, because they believe that Vishnu is not in the world now. Vishnu comes back to Anil's house. Meena recognizes that he is in fact Sunil, but he cannot remember anything. She is perplexed as to why he is not responding to her. Vishnu re-enters the lives of his wife and her lover as Anil and befriends them. One day, he invites them to see a play staged by himself. Mala goes with Meena to watch the play where Rajan arrives at Anil's place to kill him for ruining his business. There he realizes the truth about Anil's identity as Vishnu reprimands him for being an unfaithful friend. Rajan realizes his mistake and asks for forgiveness from Vishnu who forgives him. Rajan leaves with guilt but falls to his death from the stairs. Mala, who is watching the play realizes everything and walks out of the play in horror. Vishnu follows her to his home, only to find Mala sitting calmly in a chair. He asks her to choose between death and the ignominy of living the rest of her life as an unfaithful wife. She says that she is guilty and no other woman like Mala should be born ever. She says that she has already made a choice and shows an empty poison bottle in her hand. She dies in front of Vishnu. Just then, a sad Meena comes from behind him and places a hand on his shoulder, indicating that she knows everything now.

Cast

... Diwan Anil Kumar / Sunil Kumar / Vishnu Sahay (Dual Role) *

... Meena * Bindu ... Mala *

... Rajan *

... Birbal *

Padma Khanna Padma Khanna is an Indian actress, dancer and director. She appeared mainly in Hindi and Bhojpuri films in the 1970s and 1980s. She is most remembered for her role in the film '' Saudagar'' with Amitabh Bachchan and also as Queen Kaikeyi in Rama ...

... Padma *

... Public Procecutor In Anil Kumar's Case (Special Appearance) * Sachin Pilgaonkar ... Young Sunil and Anil * Jayashree T ... Dancer * Manmohan krishna ... Meena's father * Gopikrishna... Balloon seller in fair

Soundtrack

References

External links

* {{B. R. Chopra 1972 films 1970s Hindi-language films Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Films directed by B. R. Chopra