''Souten'' () is a 1983 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 In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Saawan Kumar Tak, starring

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

, Tina Munim,

Padmini Kolhapure Padmini Kolhapure (born 1 November 1965) is an Indian actress and singer, who primarily works in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi films. Kolhapure is considered as one of the leading actress of the 80s. In a career spanning over four decades ...

Prem Chopra Prem Chopra (born 23 September 1935) is an Indian actor in Hindi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years. Life and education Chopra, the third of six children of Ranveerlal and Rooprani Chopra, a Punjabi Hindu family, was ...

and Pran. It was written by Kamleshwar, with music by Usha Khanna. The song "Shayad Meri Shaadi" sung 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 ...

and

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 ...

became especially memorable. Khanna's chemistry with Munim also proved popular. The film was remade in Kannada as '' Krishna Nee Begane Baro'' and in Telugu as '' Tene Manasulu''. The movie Souten was a Golden Jubilee hit.

Plot

Movie starts with Shyam (Rajesh Khanna) standing in a court and reciting his story. Shyam is an ambitious man who meets Rukmini (Tina Munim), the daughter of a millionaire, and falls in love with her, they get married with support of Ruku's father (Pran) but her step-mother Renu and uncle, Sampatlal (step-mother's brother) try to instigate her to not marry Shyam by telling her that he doesn't loves Ruku, rather he loves Pran's money. Despite this, they get married. After marriage, Shyam's passion towards work lets Renu and Sampatlal insert themselves in their relationship. Renu instigates her to do an operation to prevent pregnancy for 5 years by telling her that pregnancy can ruin her figure, Shyam unknowingly doesn't take any precautions which results in Ruku not being able to conceive forever. Consequently, their relationship sours. Radha (Padmini Kolhapure), the daughter of Shyam's employee, Gopal, brings hope into Shyam's life. Sampatlal convinces Ruku that Shyam is having secret affair with Radha. Ruku invites Radha and Mr. Gopal and insults her of having an affair with her husband. Mr. Pran dies giving all his property to Rukmini and Shyam and leaves nothing for Renu and Sampatlal. Shyam and Ruku get separated without divorce. Sampatlal ask Radha to marry someone else to unite Ruku and Shyam to which Radha answers positively. Soon she bears child of her husband but her husband suspects her of bearing Shyam's child. Soon it is revealed that Radha's husband has another wife and three children. After knowing this Gopal kills Radha's husband and commits suicide leaving a letter for Radha informing her that she is a widow. Shyam takes care of her and her daughter. Here the story, Shyam was reciting, ends. Sampatlal threatens to prison Shyam by next hearing. Ruku gives Shyam a photo (edited by Sampatlal) in which Shyam and Radha are shown married. Shyam finds an evidence against Renu and Sampatlal's conspiracy. Radha goes to convince Rukmini that she is not married to Shyam' She tells that she worships Shyam and that he is like a God to her. She then consumes poison. Shyam tries to save but she tells him that that she is lucky to die at his feet. And in cremation ceremony, Rukmini is shown taking care of her child while Shyam performs her last rites.

Cast

as Shyam Mohit * Tina Munim as Rukmini Mohit (Ruku) *

as Radha * Pran as Raisaheb Prannath Pasha *

as Sampatlal *

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 Gopal *

Shashikala Shashikala Saigal (née Jawalkar; 4 August 1932 – 4 April 2021), better known by her first name, was an Indian film and television actress, who played supporting roles in hundreds of Bollywood films beginning in the 1940s. Early years Shas ...

as Renu Prannath Pasha *

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has Paresh Rawal filmography, appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient of various L ...

as Mr. Jain *

Vijay Arora Vijay Arora (27 December 1944 – 2 February 2007) was an Indian actor in Hindi films and television serials who was known for ''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' and as Indrajit in the television serial ''Ramayan (1987 TV series), Ramayan''. Career Ar ...

as Vijay * Satyen Kappu * Roopesh Kumar as Bingo (Photographer) * Yunus Parvez as Public Prosecuter, Lawyer Saxena * Sudhir Dalvi as Public Prosecuter, Lawyer Mohan * T.P.Jain as Gunwant Lal

Production

According to the director, ''Souten'' was the first Hindi film ever to be shot in Mauritius. Zeenat Aman and

Parveen Babi Parveen Sultana Wali Mohammad Khanji Babi (; 4 April 195420 January 2005) was an Indian actress and model, who worked in Hindi films. One of the highest-paid actresses of the 1970s and the 1980s, she appeared in over 70 films and was the first ...

were offered the role of Rukmini. However, both of them turned it down, and Tina Munim was subsequently signed.

Awards

; 31st Filmfare Awards: Nominated * Best Supporting Actress –

* Best Music Director – Usha Khanna * Best Lyricist – Saawan Kumar for "Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khayal" * Best Lyricist – Saawan Kumar for "Zindagi Pyaar Ka Geet" * Best Male Playback Singer –

for "Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khayal"

Soundtrack

The music of this movie was composed by Usha Khanna (one of the two female music composer to have ever worked in Bollywood). Saawan Kumar Tak himself penned the lyrics to the famous songs.The song 'Zindagi Pyar Ka Geet Hai' of this movie is a popular one. The song, 'Main Teri Chhoti Behna Hoon' is sampled on the

Four Tet Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

track 'Morning' on the album Morning/Evening. The song, 'Meri Pehle Hi Tang Thi Choli' was supposed to be a duet between

and

. However, Mangeshkar refused to sing this song due to the explicit lyrics. This led to

Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer and politician who works predominantly in Hindi cinema and Odia cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singers and also as one of the m ...

singing it with Kumar. This film was a huge success of the year 1983. It was one of Rajesh Khanna's favourites.BoxOffice India.com

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0348078, Souten 1983 films Indian romantic drama films Indian family films 1983 romantic drama films 1980s Hindi-language films Films shot in Mauritius Hindi films remade in other languages Films scored by Usha Khanna Films directed by Saawan Kumar Tak Films about adultery in India Films about interclass romance Films about polygamy