''Saudagar'' (transl. Merchant) is a 1991 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 drama film, directed by
Subhash Ghai
Subhash Ghai (born 24 January 1945) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, lyricist, music director and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was one of the most prominent Hindi filmmakers in the 1980s and 1990s. ...
. It starred two legends of the Hindi silver screen,
Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...
and
Raaj Kumar, in lead roles. It was the second film in which the two actors came together after the 1959 film ''
Paigham''. It featured the debut performances of
Vivek Mushran and
Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepali people, Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil. Born to the politically prominent Koirala family, she is the daughter of ...
, the latter becoming a noted
Bollywood actress in later years.
Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...
,
Anupam Kher,
Mukesh Khanna
Mukesh Khanna (born 23 June 1958) is an Indian actor, producer, and talk show host known for his work in Hindi films and television. He is best known for portraying the titular superhero in the television series ''Shaktimaan'' (1997–2005), wh ...
,
Dalip Tahil,
Gulshan Grover,
Dina Pathak and
Jackie Shroff
Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...
are also featured in the movie. The story line is influenced by the famous play ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' and Mandhaari's role is parallel to that of
Friar Laurence in ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
''. It was also inspired by the 1985
Pakistani
Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
Punjabi movie ''Haq Mehar''.
The film was a
silver jubilee
Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark.
Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750
Note: This ...
success all over India and the
third highest grossing Indian film of 1991. It as among the top 10 grossers of the 1990s decade''.'' ''Saudagar'' received eight nominations at the
37th Filmfare Awards, and won two awards including
Best Director for
Subhash Ghai
Subhash Ghai (born 24 January 1945) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, lyricist, music director and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was one of the most prominent Hindi filmmakers in the 1980s and 1990s. ...
. It was Dilip Kumar's penultimate film and final box office success.
Plot
The movie starts with Mandhari, an old crippled man, telling a story of two friends to some kids. In the story, Rajeshwar Singh, a rich landlord's son, and Veer Singh, a poor farmer's son, become friends. They are naughty kids, calling each other as Raju and Veeru respectively. As the duo grow up, Raju decides to get his sister Palikanta's marriage arranged with Veeru. Neither his sister nor Veeru have any objections to the marriage.
However, as luck would have it, a girl's marriage in town is disrupted due to her in-laws demanding dowry. Veeru steps in to save the face of the girl and her parents by marrying her. While Raju is shocked by this development, his sister, who was secretly in love with Veeru, commits suicide. Devastated and distraught, Raju now declares that Veeru is solely responsible for everything that happened, making him his mortal enemy.
With these new developments, the duo has their territories marked. They come to an uneasy and unwritten truce: no one will kill a living soul from the other's territory, but anybody entering the other person's territory will be doing so at their own peril. Chuniya, kin of Raju, sees an opportunity to leech off the money of Rajeshwar by keeping the two sides at war. Chuniya has Veer's son Vishal killed, making the latter believe that Rajeshwar will stop at nothing to eliminate Veer.
Over the years, the tension escalates. The clashes between the former friends becomes a headache for the Commissioner. Mandhari, who is now revealed to be a beggar and part of the story, happens to be one of the lucky few who do not have any fear of death from either side. Mandhari claims to the Commissioner that the day he finds out a solution to the problem, he will dance on one leg.
Here, Rajeshwar's granddaughter Radha and Veer's grandson Vasu meet each other. Radha and Vasu are unaware of the enmity and fall in love. When Mandhari finds out about this, he happily completes his pledge to himself and reveals the truth to the lovers. However, Chuniya decides to stoke the fires once again, which he does by abducting, raping and killing a girl named Amla from Veer's territory. Because Rajeshwar's grandson, Kunal, had secretly married and impregnated Amla, the tensions arise further between the two clans.
Mandhaari reveals his plans to end their grandfathers' enmity, according to which Radha will infiltrate Veer's home, while Vasu will infiltrate Rajeshwar's. The lovers succeed in doing so and try to make the old friends see reason. Aarti, Vishal's widow, learns the true identity of Radha but keeps quiet.
Meanwhile, Chuniya has completely infiltrated Rajeshwar's bastion. He starts making murky deals with shady parties who are interested in acquiring the whole region. Chuniya exposes the lovers as well. Radha and Vasu's pleas fall on deaf ears. However, Chuniya's luck does not last long. The people with whom Chuniya had dealt with attack Rajeshwar, exposing Chuniya's real face. A distraught Rajeshwar and a sympathetic Veer finally sort out their enmity of decades. Here, Chuniya grows desperate and has Radha and Vasu captured, and Radha's uncle Deven killed.
The people from both sides unite to fight against Chuniya; Veeru and Raju's surviving sons, Gagan and Gajja, respectively, are killed in the fight. Soon, Radha and Vasu are saved, but are unaware of the fact that their grandfathers have reconciled. Veeru and Raju kill Chuniya but get fatally wounded themselves. As the friends die in each other's arms, the final chapter on this friendship and enmity is closed.
The story cuts to the present, revealing that Radha and Vasu got married and they formed a trust in the name of their grandparents, which takes care of the education of the children Mandhari is retelling the story to. Radha and Vasu inaugurate the school as Aarti looks on.
Cast
*
Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...
as Veer Singh ("Dada Veer"/"Veeru")
*
Raaj Kumar as Thakur Rajeshwar Singh ("Dada Thakur"/"Raju")
*
Mukesh Khanna
Mukesh Khanna (born 23 June 1958) is an Indian actor, producer, and talk show host known for his work in Hindi films and television. He is best known for portraying the titular superhero in the television series ''Shaktimaan'' (1997–2005), wh ...
as Gagan Singh, Veer's younger son
*
Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepali people, Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil. Born to the politically prominent Koirala family, she is the daughter of ...
as Radha Singh Thakur
*
Vivek Mushran as Vasudev Singh ("Vasu"/"Krishna")
*
Deepti Naval as Aarti Singh, Vishal's wife
*
Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...
as Chuniya Chand Chaukhan
*
Anupam Kher as Mandhaari
*
Gulshan Grover as Baliram
*
Dalip Tahil as Gajendra Singh Thakur ("Gajja"), Rajeshwar's son, and Radha and Kunal's father
* Anand Balraj as Devendra Singh Thakur ("Deven"), Rajeshwar's son
*
Jackie Shroff
Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), known by his screen name Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who primarily works in the Hindi film industry. In a career spanning over four decades, he ...
as Vishal Singh, Veer's elder son (special appearance)
*
Dina Pathak as Veer's sister
*
Zahid Ali as Young Veer Singh
* Ved Thappar as Young Rajeshwar Singh
* Rubina Khan as Palikanta Singh Thakur, Rajeshwar's sister
* Malvika Tiwari as Rajeshwar's wife
*Abhinav Chaturvedi as Kunal Singh Thakur, Radha's brother
*
Pallavi Joshi as Amla Singh Thakur, Kunal's wife
*
Akash Khurana as Police Commissioner
*
Archana Puran Singh (cameo)
*
Shubha Khote (cameo)
*
Govind Namdev (cameo)
Soundtrack
The music for the film was composed by the legendary duo of
Laxmikant–Pyarelal, and the lyrics were written by
Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930 – 30 March 2002) was an Indian poet and lyricist. He won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist 4 times during his career. He wrote over 6000 film songs in more than 300 films.
Early life
Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Pr ...
.
Awards
References
External links
*
{{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations
Saudagar
1990s Hindi-language films
1990s Indian films
Films directed by Subhash Ghai
Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal
Films based on Romeo and Juliet