''Suraj'' () is a 1966 Hindi-language

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...

Ruritanian romance Ruritanian romance is a genre of literature, film and theatre comprising novels, stories, plays and films set in a fictional country, usually in Central or Eastern Europe, such as the " Ruritania" that gave the genre its name. Such stories are t ...

film produced by S. Krishnamurthy and T. Govindarajan and directed by T. Prakash Rao. The film stars

Rajendra Kumar Rajendra Kumar (born as Rajendra Kumar Tuli; 20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999), was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. Kumar was on ...

and Vyjayanthimala, with Ajit, Mumtaz, Johnny Walker,

Lalita Pawar Lalita Pawar (née Amba Laxmanrao Shagun; 18 April 1916 – 24 February 1998) was a prolific Indian actress, who later became famous as a character actress, appearing in over 700 films in Bollywood, Hindi, Marathi cinema, Marathi and Gujarati c ...

, Neetu Singh, Gajanan Jagirdar,

David Abraham Cheulkar David Abraham Cheulkar (21 June 1908 – 2 January 1982), popularly known as David, was an Indian Hindi film actor. In a career spanning four decades, he played mostly character roles, starting with the 1941 film '' Naya Sansar'', and went on ...

, Agha,

Mukri Mohammed Umar Mukri (5 January 1922 – 4 September 2000), popularly known as Mukri, was an Indian actor, who worked as a comedian in Hindi films. Born as Muhammad Umar Mukri in Uran. He started his film career with the film ''Pratima'' along ...

, Mallika and Niranjan Sharma in the supporting roles. The film's music was composed by

Shankar Jaikishan Sankar or Shankar is a Sanskrit word meaning "beneficent" or "giver of bliss" and may refer to: People * Shankar (name) **Ravi Shankar, Indian sitarist and composer **Shankar (actor), Indian actor ** Shankar (Tamil militant), Tamil rebel ** Shan ...

, with the lyrics penned by Shailendra and

Hasrat Jaipuri Hasrat Jaipuri, born Iqbal Hussain (15 April 1922 – 17 September 1999), was an Indian poet, who wrote in the Hindi and Urdu languages. He was also a renowned film lyricist in Hindi films, where he won the Filmfare Awards for Best Lyri ...

Plot

Vikram Singh is the Maharaja of Pratap Nagar and is very impressed with his Senapati Sangram Singh for years of loyal service. He decides to make him a Maharaja and agrees to marry his daughter, Anuradha, to his son, Pratap. Sometime later Sangram Singh's necklace given by Vikram Singh was stolen. He accused his servant, Ram Singh. He abducts Sangram Singh's son and exchanges him with his own son. Years later, Vikram sends his now grown-up Anuradha to visit the coronation of Rajkumar Pratap Singh and approve of him as her husband, and she sets off without any escort with just her maid-servant, Kalavati, for company. Shortly thereafter, Vikram is informed that Kalavati has been abducted by a bandit named Suraj Singh, he accordingly rushes over to Sangram's and this is where he discovers to his shock that Kalavati is posing as Anuradha, and it is his daughter who has been abducted by Suraj. When Suraj is arrested and lodged in a dungeon, preparations are set forth for the coronation of Pratap and his subsequent marriage with Anuradha.

Cast

as ''Suraj Singh'' * Vyjayanthimala as '' The Princess Anuradha'' * Ajit as ''Prince Pratap Singh'' * Mumtaz as ''Kalavati'' * Johnny Walker as ''Bhola'' * Bharathi as ''Geeta'' *

as the Maharani * Neetu Singh as ''Young Geeta'' * Gajanan Jagirdar as ''Ram Singh'' *

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

as ''Maharaja Vikram Singh'' * Agha as ''Kotwal Bhakti Charan'' / ''Bhagat Ram'' *

as ''Anokhe'' * Malika as ''Madhuri'' * Niranjan Sharma as ''Maharaja Sangram Singh'' *

Moolchand Moolchand Kapoor was a prolific character actor in Hindi and Panjabi cinema, who was active from 1950 to his death in the late 1980s. He appeared in over 250 films. These films spanned the parallel cinema of Guru Dutt to the wrestler films of D ...

as the chief of the Musicians * Keshavlal as Pratap Singh's Man

Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by

in one of their last successful albums. The lyrics were penned by Shailendra and

. The album also featured the singer Sharda with the chartbuster song "Titli Udi Ud Jo Chali", which became the song that she was most remembered for. The soundtrack was listed by Planet Bollywood as number 86 on their list of 100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks. The song " Baharon Phool Barsao" topped the Binaca Geetmala annual list of 1966 charts. Similarly, the song "Titli Udi Ud Jo Chali" was listed at No. 21.

Box office

At the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed around 50,000,000 with a net of 25,000,000, thus becoming the second highest grossing film of 1966.

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website dedicated to tracking, reporting, and analyzing the financial performance of films released in the Hindi entertainment industry. Established in 2003, Box Office India has become a prominent source of ...

gave it the verdict of "super-hit. The film was also one of the last box office hits of

, who was regarded as Bollywood's

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 ...

actor. Vyjayanthimala and Rajendra Kumar had previously worked in many successful films such as '' Aas Ka Panchhi'' (1961), '' Sangam'' (1964) and '' Zindagi'' (1964).

Awards

References

External links

* 1966 films 1960s Hindi-language films 1960s Urdu-language films Urdu-language Indian films Films set in the 18th century Films about revolutions Films set in India Films scored by Shankar–Jaikishan Films directed by T. Prakash Rao Hindi films remade in other languages Indian swashbuckler films {{1960s-Hindi-film-stub