''Chhoti Bahu'' is a 1971

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 ...

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 ...

produced by Seeru Daryani and Darius Gotla, the film is directed by K. B. Tilak and written by

Raj Baldev Raj Raj or RAJ may refer to: Indian history * British Raj, the British rule in India from 1858 to 1947 (the territory sometimes being informally called the Indian Empire) * Company Raj, the British East India Company rule in the Indian subcontinen ...

. The film stars

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (; born 8 December 1944) also known by her married name Begum Ayesha Sultana, is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali films. Widely recognized as one of the gre ...

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. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

Nirupa Roy Nirupa Roy (born Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara; 4 January 1931 – 13 October 2004) was an Indian actress who had appeared in Hindi films. Noted for her portrayals of tragedy and sorrow, Roy was known for her acting ability, and was uncharitabl ...

and

I. S. Johar Indra Sen Johar (16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984) was an Indian actor, writer, producer and director, who excelled in comedic roles and is best known to international audiences for portraying Gasim in the epic film classic '' Lawrence of Arab ...

. The music is by

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, ...

. The film was successful at the box office and particularly noted for

's performance as a layered female protagonist. The Movie was based on the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

novel ''Bindur Chhele'' written by the famous Bengali author

Saratchandra Chatterjee Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (anglicised as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee; 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and societ ...

. This film is counted among the 17 consecutive hit films of Rajesh Khanna between 1969 and 1971, by adding the two-hero films ''Marayada'' and ''Andaz'' to the 15 consecutive solo hits he from 1969 to 1971. Initially,

Saira Banu Saira Banu (born 23 August 1944) is an Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi films. Regarded amongst the finest actors of Hindi cinema, she was among the most popular actresses of the 1960s and early 1970s. Banu received four Filmfare Award ...

was to star as the female lead, but she withdrew a few days into filming due to illness.

Plot

Radha (

) was the only daughter of a rich merchant. She suffers from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

, triggered especially by the removal of a little doll she always carries with her. Madhu (

) was a young doctor, practicing in a village. He lives along with his older brother Shriram (

Tarun Bose Tarun Bose (14 September 1928 – 8 March 1972) was an Indian actor, active in Bollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. Early life and education Bose was born in Kolkata, though he grew up in Nagpur, where he studied at St. Francis High School. ...

) and sister-in-law Sita (

). A local unqualified medical practitioner, whose business got a big hit by the practice of Madhu, begrudgingly arranges a match between Madhu and Radha, hiding her illness. Madhu marries her without knowing the problem she has. Immediately after the wedding, Madhu and his family members come to know of Radha's illness and they accept her as wedding has already taken place. After seeing that Radha's attack subsided with the touch of Gopi (son of Shriram and Sita), Sita lets her have him herself. Radha feels so happy and starts taking care of Gopi as her own son. Years pass and Gopi, now seven years old, grows up thinking of Radha as his mother. Things go well till Madhu and Shriram's sister Paro comes along with her husband and son to stay with them. Her son Niku (Mehmood Jr.), with his playful attitude, spoils Gopi too, much to the worry of Radha. Later, Paro starts misunderstandings between Radha and Sita, that go to a bigger level because of Radha's innocence and Sita's indolence. Moreover, Paro frightens little Gopi that if he sees his mother, she would die. Frightened Gopi stays away from Radha, much to the agony of Radha. Gradually, she falls ill and her condition becomes critical. While everyone is puzzled by Gopi's behavior, Niku carefully extracts the reason for his behavior. He tells that to everyone. Everyone scolds Paro and convinces Gopi that his mother wouldn't die if he talks to her. Gopi comes to Radha and her illness goes away. Even bitterness between Radha and Sita goes away and they start living together happily as before.

Cast

as Radha *

as Madhu *

Shashikala Shashikala Saigal (née Jawalkar; 4 August 1932 – 4 April 2021), better known by her first name, was an Indian film and television actress, who played supporting roles in hundreds of Bollywood films beginning in the 1940s. Early years Shas ...

as Paro *

as Sita *

as Premnath (Niku's dad) *

Sarika Sarika (born 5 December 1960) is an Indian actress and costume designer. In 2005, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the English-language film '' Parzania''. She was also awarded the National Film Award for Best Costume Des ...

as Gopi *

Mehmood Junior Naeem Sayyed (15 November 1956 – 8 December 2023), known professionally as Junior Mehmood, was an Indian actor, singer, Marathi film director, and producer. The name Junior Mehmood was given to him by Mehmood Ali. Life and career Sayyed act ...

as Niku *Master Suraj *

as Shriram *Shivraj as Radha's Father *

P. Jairaj Paidipati Jairaj (28 September 1909 – 11 August 2000) was an Indian actor, director and producer known for his works majorly in Hindi; few Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu language films, and Telugu theatre.Luminaries of 20th Century, Potti Sreeramu ...

as Rajaram Ramprasad Bahadur *

Satyendra Kapoor Satyendra Kappu (born Satyendra Sharma; also credited as Satyen Kappu; 7 February 1931 – 27 October 2007), was an Indian character actor in Bollywood films. He has acted in 390 films. His most remembered role is Ramlal in the movie ''Sholay'' ...

as Vedji Avtar *Radhika Rani *

Irshad Panjatan Irshad Panjatan (born 7 September 1931) is an Indian actor and veteran mime artist, based in Berlin, who introduced the art form to India during the 1960s. He started his career as stage actor, acted in few Bollywood films, and later received ac ...

as Servant *Chandrima Bhaduri as Ganga *Master Ratan

Soundtrack

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0377636, Chotti Bahu 1971 films 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films Films based on works by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Films based on Indian novels Films scored by Kalyanji Anandji Hindi remakes of Telugu films Films directed by K. B. Tilak