''Haré Rama Haré Krishna'' is a

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

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

Dev Anand Dev Anand (; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Indian cinema, Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most succes ...

starring himself, Mumtaz and

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Amanullah Khan (born 19 November 1951), known professionally as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in Hindi films. One of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema, she established herself as one of the highest paid ...

. The film was a hit and a star-making vehicle for

, who played a westernized

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

, and won the

Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the Filmfare ...

, as well as the

BFJA Award Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...

for Best Actress. The movie dealt with the decadence of the Hippie culture. It aimed to have an anti-drug message and also depicts some problems associated with Westernization such as divorce. It was influenced by the 1968 American

psychedelic film Psychedelic film is a film genre characterized by the influence of psychedelia and the experiences of psychedelic drugs. Psychedelic films typically contain visual distortion and experimental narratives, often emphasizing psychedelic imagery. The ...

Psych-Out ''Psych-Out'' is a 1968 American psychedelic film about hippies, psychedelic music and recreational drugs starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson (the film's leading man despite being billed under supporting player Dean Stockwell) and Bruce ...

''. The idea for ''Haré Rama Haré Krishna'' actually came to Dev Anand when he visited

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

, Nepal and encountered hippies living there. He was low in spirits due to protests against his previous film ''

Prem Pujari ''Prem Pujari'' () is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced, directed and written by Dev Anand for Navketan Films, his directorial debut. It stars Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Shatrughan Sinha, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri and a th ...

''. The protesters had burnt posters of the film.

Plot

In the background of the rise of the International Hare Krishna movement in the 1970s, is a

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

-based family of the Jaiswals, consisting of mom, dad, son, Prashant, and daughter, Jasbir. Due to differences, Mr and Mrs Jaiswal separate, leaving Jasbir with dad, and Prashant with his mom. Eventually Prashant and his mom travel to India, leaving father and daughter behind in Montreal. Mr. Jaiswal remarries, and brings his new wife to live in his home. Jasbir is told by her nanny that her mother & brother are dead. Back in India Prashant is sent to a boarding school and his father makes sure that none of Prashant's letters reach Jasbir, so that it would be easy on her part to get over emotional trauma. Jasbir is upset with her inconsiderate step-mother and ignorant father who is deeply immersed in his business. Years later, Prashant has grown up to be a pilot. He has received a letter from his dad that Jasbir, who had rebelled and left home, is now located in

, Nepal, with a group of hippies. Prashant decides to find his sister and hopefully get her back to the family. When Prashant lands in Kathmandu he does not find Jasbir, but instead finds Janice, who is indeed his sister with a new name. Janice has no recollection of her childhood, and is always in the company of hippies spending most of her time consuming alcohol & drugs with them. Janice lives with the hippies in the property rented out by local landlord Drona. Drona's real business is stealing ancient artifacts from Kathmandu and selling it to foreign nationals. Michael, one of the hippies, is the one who does all the dirty work for him. Janice's boyfriend Deepak misunderstands that Prashant is trying to woo Janice, hence they exchange a few blows every time they meet. Meanwhile, Drona has an eye on Shanti, a local salesgirl working in one of the shops owned by him. Shanti has feelings for Prashant which creates one more enemy for him. Later Prashant and Shanti elope and get married. At the same time a precious idol is stolen from local temple by Michael, which he hides in Janice's house. Prashant secretly observes all this. Drona tries to frame Shanti for theft by secretly planting another stolen artifact in her house. Later he spreads the word that since the day Prashant has arrived idols are being stolen and he is stalking local girls. The police commissioner is a friend of Prashant's father, and has already received a letter stating the purpose of Prashant's visit to Kathmandu. He suspects that Drona is trying to frame Prashant because he has married Shanti. He gets a search warrant for the entire property of Drona and recovers a diary which has contact details of his friends abroad who help him sell the stolen artifacts. The police also recover the stolen artifact from Shanti's home, squarely blaming Prashant for it. Shanti is deeply hurt by this and looks around for Prashant. Prashant meanwhile is with Janice, trying to convince her that he is her brother, who she had been told dead long back. Michael overhears the conversation & conspires to put the blame on the brother-sister duo. Taking advantage of the situation Drona and Michael instigate the locals against Prashant by framing him for the theft and duping Shanti under pretext of marriage. The hippies and the locals are now ready to bash Prashant the moment they come across him. When Prashant again tries to meet Janice, the hippies give him a solid thrashing. The police commissioner intervenes and Prashant is saved. At the same time the true face of Drona is uncovered and he meets his end trying to run away from police. Janice sees that both her parents have arrived to meet her and realizes that Prashant is indeed her brother. Janice is deeply hurt that her parents had to see her in this state. She runs away from them and commits suicide. In her suicide note she tells Prashant how deeply she loved him and she never intended him to find her in this state and suicide was the only way out for her.

Cast

- Prashant Jaiswal *

– Jasbir Jaiswal / Janice * Mumtaz – Shanti * Baby Guddi – Young Jasbir * Satyajeet – Young Prashant (as Master Satyajit) *

Prem Chopra Prem Chopra (born 23 September 1935) is an Indian actor in Hindi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years. Life and education Chopra, the third of six children of Ranveerlal and Rooprani Chopra, a Punjabi Hindu family, was ...

– Dronacharya *

Rajendra Nath Rajendra Nath Malhotra (8 June 1931 − 13 February 2008) was an Indian actor and comedian in Hindi and Punjabi films. Early life and family Rajendra Nath was born on 8 June 1931 in Tikamgarh, which is now in Madhya Pradesh. His family was ...

– Toofan *

Mehmood Jr. Naeem Sayyed (15 November 1956 – 8 December 2023), known professionally as Junior Mehmood, was an Indian actor, singer, Marathi language, Marathi film director, and producer. The name Junior Mehmood was given to him by Mehmood Ali. Life and ...

– Machina * Sudhir – Michael *

Kishore Sahu Kishore Sahu (22 November 1915 – 22 August 1980) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He appeared in 22 films between 1937 and 1980, and he directed 20 films between 1942 and 1974. His directorial ven ...

– Mr. Jaiswal *

Achala Sachdev Achala Sachdev (3 May 1920 – 30 April 2012) was an Indian actress who appeared in classic films of Hindi language film industry, who started her career as a child actor. She later became known for mother and grandmother roles in Hindi films. ...

– Mrs. Jaiswal * Mumtaz Begum – Shanti's Mother *

Iftekhar Iftekhar Ahmed Sharif (22 February 1920 – 4 March 1995), often mononymously credited as Iftekhar or Iftikhar, was an Indian actor who mainly worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for his film roles as a police officer. Career Iftekhar wa ...

– IGP *

Raj Kishore Raj Kishore (1933 – 7 April 2018) was an Indian actor who played roles in the Indian films such as ''Sholay'' (1975), '' Padosan'' (1968), ''Deewaar'' (1975), '' Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967), '' Hare Rama Hare Krishna'' (1971), ''Karishma Kudrat Ka ...

– Sakhi * Gautam Sarin – Deepak * Indrani Mukherjee – Mrs. Jaiswal (2nd) * Yashodra Katju – (as Yashodhra Katju)

Awards

;

20th Filmfare Awards The 20th Filmfare Awards were held in 1973, awarding the films made in 1972. ''Amar Prem'' and ''Be-Imaan'' led the ceremony with 8 nominations, followed by Shor (film), ''Shor'' with 7 nominations and ''Pakeezah'' with 5 nominations. ''Be-Im ...

: Won * Best Supporting Actress –

* Best Female Playback Singer –

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

for " Dum Maro Dum"

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by

Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (; 27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman ...

and the lyrics were written by

Anand Bakshi Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930 – 30 March 2002) was an Indian poet and lyricist. He won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist 4 times during his career. He wrote over 6000 film songs in more than 300 films. Early life Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Pr ...

. The songs, " Dum Maro Dum" and "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" were instant hits with the youth even as "Kanchi Re Kanchi Re", "Dekho O Diwano" and "Phoolon Ka Taron Ka" showed the versatility of composer R.D. Burman.

won

Filmfare Best Female Playback Award The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award cerem ...

for the song " Dum Maro Dum", which was a huge hit. Biggest nepali musician Ranjit Gazmer played the

madal The madal () or maadal is a Nepalese folk musical instrument. The madal is used mainly for rhythm-keeping in Nepalese folk music. It is very popular and widely used as a hand drum in Nepal. The madal has a cylindrical body with a slight bulge at i ...

in this movie.

R.D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (; 27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman ...

gave him a chance in Bollywood films as he also heard Ranjit's composed song "Kancha Re Kancha" and re-write the song lyrics and composition as in Hindi Kanchi Re Kanchi Re which was sung by

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 ...

and

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 ...

References

External links