''Laawaris'' () is a 1981 Indian

masala film Masala films of Indian cinema are those that blend multiple genres into one work. Masala films emerged in the 1970s and are still being created as of the 2020s. Typically these films freely blend action, comedy, romance, and drama, or melod ...

directed and produced by

Prakash Mehra Prakash Mehra (13 July 1939 – 17 May 2009) was a legendary Indian film director and producer known for his work in Hindi films. He was one of the pioneers of masala films, along with Nasir Hussain, and Manmohan Desai. His collaborations wi ...

. The film stars

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 ...

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Amanullah Khan (born 19 November 1951), known professionally as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in Hindi films. One of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema, she established herself as one of the highest paid ...

, and Amjad Khan in lead roles. It follows the story of an orphan who embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about his parents. The film gained notable recognition for its song "Mere Angene Mein Tumhara Kya Kaam Hai" (roughly translated as: "In my courtyard, what is your purpose?"). The song was rendered twice: first by a young

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 ...

, earning her a

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

nomination for Best Female Playback Singer, and later by Amitabh Bachchan. Bachchan's comedic performance in drag during the second rendition contributed to the song's immense popularity. The lyrics humorously pay tribute to wives of all types, regardless of their physical appearance. The song remains popular among audiences to this day. ''Laawaris'' was a commercial success, declared a "super-hit" at the box office by

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website dedicated to tracking, reporting, and analyzing the financial performance of films released in the Hindi entertainment industry. Established in 2003, Box Office India has become a prominent source of ...

. It ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 1981. The film also received additional Filmfare nominations, including Best Actor for Amitabh Bachchan and Best Supporting Actor for

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 ...

Plot

In 1951 Vidya (

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 ...

) is a famous singer and she is in love with Ranvir Singh ( Amjad Khan), a leading businessman. She discovers she is pregnant with his child but Ranvir Singh wants it to be aborted. Vidya who doesn't want to abort her child decides to break up with Ranvir Singh and she leaves with her brother without informing Ranvir Singh. Vidya dies while giving birth to a baby boy but her brother takes away the baby and gives it to his driver, Gangu Ganpat, asking it to be killed. Meanwhile, Gangu Ganpat, a drunkard decides to raise the baby on his own instead of killing with the intention of making some money with the help of baby. He names the baby as Heera. 30 years later in 1981 when a grown-up Heera (

) refuses to give Gangu liquor, an angry Gangu reveals his status as an orphan and an angry Heera leaves him. Heera gets a job in a factory which is owned by Mahendar Singh (

Ranjeet Ranjeet (born as Gopal Bedi; 12 September 1942) is an Indian actor and film director. He has mostly played villain roles in over 200 Hindi films. He has also played a positive character in the TV series '' Aisa Des Hai Mera''. He has also ...

), who happens to be the son of Ranvir Singh (with his legally wedded wife and half-brother of Heera). It is shown that Ranvir Singh leads an unhappy life with his wife in an estate. He feels guilty about his betrayal to Vidya thinking she is dead. Once employed at Mahendar Singh's factory, Heera understands that workers are not paid properly in Mahendar Singh's factory and decides to fight against it which angers Mahendar Singh. Mohini (

) the daughter of Kailashnath, falls in love with Heera without knowing his true identity. Mahendar Singh transfers Heera to work in his estate present at a hill station with plans of killing him. Heera meets Ranvir Singh in the estate and gets into his good books. During a function, Mahendar Singh plans to kill Heera, but accidentally Ranvir Singh gets hurt. In the climax Ranvir Singh accepts Heera as his legitimate son and unites with his whole family.

Cast

as Heera *

as Mohini *

as Vidya (Special Appearance) *

as Mahendra Singh * Bindu as Kamini Singh * Amjad Khan as Ranveer Singh *

as Ram Singh *Padmini Kapila as Padma * Jeevan as Lala *

Om Prakash Om Prakash Chibber (19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu and was a well known character actor of Bollywood, Hindi Cinema. His most well-known movies are Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968 film), ''Mere ...

as Dr. Goel *

Satyen Kappu 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 Kailaash *

Mukri Mohammed Umar Mukri (5 January 1922 – 4 September 2000), popularly known as Mukri, was an Indian actor, who worked as a comedian in Hindi films. Born as Muhammad Umar Mukri in Uran. He started his film career with the film ''Pratima'' along ...

as Gafoor *

Shreeram Lagoo Dr. Shriram Lagoo (16 November 1927 – 17 December 2019) was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi, in addition to being an ENT Surgeon. He was known for his character roles in films. He acted in over 250 films including Hin ...

as Gangu Ganpat *

Ram Sethi Ram Sethi (born 15 November 1938), also known as Pyarelal, is an Indian actor who works in the Bollywood industry. Sethi has worked in many films as a main or supporting character in his long career of 6 decades. Biography Ram Sethi (Pyarelal) ...

as Harnaman *

Preeti Sapru Priti Sapru (also spelled Preeti Sapru) is an Indian actress known for her works in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. She appeared in a number of films, including '' Nimmo,'' and '' Qurbani Jatt Di'', among others, with actors Veerendra, Gurdas Maan ...

as Chanchal *

Yunus Parvez Yunus Parvez (1931/1932 – 11 February 2007) was an Indian actor who played supporting roles in over 200 films from 1963 to the 2000s. He is best known for his roles in films like '' Garm Hava'' (1974), ''Deewaar'' (1975), '' Trishul'' (1978), ...

as Mukadam *

Viju Khote Viju Khote (17 December 1941 – 30 September 2019) was an Indian actor best known for his role as Kaalia, a dacoit in the 1975 film ''Sholay'' with the iconic dialogue, “Sardar, maine aapka namak khaya hai.” His career spanned six deca ...

as Manager who insisted Hira for his father's name *

Goga Kapoor Ravinder Kapoor (15 December 1940 – 3 March 2011), popularly known as Goga Kapoor, was an Indian actor, who appeared mostly in Bollywood films. He has acted in over 120 films, majorly known for playing supporting roles of that of villain's h ...

as Phunga

Soundtrack

The music of this movie was composed by

Kalyanji–Anandji Kalyanji–Anandji were an Indian composer duo: Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) and his brother Anandji Virji Shah (born 2 March 1933). The duo are known for their work on Hindi film soundtracks, with many evergreen son ...

, while the lyrics were written by Anjaan and Prakash Mehra. Vocals are supplied by

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 ...

(for Bachchan),

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

(for Aman),

(for Raakhee) and Bachchan. The movie features some popular songs like "Apni Toh Jaise Taise" sung by Kumar and "Mere Angne Mein", whose male version was sung by Bachchan. The song "Apni Toh Jaise Taise" was recreated by

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and English. Amongst ...

in the voice of

Mika Singh Mika Singh (born 10 June 1977) is an Indian singer, rapper, musician and actor. His songs include "Bas Ek King" (''Singh Is Kinng''), "Mauja Hi Mauja" (''Jab We Met''), "Ibn-e-Batuta" (''Ishqiya''), "Dhanno" (''Housefull (2010 film), Housefull' ...

and

Sunidhi Chauhan Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced ; born Nidhi Chauhan, 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. Known for her Bold vocal range, she has recorded songs for films in several Indian languages and List of awards and nominations received by Sunidhi ...

in the 2010 film '' Housefull''. The song "Mere Angne Mein" was recreated by

Tanishk Bagchi Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Vaaste", "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", " Aankh Maarey" (recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recr ...

in the year 2020 in the voice of

Neha Kakkar Neha Kakkar Singh (; née Kakkar; born 6 June 1988) is an Indian singer. She is the younger sister of playback singers Tony Kakkar and Sonu Kakkar. She began performing at a very early age at religious events. In 2005, she participated in the ...

and Raja Hassan. Both the music videos starred Sri Lankan actress

Jacqueline Fernandez Jacqueline Genevieve Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress based in India. She has worked in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi, besides appearing in reality shows and music videos. Fernandez was born and raised in Bahrain. ...

Remakes

''Laawaris'' was remade as *''

Naa Desam ''Naa Desam'' () is a 1982 Indian Telugu-language film, produced by K. Devi Vara Prasad and S. Venkataratnam and directed by K. Bapayya. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Jayasudha, with music composed by Chakravarthy. The film is a remake of the Hin ...

'', in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

in 1982, starring

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...

Kaikala Satyanarayana Kaikala Satyanarayana (25 July 1935 – 23 December 2022) was an Indian actor, producer, and politician who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He appeared in more than 750 films over six decades. He was a recipient of the Raghupathi Venkai ...

and

Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known ...

. *''

Panakkaran ''Panakkaran'' () is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by P. Vasu. A remake of the Hindi film '' Lawaaris'' (1981), it stars Rajinikanth and Gautami. The film was released on 14 January 1990, Pongal day, and ran for more t ...

'', in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

in 1990, starring

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...

, Vijayakumar and Gautami.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Archived 1981 - 1989 hit films on Boxofficeindia.com website
{{Prakash Mehra 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s masala films 1981 films Films about orphans Films directed by Prakash Mehra Films scored by Kalyanji Anandji Hindi films remade in other languages