''Junoon'' (

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

: ''The Obsession'') is a 1978

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Hindi language 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 ...

film produced by

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 ...

and directed by

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

. The film is based on

Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Anglo-Indian author . His first novel, '' The Room on the Roof'', was published in 1956, and it received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and ...

's fictional novella, ''

A Flight of Pigeons ''A Flight of Pigeons'' is a novella by Indian author Ruskin Bond. The story is set in 1857, and is about Ruth Labadoor and her family (who are British) who take help of Hindus and Muslims to reach their relatives when the family's patriarch is kil ...

'', set around the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

. The film's soundtrack was composed by

Vanraj Bhatia Vanraj Bhatia (Hindi: वनराज भाटिया ; 31 May 1927 – 7 May 2021) was an Indian composer best known for his work in Indian New Wave cinema. He was also one of the leading composers of Western classical music in India. Bha ...

, and cinematography by

Govind Nihalani Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Awards, and five Bollywood Filmfare Awards. In 19 ...

. Its cast included

, his wife

Jennifer Kendal Jennifer Kendal (28 February 1934 – 7 September 1984) was an English actress and the founder of the Prithvi Theatre. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film '' 36 Chowringhee Lane'' (1981). Her oth ...

, Nafisa Ali,

Tom Alter Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Early life Born in Mussoorie ...

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

, Kulbhushan Kharbanda,

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare ...

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 ...

, Pearl Padamsee and Sushma Seth. The film also featured Shashi and Jennifer's children

Karan Kapoor Karan Kapoor (born 18 January 1962) is an Indian photographer, actor and model. He is the son of actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal. His paternal grandfather was Prithviraj Kapoor and his paternal uncles are Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor ...

, Kunal Kapoor, and Sanjana Kapoor.

Plot

The story is set around the

. Javed Khan (

) is a reckless feudal chieftain with a Muslim Pathan heritage, whose world revolves around breeding carrier pigeons. His younger brother-in-law, Sarfaraz Khan (

) is politically awakened and actively plots the fight against the British. Freedom fighters attack the local British administrators while they are in Sunday Worship at

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

, massacring them all. Miriam Labadoor (

) manages to escape with her daughter, Ruth ( Nafisa Ali) and mother ( Ismat Chugtai), who is a Muslim lady from the royal Nawab family of Rampur and was married to an Englishman. The three women seek refuge with the wealthy

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

family of Lala Ramjimal ( Kulbhushan Kharbanda). Lala is torn between his loyalty to India and his privileged position under the British, and also his silent love towards Miriam, who seems to also reciprocate it silently. However, matters are taken out of his hand by Javed Khan who barges into Lala's house and forcibly takes Ruth and her family to his own house. This leads to jealousy on part of his wife, Firdaus (

) and anger on part of his brother, who ultimately gives in to the Pathan tradition of offering hospitality and sanctuary (

Nanawatai Nənawā́te ( ps, ننواتې, "sanctuary") is a tenet of the Pashtunwali code of the Pashtun people. It allows a beleaguered person to enter the house of any other person and make a request of him which cannot be refused, even at the cost of the ...

) even to uninvited guests. Various situations ensue due to cultural misunderstandings in the domestic routine of the Muslim household with its new English guests. Javed falls in love with Ruth, and wants to marry her but is opposed bitterly by her mother. Noticing the intense feelings of Javed for her daughter Ruth, Miriam Labadoor (mother) cleverly makes an agreement with Javed that she would only give her daughter's hand to Javed if the British were defeated. In the first instance, Javed is hesitant but accepts the offer when again Miriam asks him if he has misgivings in his war against the British. There are simmerings of a love affair under the watchful suspicious eyes of Firdaus. Meanwhile, the Rebellion runs into problems and the British are defeating the poorly organized Indian forces. In a stormy scene, Sarfaraz destroys Javed's pigeon coops and sets his pets free after he finds out that Indian forces have lost the Battle for Delhi. There is a delayed recognition by Javed of his subjugated identity, colonized by the British. Sarfaraz dies in a battle against the British. The Labadoors return to the protection of the re-deployed British contingent, smuggled by Firdaus, who only wants to save her marriage. Javed finds out that the Labadoors have sought sanctuary in the church and rushes there to meet Ruth one last time. Surprisingly, Ruth comes out and expresses her feelings for Javed against her mother's will. However, Javed honorably keeps his word and the promise he had made with Miriam Labadoor and leaves the church without Ruth. The movie ends here with the voiceover that Javed was martyred fighting the British while Ruth and her mother return to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Ruth dies fifty-five years later, unwed.

Cast

as Javed Khan * Nafisa Ali as Ruth Labadoor *

as Miriam Labadoor (Ruth's Mother) *

as Sarfaraz Khan, Javed's brother-in-law *

as Firdaus, Javed's wife *

Ismat Chughtai Ismat Chughtai (21 August 1915 – 24 October 1991) was an Indian Urdu novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker. Beginning in the 1930s, she wrote extensively on themes including female sexuality and femininity, middle-class ...

as Miriam's Mom * Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Lala Ramjimal * Sanjana Kapoor * Kunal Kapoor *

Benjamin Gilani Benjamin Gilani is an Indian film, television and stage actor who works in Hindi cinema. Early life and career Gilani was schooled at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. He is a postgraduate from Delhi University having studied and taught English li ...

as Rashid Khan * Sushma Seth as Javed's aunt *

as Priest (Ruth's father) * Amrish Puri as the Narrator * Jalal Agha as Kader Khan *

Geoffrey Kendal Geoffrey Kendal (7 September 1909 – 14 May 1998) was an English actor and theatre director who delivered Shakespeare performances throughout India in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life and family Born Richard Geoffrey Bragg in Kendal, Westmorlan ...

Rajesh Vivek Rajesh Vivek Upadhyay (31 January 1949 – 14 January 2016) was an Indian actor. He is best known to Hindi film audiences for his role as the astrologer Guran in '' Lagaan'' (2001) and as the postmaster Nivaran in '' Swades'' (2004). He had ...

as Rashid's wife * Pearl Padamsee as Akhtarbee, bitter woman * Savita Bajaj

Reception

In a retrospective review, Raja Sen of Rediff.com called it "an overwhelmingly powerful film, a bittersweet, entirely futile love story."

Awards

1979 National Film Awards: * Best Feature Film in Hindi – Shashi Kapoor (as producer) * Best Cinematography –

* Best Audiography – Hitendra Ghosh

27th Filmfare Awards The 27th Filmfare Awards were held in 1980. '' Junoon'' led the ceremony with 9 nominations, followed by ''Gol Maal'' and ''Kaala Patthar'' with 8 nominations. ''Junoon'' won 6 awards, including Best Film and Best Director (for Shyam Benegal), ...

: Won *

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

–

* Best Director –

* Best Dialogue – Pandit Satyadev Dubey * Best Cinematography –

* Best Editing – Bhanudas Divakar * Best Sound Recording – Hitendra Ghosh Nominated * Best Supporting Actor –

* Best Supporting Actress –

Best Story Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

–

Recognition

* Inaugural film at the 7th International Film Festival, New Delhi, 1979. * Official Indian entry at the XIth

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

. * Featured at the Montreal World Film Festival 1979, the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year si ...

1979, the

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

1980 and the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fes ...

1980.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features 4 songs, composed by

, with original lyrics from Yogesh Praveen and other lyrics by

Amir Khusro Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian culture, Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural his ...

Jigar Moradabadi Ali Sikandar (6 April 1890 – 9 September 1960), known by his pen name as Jigar Moradabadi, was an Indian Urdu poet and ''ghazal'' writer. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his poetry collection "Atish-e-Gul", and was the secon ...

and

Sant Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, ...

. # "Khusro rain piya ki jaagi pee ke sang" – Jamil Ahmad # "Ishq ne todi sar pe qayamat" –

Mohammad Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

# "Come live with me and be my love" –

# "Ghir aayi kari ghata matwali sawan ki aayi bahaar re" –

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

Varsha Bhosle Varsha Bhosle (1956 – 8 October 2012) was an Indian singer, journalist and writer based in Mumbai. She was the daughter of Indian playback singer, Asha Bhosle. Career Bhosle was a professional Hindi and Bhojpuri playback singer, and appeare ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Junoon (1978 Film) 1978 films 1970s Hindi-language films Films directed by Shyam Benegal Films set in Lucknow Films set in the Indian independence movement Films set in the British Raj Films set in the 1850s Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award Films about the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Films that won the Best Audiography National Film Award Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners Films based on Indian novels