''Daag: A Poem of Love'' () is a 1973 Indian

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

romantic drama Romance films 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. Typically their ...

film produced and directed by

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the reci ...

in his debut as a producer, under the newly formed banner

Yash Raj Films Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. Since 2012, it has been led by his son Aditya Chopra. The company mainly produces and distributes Hindi films. History In 19 ...

. The film stars

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Raakhee Raakhee Gulzar ( Majumdar) (; born 15 August 1947), professionally known as Raakhee, is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi and Bengali films. One of the leading and most popular actresses of the 1970s and early 1980s, Raakhee is a ...

in lead roles, with supporting performances from

Madan Puri Madan Puri (30 September 1915 – 13 January 1985) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His brothers were actors Chaman Puri and Amrish Puri. As a character actor mainly in negative roles (villain), he acted in about 430 films in ...

Kader Khan Kader Khan (22 October 1937 – 31 December 2018) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and film producer. As an actor, he appeared in over 300 Bollywood films after his debut in the 1973 film '' Daag'', starring Rajesh Khanna, as a prosecuting l ...

Prem Chopra Prem Chopra (born 23 September 1935) is an Indian actor in Hindi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years. Life and education Chopra, the third of six children of Ranveerlal and Rooprani Chopra, a Punjabi Hindu family, was ...

, and A. K. Hangal. Loosely inspired by

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

’s 1886 novel ''The Mayor of Casterbridge'', the narrative follows a man who is separated from his wife after being accused of murder and later finds himself entangled in a complicated relationship with another woman. The film marked the first production under the Yash Raj Films banner, which later grew to become one of India's most prominent studios. It also marked the acting debut of Kader Khan.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

took place in various locations across India, and the music was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, with lyrics by

Sahir Ludhianvi Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name (takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi. He is regarded as one of the greatest film lyricists and poet ...

. Several songs from the film, including "Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai" and "Ni Main Yaar Manana Ni," were chart-toppers at the time of release. Released theatrically in 1973, ''Daag: A Poem of Love'' received widespread acclaim for its performances, direction, and music and emerged as a major commercial success during the peak of Khanna’s career. At the 21st Filmfare Awards, the film received seven nominations, including Best Film, Best Actor (Khanna), and Best Actress (Tagore), and won two:

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

(Chopra) and Best Supporting Actress (Raakhee). The name of Raakhee’s character, ''Chandni'', was later reused by Chopra in his films ''Silsila'' (1981) and ''Chandni'' (1989). The film was remade in Telugu film ''

Vichitra Jeevitham ''Vichitra Jeevitham'' () is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Vanisri and Jayasudha, with music composed by Chakravarthy. It is a remake of the Hindi film '' ...

'' (1978).

Plot

Sunil Kohli, a young man, falls in love with and marries Sonia. During their

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

, bad weather forces the couple to take shelter for the night at a bungalow owned by Sunil's employer. While Sonia is alone, Dheeraj Kapoor—the employer’s son—attempts to assault her. Sunil arrives in time to intervene, and in the ensuing struggle, Dheeraj is killed. Sunil is arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. While being transported to prison, the police van meets with an accident, and all occupants are presumed dead. Years later, Sonia, now a schoolteacher raising her and Sunil's son alone, discovers that Sunil is alive and living under a new identity as Sudhir. He is now married to a wealthy woman named Chandni. Following the accident, Sunil had met Chandni, who had been abandoned by her lover after becoming pregnant. In exchange for help in starting a new life, Sunil agreed to marry Chandni to provide legitimacy to her unborn child. As the law closes in once again, Sunil must now answer not only for his past but also for the charge of bigamy.

Cast

as Sunil Kohli / Sudhir *

as Sonia Kohli *

as Chandni *

as Dheeraj Kapoor *Baby Pinky as Pinky *

Raju Shrestha Raju Shrestha (born Fahim Ajani; 15 August 1966), known by his stage name Master Raju or Master Rajoo, is an Indian film and television actor, who started his film career as a child actor, in the 1970s. Raju has acted in films like Gulzar's ' ...

( Master Raju) as Rinku *

Manmohan Krishna Manmohan Krishna (26 February 1922 – 3 November 1990) was an Indian film actor and director, who worked in Hindi films for four decades, mostly as a character actor. He started his career as a professor in Physics and held master's degree i ...

as Deewan, Chandni's father *

as K. C. Khanna *

Achala Sachdev Achala Sachdev (3 May 1920 – 30 April 2012) was an Indian actress who appeared in classic films of Hindi language film industry, who started her career as a child actor. She later became known for mother and grandmother roles in Hindi films. ...

as Mrs. Malti Khanna *

Iftekhar Iftekhar Ahmed Sharif (22 February 1920 – 4 March 1995), often mononymously credited as Iftekhar or Iftikhar, was an Indian actor who mainly worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for his film roles as a police officer. Career Iftekhar wa ...

as Inspector Singh *

Hari Shivdasani Hari Shivdasani (1909–1994) was an Indian character actor in Hindi cinema from 1930s to 1980s. Personal life Hari Shivdasani was a Sindhi Hindu from Karachi and had moved with his family to Mumbai at the time of the partition of the British ...

as Jagdish Kapoor *Yashodra Katju as School Principal *

as Prosecuting attorney * A. K. Hangal as Prosecuting Attorney / Judge *S. N. Banerjee as Judge *

Karan Dewan Karan Dewan (born Dewan Karan Chopra; 6 November 1917 – 2 August 1979) was an Indian cinema actor in Hindi films. He worked in over seventy films from 1939 to 1979. He started as a journalist while still in college, editing a film-based magaz ...

as Doctor Kapoor who treats Chandni's father * Surendra as Sunil's uncle *

Jagdish Raj Jagdish Raj Khurana (1928 – 28 July 2013) was a Bollywood actor who holds a Guinness World Record for being the most type-cast actor. He played the role of a police inspector in 144 films. Early life and career He was born in 1928 in the to ...

as Ram Singh (driver) * Manmohan as Prisoner in van fighting with Sunil *

Padma Khanna Padma Khanna is an Indian actress, dancer and director. She appeared mainly in Hindi and Bhojpuri films in the 1970s and 1980s. She is most remembered for her role in the film '' Saudagar'' with Amitabh Bachchan and also as Queen Kaikeyi in ...

as Dancer * Aruna as Dancer * Habib as Blacksmith removing Sunil's handcuffs * Saul George as Jr. Artist

Crew

*Director –

*Story – Gulshan Nanda *Dialogue – Akhtar-Ul-Iman *Producer –

*Editor – Pran Mehra *Art Director – R. G. Gaekwad *Cinematographer – Kay Gee *Stunts – Ravi Khanna, M. B. Shetty *Choreographer – Suresh Bhatt *Lyricist –

*Music Director – Laxmikant Pyarelal *Playback Singers –

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern India ...

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 ...

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, with lyrics by

. Two songs from the album were especially popular during the year of the film's release. "Ab Chahe Ma Roothe Yaa Baba" ranked at number 7 and "Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai" ranked at number 20 on the

Binaca Geetmala ''Binaca Geetmala'' () was a weekly countdown show of top filmi songs from Hindi cinema. It was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to the Vividh Bharati Service of All India Radio network in 1989 where it ran until 199 ...

annual list of 1973.

Accolades

References

External links

*
''Daag'' (1973)
at

1973 films 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films Films directed by Yash Chopra Yash Raj Films films 1973 romantic drama films Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Hindi films remade in other languages Indian romantic drama films Films based on The Mayor of Casterbridge {{1970s-Hindi-film-stub