''Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman'' (Hanuman, The Worshipper of Lord Rama) is a

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

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 ...

religious film produced and directed by

Homi Wadia Homi Wadia (22 May 1911 – 10 December 2004) was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood (Hindi cinema). He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Ba ...

for Basant Pictures. The story was adapted from Valmiki's Ramayana by Shivram Vashikar and the dialogues were written by P. C. Joshi.

S. N. Tripathi Shri Nath Tripathi (14 March 1913 – 28 March 1988) was an Indian composer, whose active years were from the 1930s to the 1980s. Tripathi's multi-faceted work range included being a composer, writer, actor, and director of films. His debut fil ...

not only provided music for the film but acted the main role of

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. The film starred

Trilok Kapoor Trilok Kapoor (11 February 1912 23 September 1988) was an Indian actor and a member of the Kapoor family who worked in Bollywood films. He was the younger brother of actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Early and personal life Born in the Kapoor Haveli i ...

, Sona Chatterjee, Niranjan Sharma and Prabhash Joshi. The story taken from an episode of

Valmiki Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

centre's around the abduction of Sita by Ravana, and Hanuman's support to Rama and Lakshman in the battle against Ravana.

Plot

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

(Niranjan Sharma) orders

Maricha In the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', Maricha, or Mareecha (Sanskrit: मारीच, IAST: ), is a rakshasha, who was killed by Rama, the hero of the epic and an avatar of Vishnu. He is mentioned as an ally of Ravana, the antagonist of the epic. Hi ...

to turn into a deer to entice

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

(Sona Chatterjee) with the notion of kidnapping her.

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

(Trilok Kapoor),

Lakshman Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and is ...

(Prabhash Joshi) and Sita are in the

Panchavati Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

forest for their fourteen-year exile. Espying the golden deer sent by Ravana to lure Rama away, Sita asks Rama to get it. On hearing a cry of pain she sends Lakshman after his brother thinking he's hurt. Ravan comes in the guise of a hermit begging alms and makes Sita step over the

Lakshman Rekha Lakshmana Rekha (), in some later versions of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', is a line in the soil drawn by Lakshmana. This line is drawn around the cottage and dwelling in the forest that he shared with his elder brother, Rama, and Rama's wife, ...

(line), Lakshman had drawn around their cottage for her safety, asking her not to step beyond it. In their search for Sita, Ram and Lakshman meet

(

) whom they help in the fight between

Sugriva Sugriva (, ), is a character In the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali (Ramayana), Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kishkindha. He is a son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun. As the king ...

and

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. Hanuman then helps in finding Sita. He goes through several challenges in his devotion to Ram. Hanuman becomes a major factor in the battle between Rama and Ravana resulting in the victory of Rama and Shri Ram's subsequent return to

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

Cast

as Hanuman *

as Shri Rama * Prabhash Joshi as Lakshman * Sona Chatterjee as Sita * Niranjan Sharma as Ravana/Sugriva * Leela Kumari as Mandodari * Pandit Amarnath as Angad * Dalpat as Meghnad * Shri Bhagwan as Vibhishan * Rajni * Kamal Kumar as Nal * Korega

Music

The music composer was

who gave music for several mythological and fantasy films and was "tagged as a mythological composer" His use of classical Raagas brought an authenticity to the songs making them popular even today. The lyrics of the film are credited to Homi Wadia with the singers including S. N. Tripathi, Sona Chatterjee and

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

Song List

Remake

It was remade in 1969, starring

Abhi Bhattacharya Abhi Bhattacharya (20 November 1921 – 11 August 1993) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Bengali cinema, who is most remembered for his roles in films of the 1950s and the 1960s, such as '' Yatrik'' (1952), ''Jagriti'' (1954), '' Anuradha'' (1 ...

, Raaj Kumar and B.M.Vyas directed by

Shantilal Soni Shantilal Soni, also known as S. L. Soni (28 November 1930 – 2004), was a noted film director, producer and writer from Mumbai, Bombay. He was a Gujarati people, Gujarati by birth. He has directed more than 22 films, starting his career in 1960 ...

References

External links

* {{Homi Wadia 1948 films 1940s Hindi-language films 1940s Indian films Indian black-and-white films Films directed by Homi Wadia Hindu mythological films Films scored by S. N. Tripathi Films based on the Ramayana Indian action films 1940s action films Hindi-language action films