''Souten'' () is a 1983 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 ...

-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- ...

directed by

Saawan Kumar Tak Saawan Kumar Tak (9 August 1936 – 25 August 2022) was an Indian film director, producer, and lyricist. He directed many Hindi films, including successful films like ''Saajan Bina Suhagan'', ''Souten'', '' Souten Ki Beti'', '' Sanam Bewafa'', ...

, starring

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 ...

Tina Munim Tina Ambani (née Munim) is a former Indian actress. She is married to Anil Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Group. She is actively involved in many foundations and charities. Many of these were established in the memory of her in-laws, Dhirubhai a ...

Padmini Kolhapure Padmini Kolhapure is an Indian actress and singer, who works primarily in Hindi films. She began her acting career in 1972 at the age of seven, and her early works include ''Zindagi'' (1976) and ''Dream Girl'' (1977). She had her breakthroug ...

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 ...

and Pran. It was written by Kamleshwar, with music by Usha Khanna. The song "Shayad Meri Shaadi" sung 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

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

became especially memorable. Khanna's chemistry with Munim also proved popular. The film was remade in Kannada as '' Krishna Nee Begane Baro'' and in Telugu as '' Tene Manasulu''. ''Souten'' was a silver jubilee hit on its release.

Plot

Shyam is an ambitious man who meets Rukmini, the daughter of a millionaire, and falls in love with her. They get married despite opposition from Rukmini's family. While Shyam wants to become a father, Rukmini is not interested in becoming a mother yet. Consequently, their relationship sours and eventually ends. Radha, daughter of Shyam's employee, brings a ray of hope into Shyam's life. What happens next forms the climax of the story.

Cast

as Shyam Mohit *

as Rukmini Mohit (Ruku) *

as Radha * Pran as Raisaheb Prannath Pasha *

as Sampatlal * Shreeram Lagoo as Gopal *

Shashikala Shashikala Saigal (née Jawalkar; 4 August 1932 – 4 April 2021), better known by her first name, was an Indian film and television actress, who played supporting roles in hundreds of Bollywood films beginning in the 1940s. Early years Shash ...

as Renu Prannath Pasha *

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipien ...

as Mr. Jain *

Vijay Arora Vijay Arora (27 December 1944 – 2 February 2007) was an Indian actor in Hindi films and television serials who was known for ''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' and as Indrajit in the television serial ''Ramayan''. Career He also appeared in the ser ...

as Vijay *

Satyendra Kapoor Satyendra Kappu (born Satyendra Sharma; also credited as Satyen Kappu; 7 February 1931 – 27 October 2007), was an Indian character actor in Bollywood films. He has acted in 390 films. His most remembered role is Ramlal in the movie ''Sholay'' ( ...

Roopesh Kumar Roopesh Kumar (16 January 1946 – 29 January 1995) was a character actor in Bollywood films, especially known for his role as a villain in over 100 Hindi films from 1965 to 1995. He is widely remembered for his comic negative roles in the film ...

as Bingo (Photographer) *

Yunus Parvez Yunus Parvez (1931/1932 – 11 February 2007) was an Indian actor who played supporting roles in over 200 films from the late 1960s to the 2000s. He is best known for his roles in films like '' Garm Hava'' (1974), '' Deewaar'' (1975), '' Trishu ...

as public prosecutor, lawyer * Sudhir Dalvi as public prosecutor, lawyer * T.P.Jain as Gunwant Lal

Production

According to the director, ''Souten'' was the first Hindi film ever to be shot in Mauritius.

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Khan (born 19 November 1951), better known as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and former fashion model. She first received recognition for her modelling work, and at the age of 19, went on to participate in beauty pageants, winning both ...

and Parveen Babi were offered the role of Rukmini, but they both turned it down, leading to Tina Munim being signed. Prior to ''Souten,'' Rajesh Khanna was not having a good run at the box office, as many of his previous films were failures. Although films like ''

Thodisi Bewafaii ''Thodisi Bewafaii'' () is a 1980 Hindi movie written and directed by Esmayeel Shroff. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Shabana Azmi and Padmini Kohlapure. The music is by Khayyam.The film was a commercial hit and in some cities celebrated as a ...

'' (1980) did provide some respite, he could not achieve the same level of popularity he enjoyed in the early 1970s. ''Souten'' and '' Avtaar'' (1983) are believed to be the two movies which temporarily restored some of his lost stardom.

Awards

; 31st Filmfare Awards: Nominated * Best Supporting Actress –

* Best Music Director – Usha Khanna * Best Lyricist – Saawan Kumar for "Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khayal" * Best Lyricist – Saawan Kumar for "Zindagi Pyaar Ka Geet" * Best Male Playback Singer –

for "Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khayal"

Soundtrack

The music of this movie was composed by Usha Khanna (one of the two female music composer to have ever worked in Bollywood).

himself penned the lyrics to the famous songs.The song 'Zindagi Pyar Ka Geet Hai' of this movie is a popular one. The song, 'Main Teri Chhoti Behna Hoon' is sampled on the

Four Tet Kieran Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting UK albums such as '' Rounds'' ( ...

track 'Morning' on the album Morning/Evening. The song, 'Meri Pehle Hi Tang Thi Choli' was supposed to be a duet between

and

. However, Mangeshkar refused to sing this song due to the explicit lyrics. This led to

Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singer and also as one of the most successful playback singers ...

singing it with Kumar. This film was a huge success of the year 1983. It was one of Rajesh Khanna's favourites.http://ibosnetwork.com/asp/filmbodetails.asp?id=Souten

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0348078, Souten 1983 films Indian romantic drama films Indian family films 1983 romantic drama films 1980s Hindi-language films Films shot in Mauritius Hindi films remade in other languages Films scored by Usha Khanna Films directed by Saawan Kumar Tak