''Saagar'' () is a 1985 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

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

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 directed by

Ramesh Sippy Ramesh Sippy (born 23 January 1947) is an Indian film director, actor and producer in Hindi cinema. He is particularly known for being the director of ''Sholay'' (1975), which is regarded as one of the List of films considered the best#Nationa ...

. The film stars

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Kapoor (4 September 1952 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. In a career spanning 50 years, he is regarded as one of the most successful and accomplished actors in Hindi cinema. ...

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

Dimple Kapadia Dimple Kapadia (born 8 June 1957) is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in Hindi films. Born and raised in Mumbai by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her fathe ...

(in her comeback feature) and Lissy in lead roles. The film featured lyrics, story and screenplay written by

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civili ...

and music by R. D. Burman. Released on 9 August 1985, ''Saagar'' was a moderate success at the box-office and one of the highest-grossing films of the year. It gained recognition over the years through re-runs on television channels. At the

33rd Filmfare Awards The 33rd Filmfare Awards were held in 1987, in Mumbai, India for the films released in the year 1985. ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili'' and ''Saagar'' led the ceremony with 10 nominations each, followed by '' Meri Jung'' and ''Tawaif'' with 7 nominat ...

, ''Saagar'' received a leading 10 nominations, including

Best Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

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 ...

(Sippy), Best Supporting Actor (Hassan), Best Supporting Actress (

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey Order of the British Empire, CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-born British-American actress, cookbook and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the weste ...

), and won 4 awards, including Best Actor (Hassan), Best Actress (Kapadia) and Best Male Playback Singer (

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 "Saagar Kinare"). At the ceremony, Hassan was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, eventually winning the former, his first and only win in the category.

Plot

Mona (

) runs a small restaurant in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. Raja (

), who lives close by, is a good friend. He is in love with her but is unable to profess his feelings. Ravi (

) is from a rich industrialist family who moves to Goa from the US. Mona and Ravi fall in love of which Raja knows nothing. Ravi's grandmother, Kamladevi (

) is opposed to their love because of class differences. In the end, Raja sacrifices his love and life for Mona and Ravi.

Cast

as Ravi *

as Raja *

as Mona D'Silva *

Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (Indian actress) (1932-2006), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress) (1968-1995), Pakista ...

as Miss Joseph *

Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and '90s, he was ...

as Mr. D'Silva *

as Kamladevi, Ravi's grandmother * Lissy as Rosy, Raja's fiancé *

A. K. Hangal Avtar Kishan Hangal (1 February 1914 – 26 August 2012) was an Indian freedom fighter and actor. His most notable roles are as Ram Shastri in '' Aaina'' (1977), as the Inder Sen in '' Shaukeen'', as Bipinlal Pandey in '' Namak Haraam'', as I ...

as Baba (in the lighthouse) *

Sharat Saxena Sharat Saxena (born 17 August 1950) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films along with Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. He has acted in more than 250 Bollywood films. Saxena started his career in the early 1970s and has mainly played ...

as Tatya, fisherman *

Shafi Inamdar Shafi Inamdar (23 October 1946 – 13 March 1996) was an Indian actor. He started his film career with the film '' Vijeta'' and continued it in '' Ardh Satya''. He acted in a number of television serials including '' Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi''. His ...

as Vikram *

Satish Kaushik Satish Chandra Kaushik (13 April 1956 – 9 March 2023) was an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian, editor and screenwriter. He found his fame in Hindi cinema, Bollywood with ''Mr. India (1987 film), Mr. India'' starring Anil Kapoor, Sri ...

as Batuk Laal * Kiran Vairale as Maria *

Lilliput Lilliput is an island nation in Jonathan Swift's novel ''Gulliver's Travels''. Lilliput may also refer to: Geography * Lilliput (townland), a townland in County Westmeath, Ireland * Lilliput, Dorset, a district in the town of Poole in Dorset, ...

as Cheena *

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 Thekedaar *Balu Gaikwad as Bhikari

Soundtrack

The music was composed by R. D. Burman and the lyrics were by

bagged his 8th Filmfare Award for the song "Sagar Kinare", Other singers include

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 ...

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 ...

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), commonly known as SPB or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is widely regarde ...

& Shailendra Singh. R. D. Burman for song "Saagar Kinare" used one of his old song tune "Hume Raaston Ki Zaroorat Nahin Hai" from film

Naram Garam ''Naram Garam'' (meaning: Soft hot) is a 1981 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The film was produced by Subhash Gupta and Uday Narayan Singh and had music by R. D. Burman. It reprises many actors and ac ...

released in 1981. The song ''Jaane Do Na'' was recreated by composer

Arko Pravo Mukherjee Arko Pravo Mukherjee, better known by the mononym as Arko is an Indian music composer, singer, lyricist, and producer, and a qualified doctor. He has created multiple tracks for various films like "Teri Mitti" (Kesari), "Nazm Nazm" (Bareilly K ...

for the 2015 film Kuch Kuch Locha Hai. The song ''Sach Mere Yaar Hai'' was reused in the 2021 TV Series The Family Man Season 2, as a tribute to the singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and to the fictional NIA agent character Millind in the series.

Release

''Saagar'' was released on 9 August 1985. Apart from receiving critical acclaim, the movie was a major box office success. It gained recognition over the years through re-runs on television channels and is now regarded as a classic and a cult film. In 2015, ''Saagar'' was screened at the Habitat Film Festival.

Critical reception

According to ''

Asiaweek ''Asiaweek'' was an English-language news magazine focusing on Asia, published weekly by Asiaweek Limited, a subsidiary of Time Inc. Based in Hong Kong, it was established in 1975, and ceased publication with its 7 December 2001 issue due to a ...

'', "''Saagar'' offers a skimpy eternal-triangle plot, but it is remarkable for its polished narration and masterly technique. The romance is subdued, symbolised by waves gently caressing the shore." It further praised the performances, calling Kapadia "a delight" and claiming that Hassan "steals the show with his subtle performance," and the direction by Sippy, who "has succeeded in injecting vitality, beauty and deep insight into a gossamer-thin story." ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

'' wrote, "Like ''Sholay'', and only like ''Sholay'', ''Saagar'' is purely a director's film."

Awards

References

External links

* * {{Indian submission for Academy Awards 1985 films 1980s Hindi-language films Films directed by Ramesh Sippy Films scored by R. D. Burman Indian interfaith romance films