Misplaced Pages

Yaadon Ki Baaraat
Poster
Directed by	Nasir Hussain
Written by	Salim–Javed Nasir Hussain
Produced by	Nasir Hussain
Starring	Dharmendra Vijay Arora Tariq Khan Zeenat Aman Neetu Singh Ajit Captain Raju
Cinematography	Munir Khan
Edited by	Babu Lavande Gurudutt Shirali
Music by	R. D. Burman
Production company	Nasir Hussain Films
Distributed by	Nasir Hussain Films United Producers
Release date	9 November 1973 (1973-11-09)
Running time	168 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	₹55 million ($7.1 million)

Yaadon Ki Baaraat (transl. Procession of Memories) is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language masala film, directed by Nasir Hussain and written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It featured an ensemble cast, starring Dharmendra, Vijay Arora, Tariq Khan, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh, Ajit and Captain Raju.

The film was influential in the history of Indian cinema. It has been widely identified as the first masala film, combining elements of the action, drama, romance, musical, crime and thriller genres. Masala films went on to become the most popular genre of Indian cinema, and Yaadon Ki Baaraat has thus been identified as "the first" quintessentially "Bollywood film." It also launched the careers of several actors, as the commercial breakthrough Hindi film for Zeenat Aman and Neetu Singh, who became leading actresses of the 1970s, and as the debut film for Nasir Hussain's nephews Tariq Khan and Aamir Khan, the latter a child actor who grew up to be one of the biggest movie stars in Hindi cinema.

It is still remembered fondly for its soundtrack, composed by music director R.D. Burman. The film was later remade in Telugu as Annadammula Anubandham, in Tamil as Naalai Namadhe and in Malayalam as Himam.

Plot

1958

The film starts with three young brothers, Shankar, Vijay and, Ratan, celebrating their father's birthday with their mother and the maid. Their mother sings Yaadon ki Baarat a song loved by the children. When their father goes out later that evening he witnesses a theft by Shakal and his men.

In order to remove the risk of being identified and reported to the police, they break into their house and shoot the father. The mother, awakened by the noise finds her dead husband only to be shot dead too. The shocking incident is witnessed by Shankar and Vijay. They run to the railway station. Shankar manages to catch a train and tries to take Vijay with him but they are separated. Shankar is left with no choice but to survive on the streets. He joins Usman, another boy like him, stealing food from shops.

On the police's advice the maid decides to adopt Ratan. Vijay is found unconscious by a groundkeeper of a mansion owned by a wealthy man and raised by him.

1973

The brothers have grown up into mature adults. Shankar (Dharmendra), the eldest, is now joined by Usman on a crime spree around the city. However, he is still haunted by the murder of his parents and seeks to find his brothers. Vijay is now an unemployed but a charming young man. Ratan, the youngest,is a singer with a band at Heavens hotel.

Vijay meets Sunita and flirts with her.But she is not responsive. At a party organised by Sunita she sings 'Chura Liya Hai'. Vijay falls in love with her. Sunita acts as if she too has fallen for him but she publicly mocks him.

Vijay feigns sickness. A minidrama persuades Sunita to travel on a trip with him,a man about to lose his life to cancer. But she falls in love. Vijay however reveals the truth to Sunita whose anger soon dissolves and he is forgiven. Ratan meanwhile also finds love with his co-dancer and singer.

The brothers meet several times but remain unaware of their close bond. But one night Ratan sings 'Yaadon ki Baarat', a heartfelt song of loss. Vijay and Shankar, present at the concert are immediately struck by a flood of memories and overjoyed. Vijay sings along with him. Vijay and Ratan unite. Shankar writes to Ratan asking him to meet him but is unable to because of his boss, none other than Shakal.

Shankar discovers the truth of his parents murders. He joins hands with his brothers and Sunita to make Shakal pay for his misdeeds. Shakal and his son Rupesh try to run away from Shankar but he corners them. Finally, Shakal and Rupesh try to escape through the railway tracks. But Shakal's leg gets stuck in the tracks. Shankar sees a train coming and leaves Shakal to die, while restraining Rupesh. Shankar reunites with his brothers and their lives.

Cast

• Dharmendra as Shankar
• Vijay Arora as Vijay
• Tariq Khan as Ratan / Monto
  • Aamir Khan as Young Ratan
• Ravindra Kapoor as Usman
• Zeenat Aman as Sunita
• Neetu Singh as Dancer
• Ajit as Shakaal
• Imtiaz Khan as Roopesh
• Satyen Kappu as Jack
• Anamika as Jack's Daughter
• Ashoo as Mother of Shankar, Vijay, Ratan
• Nasir Khan as Father of Shankar, Vijay, Ratan
• Jalal Agha as Salim
• Master Rajesh as Young Shankar
• Master Ravi as Young Vijay
• Ram Avtar as Businessman
• Moolchand as Businessman
• Jagdish Raj

Production

Hussain's nephews, Tariq and Aamir, made their debuts with this film.

Tariq played one of the three male leads. Aamir, who went on to become one of the most successful actors in Hindi cinema, appeared in the title song as child artist at the age of eight, playing the younger version of his cousin Tariq's role.

The film released on November 9, 1973 – Tariq's 22nd birthday.

Soundtrack

The music and soundtrack of the film was by R. D. Burman, with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The opening lines of the hit song, "Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne" were inspired from the English song, "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" by Bojoura from the soundtrack of 1969 film of the same name. The title track "Yaadon Ki Baaraat Nikli Hai" appears multiple times. Its first line has also been used in the Hindi tv series Pandya Store. The other best remembered numbers are "Lekar Hum Deewana Dil", partly for the picturisation on the pin-up girl Neetu Singh, and Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle's duet, "Meri Soni Meri Tamanna". Child singers Padmini Kolhapure later became a noted actress, while Sushma Shrestha, also known as Poornima, became a successful playback singer.

Reception

Box office

The film became a box office blockbuster. It was 2nd highest grossing film of 1973.highest-grossing films in India, grossing ₹5.5 crore. This was equivalent to $7.1 million in 1973, and is equivalent to US$49 million or ₹255 crore in 2016.

Awards

21st Filmfare Awards:

Nominated

• Best Actor – Dharmendra
• Best Music Director – R. D. Burman

Impact

The film popularized the now familiar Bollywood theme of separated siblings united by fate.

Notes

1. 7.742 Indian rupees per US dollar in 1973

References

1. Kaushik Bhaumik, "An Insightful Reading of Our Many Indian Identities" Archived 2 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Wire, 12/03/2016
2. ^ Chaudhuri, Diptakirti (1 October 2015). Written by Salim-Javed: The Story of Hindi Cinema's Greatest Screenwriters. Penguin UK. p. 58. ISBN 9789352140084. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
3. Masala v. Genre - The Hindu
4. Dinesh Raheja (12 November 2002). "The A to Z of Zeenat Aman". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
5. "Neetu Singh's TOI Archives". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
6. Cain, Rob (3 October 2017). "Aamir Khan's 'Secret Superstar' Could Be India's Next ₹1,000 Crore/$152M Box Office Hit". Forbes. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017.
7. "Life & Style / Metroplus : Where has all the magic gone?". Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2012.. The Hindu (2012-07-20). Retrieved on 2012-11-03.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Birthday Special: The 47 Faces of Aamir Khan". Rediff. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
10. "The Most Ambitious Project of Aamir's Career". Rediff. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
11. Pandey, Siddhant (12 September 2017). "Chura Liya Hai to Mehbooba: 7 Bollywood songs that were 'inspired' by others'". inuth. New York City. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
12. "Boxofficeindia.com". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
13. Pacific Exchange Rate Service (PDF), University of British Columbia, 2023, p. 3, archived (PDF) from the original on 8 January 2023
14. "Yearly Average Rates". OFX. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
15. "How film-maker Nasir Husain started the trend for Bollywood masala films". Hindustan Times. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

External links

• Yaadon Ki Baaraat at IMDb

• 1973 films
• Films scored by R. D. Burman
• 1970s Hindi-language films
• 1970s Indian films
• Hindi films remade in other languages
• Films directed by Nasir Hussain
• Films set in hotels
• Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed
• 1970s Urdu-language films
• Urdu films remade in other languages
• 1970s masala films
• Urdu-language Indian films
• Films about brothers