''Zanjeer'' () is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed and produced by

Prakash Mehra Prakash Mehra (13 July 1939 – 17 May 2009) was a legendary Indian film director and producer known for his work in Hindi films. He was one of the pioneers of masala films, along with Nasir Hussain, and Manmohan Desai. His collaborations wit ...

, written by

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 ...

and starring

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 ...

Jaya Bachchan Jaya Bachchan (''née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party, serving four terms since 2004. Known primarily for her work in Hindi and Bengali ...

, Pran,

Ajit Khan Hamid Ali Khan (27 January 1922 – 22 October 1998), better known by his stage name Ajit, was an Indian actor active in Hindi films. He acted in over two hundred movies over almost four decades. Ajit is also credited for starring as a lead a ...

and Bindu.At a time when

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

was suffering from corruption and low economic growth, and the common man was left with frustration and anger over the system, ''Zanjeer'' began shifting

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 ...

in a violent and aggressive direction. This film also ended the struggling period for Bachchan, and turned him into a rising star. The film was a blockbuster success, domestically in India and overseas 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 ...

. It was the first of many collaborations between the screenwriter duo

and Bachchan. Ever since ''Zanjeer'',

wrote many of their subsequent scripts with Bachchan in mind for the lead role, and insisted on him being cast for their later films, including blockbusters such as '' Deewaar'' (1975) and ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) ...

'' (1975), establishing Bachchan as a superstar. In addition to being a turning point for Bachchan's career and Hindi cinema, ''Zanjeer'' was also a turning point for South Indian cinema, with Bachchan's acting inspiring future

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

Superstar Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

. ''Zanjeer'' remains an important film in the history of

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

and is regarded as a classic today.

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 ...

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

Raaj Kumar Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film '' Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over fo ...

, and

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 30 ...

were offered the lead role, but they somehow did not accept the role.

Plot

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

, A young Vijay Khanna witness the murder of his parents, committed by a man of unknown identity with a white horse on his charm bracelet, ''Zanjeer'', due to this traumatic event, Vijay has recurring

nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of ...

s of a white

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

. Even as a child, Vijay stays socially awkward from the other kids, who believes himself to be alone. 20 years later, Vijay has become a

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

in a town where few are just. He receives complaints about a local man named Sher Khan, who is running gambling dens. When he calls Khan in for questioning, Khan's superiority complex chafes against Vijay's police authority as he scolds the officer, telling him he only orders him around due to his uniform. Vijay takes him up on his challenge, and meets him in street clothes to fight him. After the fight, Sher Khan not only closes his gambling dens, but has gained respect for Vijay. He becomes an

auto mechanic An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...

, and reforms his ways. Various dealings of the

crime syndicate Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

continue unabated throughout the town, all tracing back to gang leader named Teja. A mysterious caller continually phones Vijay to inform him exactly when a crime is about to take place, but hangs up before Vijay can extract any more information out of him. When a traffic accident perpetrated by gang members leaves several children dead, a street performer named Mala becomes the witness where she is bribed by Teja's men to keep quiet. Mala is questioned by Vijay, who becomes enraged at her and to sway her differently, takes her into the

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cu ...

to view the mangled bodies of the children. Mala has a change of heart and comes clean asking that the bribe be donated to an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or a ...

. She identifies the man behind the traffic accident. After learning that Mala has broken her word, Teja's men chases after her through the night, narrowly escaping across the train tracks, and arriving at Vijay's house, desperate for shelter. He allows her to stay, and the two discover that they are both orphans, and discuss the fears associated with living alone. Vijay kindly takes her to his brother and sister-in-law, and, under the sister-in-law's tutelage, Mala begins to learn how to keep the house clean, as well as learn English. Eventually, Teja frames Vijay for bribery, who is later imprisoned for 6 months on false charges. When Vijay is released from jail, He plans to take revenge. Mala, by this time has developed from a frightened stranger seeking his help to a romantic interest for him. She begs him, to seal their relationship, that he must stop being so vengeful. He agrees, but soon must come to terms with such a promise. In a

Christian cemetery A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation because it interfered with the concept of the resurrection o ...

, the informant, who had called Vijay in the past when he was an inspector. The man, De Silva, appears half-insane, holding onto an empty bottle. He tells that several years before on

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

, his three sons drank poisoned

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

and died from it. Until the killer is found, he will continue to wander with the bottle. When local criminals mocked him, he vowed to get back at them as he could: by phoning the inspector when a crime was about to happen. After hearing this news, Vijay becomes depressed, torn between his desire to help the grieving De Silva, and his need to keep his promise to Mala. Along with a concerted effort by Sher Khan to cheer up Vijay, Mala relents vowing she will not try to control him and tells him to do what is right. The trail of tainted moonshine leads back to Teja and his men. Upon finally cornering the crook on Diwali,

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

bursting overhead, Vijay also finds out that the person who murdered his parents, 20 years before, on the same night, is Teja, recognisable by the shackles (''Zanjeer'') on his wrist. Sher Khan helps him to fight Teja and his men, and take justice into their own hands, until the police arrive. When the hapless police inspector is held at gunpoint by Teja, Vijay manages to drop to retrieve a pistol from the ground, and shoots Teja dead, who falls into the

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

Cast

Production

The film's story, script, and screenplay were written by

Salim Khan Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 24 November 1935) is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplays, stories and scripts for numerous Bollywood films. Khan is one half of the prolific screenwriting d ...

, who also conceived the "angry young man" persona of Vijay, played by Amitabh Bachchan. After Khan completed the script, Khan shared the credit with

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2 ...

, as the screenwriting duo

. ''Zanjeer'' was written as a

crime film 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 combin ...

with violent action, and the main character Vijay was conceived as a hard-hitting, 'angry with the system' young man. At a time when

was dominated by

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

s with "romantic hero" leads,

saw the script as potentially groundbreaking and came on board as the film's director. However, they were struggling to find an actor for the lead "angry young man" role, which was turned down by a number of actors due to it going against their "romantic hero" image; at the time, the industry was dominated by the "King of Romance"

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

and similar "romantic hero" actors. The role of the lead was first offered to many leading men of the time, including

, Rajesh Khanna,

and

, all of whom turned down the offer. Eventually, it went to a newcomer,

, and established his career. Salim-Javed were responsible for discovering and casting Bachchan. At the time, Bachchan was a "failed newcomer" who, by the age of 30, had twelve flops and only two hits (as a lead in '' Bombay to Goa'' and supporting role in '' Anand''). According to Javed Akhtar, they "saw his talent, which most makers didn’t. He was exceptional, a genius actor who was in films that weren’t good." According to Bachchan, Salim-Javed were close to Rajesh Khanna and could've convinced him to play the role, but they instead opted for the unknown Bachchan. According to Salim Khan, they "strongly felt that Amitabh was the ideal casting for ''Zanjeer''". Bachchan stated, "Salim-Javed saw a fight sequence in ''Bombay to Goa'' where I was chewing gum throughout the fight, as an indicator that I would be the right choice for ''Zanjeer''.” Salim Khan was responsible for introducing Bachchan to Mehra. For the female lead, Mumtaz was initially offered the role. However, she was engaged at the time, and opted out, choosing marriage over career. Jaya Bhaduri, who was engaged to Bachchan at the time, immediately agreed to take the role, for the sake of her future husband. For the film's promotion, the posters of ''Zanjeer'' initially did not have the names of Salim-Javed on them. Salim-Javed hired a man with a jeep to drive around and paint "Salim-Javed" in

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

font on all the ''Zanjeer'' posters from Juhu to

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

. However, the man was sometimes drunk, which led to him painting "Salim-Javed" on the wrong places, such as Pran's face or Bachchan's hands, for some posters.

Crew

*Director:

*Writer:

(

) *Producer:

, Babboo Mehra *Production Company: Prakash Mehra Productions *Editor: Ramchandra Mahadik (as R.D. Mahadik) *Art Director: J. J. Bhende *Cinematographer:

N. Satyen N. Satyen (1932–2002) was a cinematographer in Bollywood who had a career spanning over 50 years. He was born and raised in Mysore, Karnataka, and moved to Mumbai in the 1960s. Filmography Zulmi (1999) Mohabbat Ke Dushman (1988) Muqaddar Ka ...

*Stunts: Ravi Khanna, Virendra Kumar *Costume and Wardrobe: Vasant Mahajan, Shankar Jadhav *Choreographer:

Satyanarayan The Satyanarayanã Puja is a religious ritual worship of the Hindu god Vishnu. The puja is described in the ''Skanda Purana'', a medieval era Sanskrit text. According to Madhuri Yadlapati, the Satyanarayana Puja is an archetypal example of how " ...

*Music Director:

Kalyanji Anandji Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, ...

*Lyricist:

Gulshan Bawra Gulshan Kumar Mehta, popularly known by his pen name Gulshan Bawra (literally: "Gulshan The Mad") (12 April 1937 – 7 August 2009), was an Indian songwriter and actor in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning 42 years, he has to his credit about 2 ...

(Dil jalon ka dil jala ke) *Playback Singers:

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 ...

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhe ...

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 ...

Mohammad 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 ...

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

and the lyrics were written by

, with the exception of 'Yaari Hai Imaan Mera', which was penned by

Box office

With a total domestic Indian

gross revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

of 6

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 ...

in 1973, including a nett collection of 3 crore, the film was declared a "Super Hit" according to

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 ...

. This was equivalent to a domestic gross of US$7.75 million in 1973, or US$ million ( 282 crore) in 2016. It was also an overseas blockbuster at the Soviet box office, where it drew an audience of 37.3 million viewers in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

. Its overseas gross in the

amounted to 9.325 million Rbls ( US$14.58 million, 11.46 crore), equivalent to US$ million ( 282 crore) in 2016. Worldwide, the film grossed a total of crore ($ million). Adjusted for inflation, its worldwide gross is equivalent to crore ($ million) in 2016.

Awards and nominations

21st Filmfare Awards The 21st Filmfare Awards were held in 1974. ''Anuraag'' won Best Film, but fail to win any other awards, a feat which was repeated by a few films in the 1970s. ''Bobby'' led the ceremony with 14 nominations, followed by ''Zanjeer'' with 9 n ...

: ; Won * Best Lyricist –

for "Yari Hai Imaan Mera" *

Best Story Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

– Salim- Javed *

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

– Salim-Javed * Best Editing – R. Mahadik ; Nominated *

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 ...

– Prakash Mehra Productions *

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

–

* Best Supporting Actor – Pran * Best Music Director – Kalyanji-Anandji * Best Male Playback Singer –

for "Yari Hai Imaan Mera"

Remakes

A remake, with the same name, released on 6 September 2013. '' Zanjeer'' featuring

Ram Charan Teja Konidela Ram Charan Teja (born 27 March 1985) is an Indian actor, producer, and entrepreneur who works predominantly in Telugu films. One of the highest-paid Telugu film actors, he is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards and two Nandi Awar ...

as Vijay,

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...

as Mala,

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

as Sher Khan,

Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...

as Teja,

Mahi Gill Rimpy Kaur "Mahie" Gill (born 19 December 1975) is an Indian actress, working in the Hindi and Punjabi film industries. She is best known for her role of Paro in Anurag Kashyap's critically acclaimed Hindi film '' Dev.D'', a modern take on Sa ...

as Mona,

Ankur Bhatia Ankur Bhatia (born February 1985) is an Indian actor and model. He grew up in Bhopal, India. He made his acting debut in 2010 in Payal Sethi'Grant St. Shaving Cowhich was produced by Mira Nair. In 2012, he won the Best Actor Commendation Awar ...

as Bosco, and Atul Kulkarni.

contracted the film for 90 million

Indian rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 '' paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use ...

turning her the highest paid Indian actress. The film is also simultaneously shot in Telugu titled '' Toofan'', featuring the same cast except

Srihari Srihari (15 August 1964 – 9 October 2013) was an Indian actor who was active mainly in Telugu cinema. He appeared in a few Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films as well. He won seven Nandi Awards and one Filmfare Award. Early life Srihari was bor ...

replaces Sanjay Dutt as Sher Khan, and

Tanikella Bharani Tanikella Bharani (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, poet, playwright and director who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked as an actor in more than 750 films, including some in Tamil and Hindi; while he was ...

replaces Atul Kulkarni.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Prakash Mehra 1973 films 1970s Hindi-language films Films directed by Prakash Mehra Films about organised crime in India Films set in Mumbai Films scored by Kalyanji Anandji Urdu films remade in other languages Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police Hindi films remade in other languages 1970s crime action films Indian vigilante films 1970s vigilante films Indian crime action films Indian police films Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed Indian films about revenge