''Sangram'' is a 1950

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film about a spoilt child in adulthood, directed by

Gyan Mukherjee Gyan Mukherjee (30 September 1909 – 13 November 1956) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, who worked in Hindi cinema, best known for the hits '' Jhoola'' (1941) and '' Kismet'' (1943). Early life Mukherjee was born on 30 Septembe ...

and starring

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

Nalini Jaywant Nalini Jaywant (18 February 1926 – 22 December 2010) was an Indian actress who appeared in Hindi films in the 1940s and 1950s. Background and personal life Jaywant was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1926. She was first cousin of actre ...

in lead roles. A box office success, the film became the sixth highest earning Indian film of 1950, earning an approximate gross of Rs. 1,00,00,000 and a net of Rs. 55,00,000. "Sangram" is a precursor to the cop-father – criminal-son theme that later came to be a favourite in Bollywood, though it was made in film noir style that had begun to inspire filmmakers, and Gyan Mukherjee was no exception. An intense, bold 139-minute violent crime drama, with Ashok Kumar daring to essay a negative character, at a time that he was in great demand as a hero. And he excelled in it. The first of the many such films he went on to star in during the early '50s.

Plot

A cop brings up his motherless son, spoiling him by succumbing to even his unnecessary demands, resulting in his getting familiar with ruffians and even gambling. The boy Kumar (

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Natio ...

) even once carries his father's pistol and fires it at a chum in a fit of rage. Timely help from his father (

Nawab Nawab (Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...

) saves him from the lock-up. On growing up, Kumar (

) moves to a city and starts running a casino in the guise of a hotel. But he is betrayed by one of his own confidantes, and the police raid the hotel, and although gets hurt, manages to escape, and happens to meet his childhood companion Kanta (

Tabassum Kiran Bala Govil ( Sachdev; 9 July 1944 – 18 November 2022), known professionally as Tabassum, was an Indian actress, talk show host and YouTuber, who started her career as child actor Baby Tabassum in 1947. She later had a television career ...

), who has grown up to be an attractive young woman (

). Kumar's dark past catches up with him in the form of an old accomplice (Tiwari), who blackmails him as he is about to get married. He steals his deceased mother's jewellery helped by the dancing girl in his casino who, unwittingly, gets arrested. To avenge the wrong, he goes after the criminals. During the fight in a running train, the gangster falls off and gets killed. When he returns with the stolen jewellery, the cops recognise him as the guy wanted in the casino raid, and put him behind bars. He escapes from prison on learning that his ladylove was going to be married off. He kidnaps her and takes her to the dancing girl's house for refuge. The story takes yet another twist as the dancer feels betrayed, as she too loves him, and tries to alert the cops. In a frenzy he shoots her, upsetting his own woman in the process. Cornered by cops, he indiscriminately fires, killing them all in the process. He is eventually shot dead by his own father when he tries to fool him by threatening to kill his own beloved though his pistol is empty. But not before the customary dying speech.

Cast

as Kumar *

as Kanta * Sajjan as Babulal *

as Kumar's Father *

as Young Kumar *

as Young Kanta

Soundtrack

The film, which had

C. Ramchandra Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian music director and playback singer.

composing for the six songs by P. L. Santoshi, Raja Mehndi Ali Khan and Vijendra Gaur, who also wrote the dialogue, with insightful black-and-white camerawork by

Josef Wirsching Josef Wirsching (22 March 1903 – 11 June 1967) sometimes credited as Joseph Wirsching, was a German cinematographer, who became a pioneer in cinematography in India and who contributed to the heritage of Cinema of India and still photography i ...

turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of its time, raking in, reportedly, Rs.55 lakhs in profits. "Sangram" was also

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indi ...

's last film as an assistant director.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0244182, title=Sangram 1950 films 1950s Hindi-language films Films scored by C. Ramchandra Films directed by Gyan Mukherjee Indian drama films 1950 drama films Indian black-and-white films