''Batwara'' is a 1989 Indian

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

action drama film directed by J.P. Dutta. The film features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

Dharmendra Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...

, Vinod Khanna, Mohsin Khan,

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. Kapoor is considered one of the greatest and most s ...

, Dimple Kapadia, Poonam Dhillon, Amrita Singh, Asha Parekh,

Kulbhushan Kharbanda Kulbhushan Kharbanda (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. He is best known for his role as the antagonist Shakaal in '' Shaan'' (1980), Starting off with the Delhi-based theatre group ' Yatrik' in the ...

and

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...

. The film centres around a long-standing friendship between an aristocratic (Khanna) and a low-caste cop (Dharmendra) is broken due to the former turning vengeful due to the death of his brother at the hands of the peasants, and that how the latter stands up to him. Batwara released worldwide on 14 July 1989, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. Commercially, it was a hit at the box office and was the 9th highest grossing film of 1989.

Plot

Sumer and Vikram are two close friends, whose close bond is well known in the village. Sumer serves as a cop. Vikram belongs to the landlords. The film is set post-independence, and a new land sealing law is drafted by the Government, which states that individuals cannot own land beyond a certain limit. This is a big blow to the Thakurs, since they own hundreds of acres of land. As per the new law, they would have surrendered the excess land to the government, which would be distributed to the farmers. The Bade Thakur and his eldest son Deven cannot come to terms with this new change. Deven plans a plot, in which he will distribute the land amongst their relatives by back dating the transaction dates. For this, they would need signature / thumb impressions of the farmers who are tilling the land (the land is mortgaged to the Thakurs). The Sarpanch (Village Head) is on their side and agrees to help in manipulating the records as well as convincing the farmers to give their approval. They have a meeting, wherein the farmers are adamant about sticking with their land. A heated argument leads to Deven getting panicked and shooting from his rifle, killing one villager. This infuriates the rest, and the mob lynch him. Vikram rushes back to his village to perform the last rites of his brother. He cannot bear the pain of the loss of his brother and sets off towards the dwellings of the farmer with his rifle. He kills many farmers and sets fire to their homes. From there, he escapes to the ravines and joins the bandits. Vikram gets his gang. In return, the bandits get money and protection from the influential Thakur family. Meanwhile, Vikram's youngest brother Rajendra who is also a cop, returns to his village. He is disappointed to see that his brother has turned into a bandit. His father urges him to protect Vikram from the law and exact revenge from the villagers who have defied their supremacy. Rajendra, true to his vow as a cop, refuses to do this. When Sumer returns to his village, he cannot come to terms with what has happened and is deeply anguished that his best friend has done it. He marries his love interest, Jina, immediately, since she is orphaned as her brother was killed by Vikram. Sumer meets Vikram and declares that this is the end of their friendship. Meanwhile, Bade Thakur (Vikram's Dad) invites Hanumant Thakur (Rajendra's Junior Cop) to suppress the rebellion led by Sumer. Hanumant says that his hands are tied by his boss Rajendra. Bade Thakur arranges for his transfer, and Hanumant takes charge from Rajendra. He then releases a reign of terror. In one such incident, he kicks pregnant Jina, which causes miscarriage. This infuriates Sumer, and he attacks the police station, kills all the cops and assumes that Hanumant has also died, but he survives. He loots the arsenal from the police and distributes it to the villagers. Now Sumer also turns a bandit and joins with the rival gang of Vikram. This gives rise to a game of cat and mouse. Sumer loots the granary of the Thakurs, and Vikram loots the money they earned after selling the produce in the market. In response, Sumer loots the Haveli (Mansion) of the Thakurs. At this point, Rajendra is restored back to his position and takes charge of the situation. Vikram now plans to burn up the entire village. Meanwhile, Vikram's gang leader plots to get him killed in a police encounter by leaking this information to the police for a hefty price. As planned, Vikram arrives in the village, but is trapped by the police. He manages to escape, but most of his gang members are killed. Sumer plans to retaliate by raiding the Haveli of the Thakurs once more. It is now clear that there would be a major showdown between the two rivals. Rajendra gets to investigate the rebellion and comes across brutalities committed by Hanumant. He plans to get him and his accomplices suspended from the police force. Hanumant plans to eliminate Rajendra in the upcoming showdown between the two rivals. This is overheard by a cop, who relays this to Vikram. At this point, the two ladies (Sumer's wife and Vikram's wife) intervene. They reveal how the gang leaders of their respective gangs are betraying them for money. Sumer and Vikram now join hands, first eliminate the leaders of their respective gangs and then reach the designated point where the showdown is supposed to happen. The police are already present there and have trapped them well. They feign to surrender and kidnap Hanumant. Later, they rekindle their memories of childhood and kill Hanumant like a hunting a wild boar. Meanwhile, bullets are piercing their bodies like a cold hailstorm (just as they had described in one of their childhood memories).

Cast

as Sumer Singh * Vinod Khanna as Vikram Singh * Mohsin Khan as Thakur Rajendra Singh *

as Bade Thakur * Dimple Kapadia as Jinna * Poonam Dhillon as Rajendra's wife * Amrita Singh as Roop * Asha Parekh as Bade Thakur's wife *

as Hanumant Singh * Vijayendra Ghatgeas Devan * Neena Gupta as Devan's wife *

as Sarpanch Lakhia Dada * Amrit Pal as Farmer, Jinna's brother * Bharat Kapoor as Daku Shakti Singh * Ram Mohan as Farmer * Arun Bakshi as Suraj Singh * Avtar Gill as Kalla Daku *

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

as Narrator

Soundtrack

The lyrics were penned by Hasan Kamal. #"Ye Ishq Dunk Bichhua Ka, Are Isse Raam Bachaye" –

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

, Ila Arun #"Thare Vaste Re Dhola Nain Mhare Jage" –

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 ...

, Kavita Krishnamurthy,

Alka Yagnik Alka Yagnik (born 20 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. One of the most prominent singers of 1990s era Bollywood, she has received several accolades, including two National Film Awards, two Ben ...

#"Jo Mai Aisa Janati Prit Kiye Duhkh Hoy" –

, Kavita Krishnamurthy #"Aa Idhar Aa Meri Jaan Tujhko Mai Jawani Ka Jalwa Dikha Du" – Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sudesh Bhosle,

Mohammed Aziz Mohammed Aziz (born as Syed Mohammed Aziz-Un-Nabi; 2 July 1954 – 27 November 2018), also known as Munna, was an Indian multilingual playback singer who primarily sang for the Bollywood, Odia films, Bengali. He sang about twenty thousand son ...

#"Zindagi Wafa Kare" - Suresh Wadkar, Mohammed Aziz

References

External links

* {{J. P. Dutta 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s Indian films 1989 films Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Films directed by J. P. Dutta Indian Western (genre) films Indian crime action films 1980s crime action films 1989 Western (genre) films