''Kranti'' () is a 1981 Indian

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film, produced, edited, dialogue and directed by

Manoj Kumar Manoj Kumar (born Harikrishan Giri Goswami; 24 July 1937 – 4 April 2025) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful actors in t ...

, with the story and screenplay written by Salim–Javed. It stars an ensemble cast, consisting of Dilip Kumar in the title role along with

, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi in pivotal roles. The film also marked the return of Dilip Kumar after a four-year hiatus. It ranks among the top 10 highest grossing Indian films of all time, when adjusted for ticket-price inflation. It was one of the most expensive Indian films of the time and it went on to become the highest grossing Indian film of the 1980s decade by a distance, when adjusted for inflation. At the time of release it was the fastest earner of all time setting first run records in practically all circuits barring

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. It celebrated a silver jubilee in 26 centres and even in places like Mirzapur ( UP) and

Junagadh Junagadh () is the city and headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. It i ...

(

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

) where jubilees were very rare. There are hardly ten films in history that are estimated to have celebrated jubilees in over 25 centres. The craze of the film was such that in places like

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, UP and

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

there were shops selling ''Kranti'' T-shirts, jackets, vests and even underwear. This film celebrated golden jubilee in many centres across India. It ran for 67 weeks straight in the theatres including a theatre where it was housefull for 96 days. The collections in all major centres of UP did not see a drop even weeks after its release. The collections after ten weeks in places like

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

and

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

were still competing with new releases. ''Kranti'' grossed 1.25 crore nett in Delhi / UP in ten weeks and then went on to do over 3 crore nett in its full run and before '' Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..!'' released in 1994 (marking major changes in business of films), there were only three films in history to cross 3 crore nett in Delhi / UP. The film was finally declared a Golden Jubilee Hit. ''Kranti'' is widely regarded as a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

film.

Synopsis

The film takes place in 19th-century British India and is the story of the fight for independence from the British between 1825 and 1875. The film tells the story of men that lead the struggle against

British Rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

: Sanga, Bharat known as Kranti, a prince and a freedom fighter. Sanga is an honest and dedicated employee in the kingdom of Ramgarh, owing allegiance and loyalty to no one except Raja Laxman Singh. When Laxman Singh conditionally permits the British to use the port for trading purposes, Sangha finds out that the British are taking out gold and jewellery and bringing in ammunition, and puts a stop to this. He goes to report this outrage to Laxman Singh, only to find him stabbed to death. Sanga is charged with treason and of killing Laxman Singh. Sentenced to death, he escapes and forms a group of revolutionaries who have only one goal - to drive the British out of India. This group multiplies into several armies, all united with one slogan - an Independent India, also known as Kranti.

Cast

* Dilip Kumar as Sanga *

as Bharat * Shashi Kapoor as Shakti * Shatrughan Sinha as Karim Khan * Hema Malini as Rajkumari Meenakshi * Parveen Babi as Sureeli * Nirupa Roy as Radha * Pradeep Kumar as Shamsher Singh * Prem Chopra as Shambhu Singh * Kishore Kapoor as Sir Thomas *

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 ...

as Sher Singh * Shashikala as Rani Charumati * Sulochana Latkar as Rama, Servant of Rani Charumati * Preeti Ganguly as Sureeli's Friend * Sarika as Sheetal * Sudhir Dalvi as Bheema * Kunal Goswami as Bharat & Meenakshi's Son * Agha as Sanga's Kranti Group Member * Birbal as Sanga's Kranti Group Member * Paintal as Bharat's Kranti Group Member * Bhagwan as Allah Rakha * Manmohan as Darmiyan Singh *

Tom Alter Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Early life Born in Mussoorie ...

as British Officer * P. Jairaj as Maharaj Laxman Singh * Dheeraj Kumar as Prince * Gurbachan Singh as British Indian Soldier

Soundtrack

The music is scored by Laxmikant Pyarelal and the lyrics are written by

and Santosh Anand. The music was popular with some hit songs like "Zindagi Ki Na Toote Ladi" and "Chana Jor Garam". Laxmikant Pyarelal used famous 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 ...

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. 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 range of voice ...

, Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor, Shailender Singh and Nitin Mukesh to sing for the actors.

References

External links

* {{Salim-Javed 1981 films Films set in the British Empire 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s Indian films Films set in the Indian independence movement Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed Urdu-language Indian films 1980s Urdu-language films Films directed by Manoj Kumar

Synopsis

Cast

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links