''Aagaman'' is a 1982

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Muzaffar Ali Muzaffar Ali (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, cultural revivalist, and social worker. Biography Raja Muzaffar was born in Lucknow of the erstwhile United Provinces, British India, in 1944. The elde ...

and produced by Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Seed and Development Corporation under the banner of Integrated Films. The cast included

Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and '90s, he was ...

Suresh Oberoi Suresh Oberoi (born 17 December 1946) is an Indian actor and politician who appeared in Hindi films. He is a recipient of the 1987 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He started his career in radio shows, modelling and later moving ...

, Dilip Dhawan,

Anupam Kher Anupam Kher (born 7 March 1955) is an Indian actor, director and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he has acted in more than 540 films. A veteran of Indian cinema, Kher is recipient of two Na ...

Bharat Bhushan Bharatbhushan Gupta, better known as Bharat Bhushan (14 June 1920 – 27 January 1992) was an Indian actor in Hindi language films, scriptwriter and producer. He was born in Meerut, and brought up in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Career 1941– ...

and Raj Bisaria. The film marked the debut of Kher. The plot involved the politics and working techniques of Uttar Pradesh sugarcane co-operative societies. Upon release, it received mixed reviews from critics. The film was also shown at the 43rd

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

in 2012.

Plot

In a village of Awadh, sugarcane planters are exploited by mill owner (Bharat Bhushan). A young man (Suresh Oberoi) returns to this village after receiving a degree in law from a reputed university of

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. Seeing the poor condition of planters, he urges them to stop selling their sugarcane to the mill owner and instead start their own co-operative mill. The mill owner, his landlord-agent (Saeed Jaffrey) and son discourage the villagers from doing so. The mill owner's son urges the people to form a planter's union and continue selling their crop to the mill. Initially, the villagers trust him, but after continuous persuasions from the young man and realising that only self-sufficiency can improve their condition, they unite and set up their own mill. In the end, the young man marries a village girl (Deepa), who was very active in the movement.

Cast

Soundtrack

#"Ab Toot Girengi Zanjeere" - Hariharan #"Ab Tut Girengi Zanjire" (Part-2) - Hariharan,

Ghulam Mustafa Khan Ghulam Mustafa Khan, SI () (23 September 1912 – 25 September 2005) was a Pakistani researcher, literary critic, linguist, author, scholar of Urdu literature and linguistics, educationist and religious and spiritual leader belonging to Naqs ...

#"Junoon Ki Yaad Manao" - Hariharan #"Chhoone Na Doongi Sharir" -

Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer and politician who works predominantly in Hindi cinema and Odia cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singers and also as one of the m ...

#"Nisar Mai Teri Galiyo Pe" - Ghulam Mustafa Khan #"Ye Daagh Daagh Ujala" (Part-2) - Ghulam Mustafa Khan #"Ye Gaagh Daagh Ujala" (Part-3) -

#"Yeh Daagh Daagh Ujala" -

Production

The then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh,

Vishwanath Pratap Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the Raja Bahadur of Manda. He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in ...

asked Muzaffar Ali to make a film for promoting the sugarcane co-operative societies in the state. Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Seed and Development Corporation provided the necessary budget. R. N. Trivedi and Asghar Wajahat wrote the film's story, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan composed the film's music and the lyrics were written by

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his ...

and

Hasrat Jaipuri Hasrat Jaipuri, born Iqbal Hussain (15 April 1922 – 17 September 1999), was an Indian poet, who wrote in the Hindi and Urdu languages. He was also a renowned film lyricist in Hindi films, where he won the Filmfare Awards for Best Lyri ...

Reviews

Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from film critics. Muzaffar Ali's early films like ''

Gaman Gaman () is a Hindi film released in 1978, starring Farooq Sheikh and Smita Patil in the lead roles and introducing Nana Patekar in a supporting role. It is the directorial debut of Muzaffar Ali, who went on to make '' Umrao Jaan'' (1981). Th ...

'', '' Umrao Jaan'' and ''Aagaman'' focused on

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

. In an article published in 2012, ''

Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busi ...

'' noted that "To uzaffarAli goes the credit of portraying Awadh truthfully on cinema; the only other claimant being

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

in ''

Shatranj Ke Khiladi Shatranj Ke Khilari () is a 1924 Hindi short-story written by Munshi Premchand. Premchand also made the Urdu version titled "Shatranj ki bazi". Synopsis The story depicts decadent royalty of Central North India. It is set around the life of th ...

''". Sumit Mitra of ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

'' called it a disappointing film and criticised Ali's film-making technique and cinematography. He added that "Ali's approach to direction is more that of film club enthusiast than film maker" and the lyrics used were "totally out of context". Mitra criticised the promotional nature of the film by saying that the state owned co-operative societies have dominated the market, but praised Saeed Jaffrey's acting.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, 1980s, Bollywood, Film, India 1982 films Films directed by Muzaffar Ali Films set in Lucknow 1982 drama films 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s Indian films Indian drama films Hindi-language drama films