Charandas Chor (''Charandas the Thief'') is a 1975

children's film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that generally relates to children in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are made f ...

by noted director Shyam Benegal, based on the famous play by Habib Tanvir, which itself was an adaptation of a classical Rajasthani folktale by Vijaydan Detha. The lyrics of the film were also by Habib Tanvir. The film starred

Smita Patil Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi films. Regarded among the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she was known for her ...

, Lalu Ram, Madanlal and Habib Tanvir. The film is the start of Patil's career in cinema.

Plot

The film is derived from a classic folk tale, originally narrated by Vijaydan Detha, and interpreted as folk play by Habib Tanvir. The film charts the tumultuous life of a petty thief, Charandas (Lalu Ram). Curiously he is a man of principles – an honest thief with a strong sense of integrity and professional efficiency. He makes four vows to his Guru, that he would never eat in a gold plate, never lead a procession that is in his honour, never become a king and never marry a princess, thinking all of them are far out possibilities for him. Later, his guru adds a fifth one - never to tell a lie and sets him off on his life's journey which leads him to a kingdom, where the turn of events makes him famous, and eventually he is offered the seat of political power which he has to refuse. Later, the local princess (Smita Patil) gets enchanted by him and proposes to marry him. This is when his refusal costs him his life. As he is put to death, he illustrates the inherent paradox in human existence, where truthful existence becomes an impossibility, both for the truthful and the accidentally truthful alike.

Cast

* Lalu Ram as Charandas *

as Princess * Madanlal * Fida Bhai * Sadhu Meher * Habib Tanvir * Anjali Paigankar * Sunder * Baby Dass * Babu * Kemal Kar

References

External links

*
Charandas Chor FTVdatabase
1975 films Films with screenplays by Shama Zaidi Films directed by Shyam Benegal Indian films based on plays Indian children's films 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films {{child-film-stub