''Ganga Jamna'' (
ISO 15919
ISO 15919 (Transliteration of Devanagari and related Indic scripts into Latin characters) is one of a List of ISO romanizations, series of international standards for romanization by the International Organization for Standardization. It was publ ...
: ''Gaṅgā Jamunā''), also
transliterated as ''Ganga Jamuna'' or ''Gunga Jumna'', is a 1961 Indian
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...
film, written and produced by
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
, and directed by
Nitin Bose, with dialogues written by
Wajahat Mirza
Wajahat Hussain Mirza Changezi ( hi, वजाहत मिर्ज़ा; 20 April 1908 – 4 August 1990) was an Indian screenwriter and film director who penned the dialogues of some of the most successful films in India during the 1950s an ...
; Kumar later said that he also ghost-directed and edited the film. It stars Dilip Kumar with
Vyjayanthimala
Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...
and his real-life brother
Nasir Khan in the leading roles. Set in the rural
Awadh region of
Northern India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
, the film tells the story of two impoverished brothers, Ganga and Jamna (Kumar and Khan), and their poignancy and
sibling rivalry on opposing sides of the law, one a
dacoit
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...
criminal and the other a police officer. The film was also notable for its
Technicolor production, use of the
Awadhi dialect
Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, ...
, and its
rustic setting, being a defining example of the
dacoit film
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloqui ...
genre. It was ranked 11th in
Outlook Magazine's poll considering 25 leading Indian directors' vote for ''
Bollywood's greatest films'' in 2003.
After six months of delay, the film was finally released in
January 1961. Upon release, the film was well received by the critics and the audience. It was one of the biggest hits of the 1960s and one of the most
successful Indian films in terms of box office collection,
domestically in India and
overseas
Overseas may refer to:
* ''Overseas'' (album), a 1957 album by pianist Tommy Flanagan and his trio
*Overseas (band), an American indie rock band
* "Overseas" (song), a 2018 song by American rappers Desiigner and Lil Pump
* "Overseas" (Tee Grizzley ...
in
the Soviet Union, with an estimated footfall of over tickets sold worldwide. According to various accounts, it is still among the 10 highest grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. In 2011, the film was listed at number 2 by
Box Office India
Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014.
About
Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its ow ...
magazine behind ''
Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960) and ahead of ''
Sholay'' (1975) in their list of "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years" which feature all-time
highest-grossing Bollywood films by using the relative price of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
in different years to arrive at a hypothetical current value of box-office collections of past films.
The film received critical acclaim and was regarded as one of the best films of all time. Critics praised its story, screenplay, direction, cinematography, and the music along with the performances of the lead actors Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. Upon release it was nominated in seven categories at the
9th Filmfare Awards
The 9th Filmfare Awards were held on 20 May 1962, at Bombay, honoring the best films in Hindi Cinema in 1961.
''Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai'' led the ceremony with 10 nominations, followed by ''Gunga Jumna'' with 7 nominations.
''Jis Desh Mein ...
, including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and
Best Director for Kumar and Bose, respectively, while winning three,
Best Actress for Vyjayanthimala,
Best Cinematography for V. Balasaheb and
Best Dialogue Writer for Wajahat Mirza. It also emerged as the biggest winner at the 25th
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards 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 ...
, where it won nine awards in the Hindi film category. In addition, the film also won
Certificate of Merit at the
9th National Film Awards
The 9th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in 1961. The awards were announced on 5 April 1962 and were prese ...
. It also won prizes at international
film festivals, including the
Boston International Film Festival and the
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has becom ...
.
The film was a trendsetter in
Indian cinema and inspired numerous filmmakers. Dilip Kumar's performance as Ganga is considered one of the finest acting performances in the history of Indian cinema, and inspired future generations of Indian actors, most notably
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
who quoted it "the ultimate performance". In the West, stars like
Sophia Loren
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...
were profoundly influenced by his performance. For his performance, Kumar also received the "Special Honour Diploma" as an actor from the ''
Czechoslovak Academy of Arts'',
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. The film's plot also inspired screenwriter duo
Salim–Javed
Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters ...
, who wrote scripts exploring similar themes in later Bachchan-starring hits such as ''
Deewaar'' (1975), ''
Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977) and ''
Trishul'' (1978). ''Ganga Jamna'' also had
South Indian remakes, including the
Tamil film
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...
''
Iru Thuruvam'' (1971) and the
Malayalam film
Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathaya ...
''
Lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...
'' (1980).
Synopsis
The film is set in the fictional village of Haripur in the
Gonda district of the
Awadh region of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...
and is bases on conflicting characters of two brothers, Ganga and Jamna. Haripur is eventually controlled by an evil landlord Hari Babu. When Ganga is framed by the landlord for a crime he did not commit, he escapes to the mountains with his girlfriend, Dhanno, and joins a band of bandits. His younger brother, Jamna, is sent to the city for his education and becomes a police officer. Years later, when Ganga is about to become a father, he decides to return to the village to ask for forgiveness. However, Jamna wants him to surrender to the police for his crimes and when Ganga refuses and tries to leave, Jamna shoots him dead. Ganga's death rendered more poignant by the fact that it was his money that paid for Jamna's education and allowed him to become a policeman.
Plot
Widowed Govindi (
Leela Chitnis
Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from 1930s to 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her later role ...
) lives a poor lifestyle in Haripur along with two sons, Gungaram and Jumna. Ganga spends his days working with his mother as a servant in the home of the zamindar's obnoxious family while Jumna, a promising student, focuses on his schoolwork. While Jumna is studious, Gungaram is the opposite, but has a good heart and decides to use his earnings to ensure his brother gets a decent education. After her employer, Hariram, falsely accuses Govindi of theft, their house is searched, evidence is found and she is arrested. The entire village bails her out but the shock kills her. After their mother passes away, Ganga pledges himself to supporting his younger brother as they grow to adulthood.
The adult Ganga (
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
) is a spirited and hardworking fellow, unafraid to take on the zamindar when necessary, while his brother Jumna (
Nasir Khan) is more measured and cautious. Ganga sends Jumna to the city to study, and supports him with funds that he earns driving an oxcart and making deliveries for the zamindar. But things get complicated when Ganga saves a local girl, Dhanno (
Vyjayanthimala
Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...
), from the zamindar's lecherous assault. The zamindar (
Anwar Hussain) gets his revenge by trumping up a robbery charge against Ganga, landing him in prison. Upon his release, Ganga learns that his brother has become destitute and attacks and robs the zamindar in a rage. Soon Ganga finds himself an outlaw, and, with Dhanno at his side, he joins a gang of bandits camping out in the wilderness. In the meantime, Jumna meets a fatherly police officer (
Nazir Hussain) and becomes a police officer himself. It isn't long before Jumna's professional wanderings take him back to the village of his birth, where he must square off against his outlaw brother in a showdown between duty and family.
Cast
*
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
as Gangaram "Ganga"
**Ram Kumar as Young Gangaram
*
Vyjayanthimala
Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...
as Dhanno
**
Kumari Naaz as Young Dhanno
*
Nasir Khan as Jamna
**Akashdeep as Young Jamna
* Azra as Kamla
**
Aruna Irani
Aruna Irani (born 3 May 1946) is an Indian actress, who has acted in over 500 films throughout Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, playing mostly supporting and character roles. She has won two Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Ac ...
as Young Kamla
*
Kanhaiyalal as Kallu
*
Anwar Hussain as Hariram
*
Nazir Hussain as Police Superintendent
* S. Nazir
*
Leela Chitnis
Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from 1930s to 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her later role ...
as Govindi
* Praveen Paul as Hariram's sister
*
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
as
Courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or othe ...
(
item number
In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and ...
)
Production
The film was loosely inspired by
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...
's ''
Mother India'' (1957). In later interviews,
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
said that he ghost-directed the film, as well as editing.
The film stars real-life brothers Dilip Kumar (real name Muhammad Yusuf Khan) and
Nasir Khan in the roles of the brothers Ganga and Jamna, respectively.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the movie was composed by
Naushad and the lyrics were penned by
Shakeel Badayuni
Shakeel Badayuni (3 August 1916 – 20 April 1970) was an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter in Hindi / Urdu language films.
Early life
Shakeel Badayuni was born in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Mohammed Jamaal Ahmed Sokhta Qadiri ...
. The soundtrack consists of 8 songs, featuring vocals by
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. 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 ...
,
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...
,
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur
and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...
and
Hemant Kumar.
In 2011,
MSN
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
ranked ''
Insaaf Ki Dagar Pe'' at #1 in their list of Top 10
Patriotic songs in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
for
Gandhi Jayanti.
Reception
Critical response
The film has received widespread critical acclaim in India as well as overseas. Karan Bali from Upperstall.com, described it as a "well-structured and briskly paced film" adding that "notable of the use of
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
dialect, which helps make the film refreshingly real and gives it a proper locale and geography".
Dinesh Raheja from
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
called the film "What is also moving about Ganga Jamuna is its tragic irony
..Of all the conundrums of human relationships that Ganga Jamuna explores, the most affecting is the one between Ganga and Dhanno --- an extraordinary love story between two ordinary people, handled with great thought and charm
..Director Nitin Bose frames some excellent shots even while keeping a tight rein on the narrative". Deepak Mahan from
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...
said "Gunga Jumna is a classic entertainer at its best with a powerful story, outstanding performances and riveting music
..an eye-opener as to why good stories will always be the real "super stars" and why content must dictate the form rather than the other way round". Gaurav Malani from
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...
gave it 3/5 stars and praised actor
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
for his performance as Ganga. K. K. Rai from
Stardust
Stardust may refer to:
* A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space
Entertainment Songs
* “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael
* “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974
* “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012
* ...
called the film "the story of two brothers on opposite sides of law repeated over and over again but never with so much power" and applauded
Vyjayanthimala
Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...
for her portrayal of rustic village girl Dhanno where Rai said "Vyjayanthimala’s Dhanno won her the best actress trophy
.he played the village woman with such simplicity and grace; you’d forget she was one of the most glamorous stars of her time. She also spoke the Bhojpuri dialect like a native".
The film also gained good response from overseas.
Philip Lutgendorf
Philip Lutgendorf is an American Indologist. He is Professor of Hindu and Modern Indian Studies at the University of Iowa. His areas of work and interest include the epic poem ''Ramcharitmanas'', the life and works of Hindu poet Tulsidas, the wor ...
from
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...
said that "By focusing its story and its audience’s sympathies on the brother who goes astray, however, the film invites a critical and pessimistic appraisal of the state’s ability to protect the underprivileged, and its tragic central character thus anticipates the "angry" proletarian heroes popularized by
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
in the 1970s
..Linguistic coding is artfully used, with Gunga and Dhanno’s raucous arguments in colorful Bhojpuri dialect contrasted with Jumna’s measured pronouncements in Khari Boli or "high" Delhi speech. Rural life is also celebrated in exhuberant songs and dances
..The sweeping landscape of the Deccan, with its arid mesas and lush green valleys forms a gorgeous backdrop to many scenes".
On 26 November 2008,
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
ranked the film as one of the best 1960s
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
film in their "Landmark Film of 60s" list, adding that "Its massive success, not just in terms of business, but also vivid story-telling, endearing camaraderie, uncompromising technique as well as the concept of ideology at odds, has visibly influenced major motion pictures over the years, rural or contemporary backdrop, notwithstanding.".
Box office
In India, the film had a box office
gross of 7
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is eq ...
, with a
nett of 3.5crore, becoming the
highest-grossing Indian film of 1961.
IBOS Network gave its inflation-adjusted nett as 604.2 crore. ''Box Office'' magazine calculated its inflation-adjusted gross by comparing the collection with the price of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
in 1961, which gave it an adjusted gross of 736.4 crore in 2011,
equivalent to
crore (
$ million) in 2016.
The film completed its
Silver Jubilee theatrical run at Minerva Cinema Hall,
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
and completed
Golden Jubilee
A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু� ...
run at
cinema. In 2011, the film was listed at number 2 by
''Box Office'' ''India'' magazine behind ''
Mughal-e-Azam'' ''(1960)'' and ahead of ''
Sholay'' (1975) in their list of "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years" which feature all-time
highest-grossing Bollywood films by using the relative price of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
in different years to arrive at a hypothetical current value of box-office collections of past films.
Overseas, the film was a success in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, where it released as Ганга и Джамна (''Ganga i Djamna'') in 1965, drawing an audience of 32.1million viewers that year.
It came number 11 on the year's
Soviet box office chart, where it was the fourth highest Indian film, behind ''
Dhool Ka Phool'' (number 4), ''
Anuradha'' (number 8) and ''
Jagte Raho'' (number 10). ''Ganga Jamna'' was one of the top 25 most successful Indian films in the Soviet Union.
At an average Soviet ticket price of 25
kopecks in the mid-1960s,
[''Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War'', page 48](_blank)
Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in ...
, 2011[''The Routledge Handbook of the Cold War'', page 357](_blank)
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
, 2014 the film's 32.1million sold Soviet tickets
grossed an estimated 8.03million
Soviet ruble
The ruble or rouble (russian: wikt:рубль, рубль) was the currency of the Soviet Union, introduced in 1922, replacing the Ruble#Russian Empire, Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks ( – ''kopeyka'', ''kopeyki'' ...
s.
Awards
''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...
'' retrospectively criticized the
9th Filmfare Awards
The 9th Filmfare Awards were held on 20 May 1962, at Bombay, honoring the best films in Hindi Cinema in 1961.
''Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai'' led the ceremony with 10 nominations, followed by ''Gunga Jumna'' with 7 nominations.
''Jis Desh Mein ...
for snubbing Dilip Kumar from the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor, which was awarded to
Raj Kapoor for ''
Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai'' (1961). ''The Hindu'' described it as "a strange travesty of justice" that Kumar lost out the award, after delivering "a magnificent role of a lifetime."
Legacy
''Ganga Jamna'' is regarded as an important film in the history of
Indian cinema.
In 1995, this movie was telecast on TV Premier for Bangladesh Television on the occasion of a personal visit by Dilip Kumar and
Saira Banu in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
.
Remakes
Story
Its story of two brothers on opposing sides of the law became a dominant narrative motif in
Hindi cinema
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
from the 1970s onwards.
It was a trendsetter, inspiring films such as ''
Deewaar'' (1975), ''
Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977) and ''
Trishul'' (1978).
It had a strong influence on screenwriter duo
Salim–Javed
Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters ...
, who took inspiration from ''Ganga Jamna'' when they wrote the stories and scripts of films such as ''Deewaar'' and ''Trishul''.
''Ganga Jamna''s most immediate successor was ''Deewaar''.
Salim-Javed credited ''Ganga Jamna'' as the inspiration for ''Deewaar'', which they described as a "more urban, much more contemporary" take on its themes.
''Ganga Jamna'' was a defining example of the
dacoit film
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloqui ...
genre.
It went on to inspire ''
Sholay'' (1975), which combined the dacoit film conventions established by ''Ganga Jamna'' and ''Mother India'' with that of the
Western genre.
The villain
Gabbar Singh (
Amjad Khan) is a dacoit speaking with a dialect inspired by Gunga, a mix of
Khariboli,
Awadhi
Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city ...
and
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
,
and a scene depicting an attempted train robbery was also inspired by a similar scene in ''Ganga Jamna''.
Acting
Dilip Kumar's performance as Ganga is considered one of the finest acting performances in the history of Indian cinema. According to ''The Hindu'':
His performance in ''Gunga Jumna'' inspired future generations of actors, most notably
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
, who was inspired by Dilip Kumar's performance in this film. According to Bachchan, he learnt more about acting from ''Gunga Jumna'' than he did from any other film. Bachchan, who hails from
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...
, was particularly impressed by Kumar's mastery of the
Awadhi dialect
Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, ...
, expressing awe and surprise as to how "a man who’s not from
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...
and Uttar Pradesh" could accurately express all the nuances of Awadhi.
Bachchcan's famous "angry young man" persona was modeled after Kumar's performance as Gunga, with Bachchan's "angry young man" being a sharpened version of Kumar's intensity as Gunga.
Bachchan adapted Kumar's style and reinterpreted it in a contemporary urban context reflecting the changing socio-political climate of 1970s India.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{National Film Award Best Feature Film Hindi
1960s Hindi-language films
1961 films
Films directed by Nitin Bose
Hindi films remade in other languages
Indian crime drama films
1961 crime drama films
Films about brothers
Films about outlaws
1960s Urdu-language films