Abhimaan (lit.'Pride')[a] is a 1973 Indian Hindi musical drama film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Asrani, Bindu, and David. The film is perhaps best remembered for its songs, composed and arranged by S. D. Burman, written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and sung by playback singers Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Manhar.

Abhimaan
Directed byHrishikesh Mukherjee
Written byRajinder Singh Bedi
Biresh Chatterjee
Nabendu Ghosh
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Mohan N. Sippy
Biren Tripathy
Produced bySusheela Kamat
Pawan Kumar Jain
StarringAmitabh Bachchan
Jaya Bachchan
Bindu
Asrani
CinematographyJaywant Pathare
Edited byDas Dhaimade
Music bySachin Dev Burman
Production
company
AmiYa Productions[1]
Release date
  • 27 July 1973 (1973-07-27)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box officeest. 1.7 crore
(est. 43.52 crore as of 2019)[2]

According to Aalif Surti, the film is based on the troublesome marriage of two Hindustani classical music maestros, the sitarist Ravi Sankar and the surbahar player Annapurna Devi,[4] though author Raju Bharatan states that Mukherjee based the film's story on the life of singer Kishore Kumar and his first wife, Ruma Guha Thakurta.[5] The 1954 film A Star Is Born has also been cited as a vague influence.[b][8] The 1970 Bengali film Bilambita Loy, starring Uttam Kumar and Supriya Devi is also noted to be an influence.[citation needed]

The film was a major hit at the box office and is amongst the earliest hits of Bachchan's career.[9] Jaya Bachchan won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for Abhimaan.[10] Popular singer Anuradha Paudwal started her music journey from this film, where she sang a Sanskrit verse for Jaya Bhaduri.

Synopsis

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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. He returns to Mumbai 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

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Crew

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  • Director : Hrishikesh Mukherjee
  • Story : Hrishikesh Mukherjee
  • Screenplay : Nabendu Ghosh, Biresh Chatterjee, Mohini N. Sippy
  • Dialogue : Rajinder Singh Bedi
  • Producer : Susheela Kamat, Pawan Kumar Jain
  • Editor : Das Dhaimade
  • Cinematographer : Jaywant Pathare
  • Art Director : Ajit Banerjee
  • Costume and Wardrobe : Shalini Shah, Ramlal Maheswari
  • Production Manager : J.S. Tripathy, Prakash Walawalkar, Uday Walawalkar
  • Assistant Director : Shakeel Chandra, Susheela Kamat, Nitin Mukesh
  • Assistant Editor : Hari Bhoir, Shridhar Mishra, Shankar Pradhan
  • Assistant Art Director : Mahendra Balasinorwala, Shanker Kurade
  • Music Director : Sachin Dev Burman
  • Music Assistant : Meera Dev Burman, Anil Mohile, Arun Paudwal, Maruti Rao
  • Playback Singers : Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Manhar Udhas

Production

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

Release

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According to Saibal Chatterjee, Abhimaan was Bachchan's "biggest hit" in 1973 and "the most talked about film of the year".[11]

The film was screened as inaugural film at 28th Kolkata International Film Festival on 15 December 2022, almost 50 years after its first screening.[12]

Soundtrack

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All the songs were composed by S. D. Burman, winning him the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. 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.

Abhimaan
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedJuly 27, 1973 (1973-07-27)[13]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length39:00
LanguageHindi
LabelSaregama
ProducerS. D. Burman
S. D. Burman chronology
Anuraag
(1972)
Abhimaan
(1973)
Jugnu
(1973)
Songs
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina (with Dialogues)"Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar4:59
2."Teri Bindiya Re (with Dialogues)"Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar & Mohammed Rafi3:37
3."Teri Bindiya Re"Lata Mangeshkar & Mohammed Rafi4:32
4."Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina"Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar4:54
5."Piya Bina Piya Bina"Lata Mangeshkar4:11
6."Ab To Hai Tumse Har Khushi Apni"Lata Mangeshkar4:45
7."Meet Na Mila Re Man Ka"Kishore Kumar4:20
8."Loote Koi Man Ka Nagar"Lata Mangeshkar & Manhar Udhas3:34
9."Nadiya Kinare"Lata Mangeshkar4:05
Total length:39:00

Awards and nominations

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Filmfare Awards
Year Category Nominee Result Ref.
1974 Best Actress Jaya Bachchan Won [14]
Best Music Director S. D. Burman Won
Best Supporting Actor Asrani Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Bindu Nominated

Influence

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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).[15] This film was very popular in Sri Lanka much more than in India and was screened continuously for 590 days in the same cinema, Empire, Colombo.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Initially the film was called Raag Ragini[3]
  2. ^ The 1937 version of the film is in the public domain and was based on the film What Price Hollywood? (1932), itself adapted from a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns, who loosely based her plot on the experiences of actress Colleen Moore and her husband, alcoholic producer John McCormick, and the life and death of director Tom Forman, who committed suicide following a nervous breakdown.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "50 years of Abhimaan: When newly married Amitabh Bachchan-Jaya Bachchan shot for climax next day after returning from honeymoon". The Indian Express. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  3. ^ "When Kishore Kumar left 'Abhimaan' after recording only two songs for Amitabh Bachchan!". MSN. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  4. ^ Surti, Aalif (May 2000). "Annapurna Devi: The Tragedy And Triumph of Ravi Shankar's First Wife". Man's World. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  5. ^ Bharatan, Raju (12 September 2000). "A cineaste in the mainstream cinema". Rediff. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  6. ^ Pierce, David (June 2007). "Forgotten Faces: Why Some of Our Cinema Heritage Is Part of the Public Domain". Film History: An International Journal. 19 (2): 125–43. doi:10.2979/FIL.2007.19.2.125. ISSN 0892-2160. JSTOR 25165419. OCLC 15122313. S2CID 191633078.
  7. ^ "What Price Hollywood?". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  8. ^ Rachel Dwyer (25 July 2019). 100 Bollywood Films. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-83871-396-6.
  9. ^ "Amitabh Movies Verdict (1969–1984) By Trade Guide(Prakash Pange)". 3 December 2011.
  10. ^ Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal; Guzar (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema: historical record, the business and its future, narrative forms, analysis of the medium, milestones, biographies. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 81-7991-066-0. She won her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1973 for her performance in the marital drama Abhimaan.
  11. ^ "Abhimaan: A Bollywood marital drama that's relevant even after 50 years". BBC News. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023 – via www.bbc.com.
  12. ^ "28th KIFF: Here's all you need to know about Kolkata International Film Festival". Times of India. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Jugnu". Apple Music. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  14. ^ "21st Filmfare Awards 1974". IMDb.
  15. ^ Mishra, D. P. (2006). Great Masters of Indian Cinema: The Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winners. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 116. ISBN 81-230-1361-2.
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