() is a 1973 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

musical drama film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...

, starring

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

Jaya Bachchan Jaya Bachchan (''née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party ...

, Asrani, Bindu, and

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

. The film is perhaps best remembered for its songs, composed and arranged by S. D. Burman, written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and sung by

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern India ...

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. 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 range of voice ...

, Manhar. According to Aalif Surti, the film is based on the troublesome marriage of two

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

maestros, the sitarist Ravi Sankar and the surbahar player Annapurna Devi, though author Raju Bharatan states that Mukherjee based the film's story on the life of singer

and his first wife, Ruma Guha Thakurta. The 1954 film '' A Star Is Born'' has also been cited as a vague influence. The 1970 Bengali film '' Bilambita Loy'', starring Uttam Kumar and Supriya Devi is also noted to be an influence. The film was a major hit at the box office and is amongst the earliest hits of Amitabh Bachchan's career. Jaya Bachchan won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for . Popular singer

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

started her music journey from this film, where she sang a Sanskrit verse for

Jaya Bhaduri Jaya Bachchan (''née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party ...

Synopsis

Subir is a professional singer with a soaring career. He has no plans to marry—until he meets Uma, a sweet village girl who is musically gifted. Subir falls in love with Uma and marries her and returns to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

with his new bride. Subir continues as a singer and fosters Uma's singing career. His career falters, however, just as Uma's singing career begins to thrive. Eventually, she becomes more successful than her husband, sparking jealousy from Subir. His pride and jealousy tear the marriage apart. The couple separates, and Uma has a miscarriage. After heavy criticism from his aunt, Subir realises his vanity and reconciles with Uma in an emotional reunion, and they sing together.

Cast

as Subir Kumar *

as Uma * Bindu as Chitra * Asrani as Chandar Kripalani *

as Brajeshwarlal * Durga Khote as Durga * A. K. Hangal as Sadanand * Lalita Kumari as Radha

Production

The movie was made under the production AmiYa (Amitabh + Jaya), although the copyrights are owned by their secretaries. Lata Mangeshkar was the sole voice of Jaya Bachchan in the movie, whereas Amitabh Bachchan was voiced by three singers. Manhar Udhas recorded the demo for "Loote Koi Man Ka Nagar" and it was supposed to be sung by

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

; however Mukesh refused because he thought the demo sounded good and Udhas ought to be given a chance.

Release

According to Saibal Chatterjee, ''Abhimaan '' was Bachchan's " biggest hit" in 1973 and "the most talked about film of the year". The film was screened as inaugural film at 28th Kolkata International Film Festival on 15 December 2022, almost 50 years after its first screening.

Soundtrack

All the songs were composed by S. D. Burman, winning him the

Filmfare Award for Best Music Director The Filmfare Award for Best Music Director is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad Ali was th ...

. The lyrics were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The songs "Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina" and "Meet Na Mila Re Man Ka" were listed at the 16th and 23rd spots, respectively, on Binaca Geetmala's Annual List for 1973.

Awards and nominations

Influence

The film was also a turning point for Bindu, who, for the first time, played a sympathetic character. Previously, she was known for playing vamps/ cabaret dancers, such as in Amitabh's star-making hit '' Zanjeer'' (1973).

Footnotes

References

External links

*
The Haunting Notes of Abhimaan
{{Authority control 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films 1973 films Films scored by S. D. Burman Films directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee Films about singers 1970s romantic musical films 1973 romantic drama films Films about Bollywood Films about actors Films about alcoholism Films about filmmaking Films about music and musicians Films based on adaptations Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Adela Rogers St. Johns Films set in Mumbai Films shot in Mumbai Hindi-language romance films Indian drama films Indian musical drama films Indian remakes of American films Indian romantic drama films Indian romantic musical films Films about marriage Hindi remakes of Bengali films Films based on multiple works 1973 musical films Hindi-language films based on actual events