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Sangam (1964 Hindi film)

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Sangam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRaj Kapoor
Written byInder Raj Anand
Produced byRaj Kapoor
Starring
Narrated byRaj Kapoor
CinematographyRadhu Karmakar
Edited byRaj Kapoor
Music byShankar–Jaikishan
Production
companies
Distributed byR. K. Films
Release date
  • 26 June 1964 (1964-06-26)
Running time
238 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi[1]

Sangam (transl. Confluence) is a 1964 Indian epic romantic musical drama directed, produced and edited by Raj Kapoor at R. K. Studios, written by Inder Raj Anand, and distributed by R. K. Films with Mehboob Studio and Filmistan. It stars Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Vyjayanthimala in lead roles, along with Iftekhar, Raj Mehra, Nana Palsikar, Lalita Pawar, Achala Sachdev, Hari Shivdasani in supporting roles. It tells the story of a pilot Sundar (Kapoor), who upon returning home from war after being assumed dead, weds the woman Radha (Vyjayanthimala) he had long loved, unaware that she had been planning to marry his best friend Gopal (Kumar).[2]

Sangam was the first Indian film to be exclusively shot abroad on locations including London, Paris and Switzerland,[3] and was also among the most expensive film of its time with the longest runtime for an Indian film up to that time. The film explores themes of love, loyalty, sacrifice, and the consequences of choices made in relationships. It portrays the conflicts and emotional turmoil faced by the characters as they navigate their complicated circumstances. The film was considered bold and much ahead of its time due to its storyline and characterizations. All these things immensely contributed to the box office success of the film.[4]

Sangam released on 26 June 1964 to widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its novel concept, direction, screenplay, dialogue, soundtrack, costumes, cinematography and performances of the cast, and was widely considered as Hindi cinema's greatest love triangle.[5][6] It emerged as a major commercial success, grossing ₹8 crore worldwide, ranking as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, and the second highest-grossing film of the decade behind Mughal-E-Azam (1960).[7]

Internationally, the film was released in the Soviet Union in 1964.[8][9] It inspired Michael Bay's War film Pearl Harbor (2001) and was remade in Telugu and Kannada languages as Swapna (1981) by Dasari Narayana Rao.[10]

Plot

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Sundar, Radha and Gopal have been friends since childhood. As they grow into adults, Sundar develops an obsessive romantic attraction to Radha; for him, she is the only woman in the world. However, Radha prefers Gopal, who is also in love with her, and systematically resists Sundar's advances. Matching Sundar's great love for Radha is his unswerving devotion to his friendship with Gopal. Sundar confides his feelings for Radha to Gopal, who decides to sacrifice his love for his friend's sake.

Eventually, Sundar enlists in the Indian Air Force and is assigned a dangerous mission in Kashmir, delivering items to soldiers fighting there. Before leaving, he extracts a promise from Gopal, whom he trusts implicitly, never to let any man come between Radha and himself while he is away. Sundar subsequently completes his mission, but his aircraft is shot down and he is listed as killed in action and presumed dead. For his bravery, he is awarded the Param Vir Chakra. The news saddens Radha and Gopal, but they are nonetheless now free to profess their love for one another. Among other expressions of love, Gopal writes her an unsigned love letter that touches her and which she hides away. Just when they begin taking steps to be married, Sundar returns, safe and sound. The self-effacing Gopal sacrifices his love once more, stepping back into the shadows and watching as the reborn Sundar resumes his wooing of Radha. Before Sundar enlisted, Radha's parents did not like him, but after he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, they happily marry their daughter to him.

After the couple returns from an extended European honeymoon, Sundar is deliriously happy, as his life's dream has been realised. Radha is resolved to be faithful to her husband and to put Gopal out of her mind, privately asking him to stay away from her and Sundar because of the torture his presence causes her. Sundar's devotion to Gopal, however, is such that he constantly tries to draw him into their lives, much to Radha's chagrin. The perfection of their marital bliss is, however, shattered when Sundar accidentally discovers the unsigned love letter Gopal had written to Radha. An enraged Sundar pulls a pistol on his wife and demands she divulge the name of her supposed lover, threatening to kill the man, but she refuses.

In the days that follow, Sundar becomes consumed with discovering the identity of the letter's author. Radha's life becomes miserable, lived out against the incessant drama of Sundar's jealousy, threats, anger, and fixation with the letter. Eventually unable to bear the wretchedness of her existence with Sundar any further, she flees to Gopal for help. Sundar takes the same route, unaware that Radha has gone to Gopal's house. There, matters come to a head. The overwrought Gopal admits his authorship of the infamous letter to Radha, an admission that almost destroys his friend. Sundar asks Gopal why he sacrificed his love for his sake, admitting that he would have happily done the same for him. Radha, meanwhile, chastises the two men for not ever taking her feelings into consideration through the whole situation, and only focussing on their friendship. Gopal, perceiving no exit from the impasse at which the three have arrived, kills himself with Sundar's pistol. Radha and Sundar are finally reunited but in mourning.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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In the late 1940s, Raj Kapoor planned to launch a film under the title of Gharonda with Dilip Kumar, Nargis and himself in the lead playing the central characters.[11] The story was penned by Inder Raj Anand during the making of Kapoor's first directorial film, Aag (1948).[11] However, the film was postponed for several reasons and was in development hell until 1962, when it was titled as Sangam, with new cast and crew.[11]

Casting

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Initially, Kapoor approached Dilip Kumar to play the role of Gopal Verma.[11] Kumar agreed to play either one of the two male roles, on the condition that he be given the right to edit the final copy of the film.[11] Since Kapoor could not accept Kumar's condition, he then approached Dev Anand and offered him the choice of either one of the male leads. Anand also declined the film, citing call sheet problems as the reason.[11] Raj Kapoor then offered the role to Uttam Kumar, but he too declined the offer.[12] The role was finally given to Rajendra Kumar.[11]

Filming

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During filming, Raj Kapoor took the help of the Indian Air Force in the shooting of the Air Force scenes. This was also Raj Kapoor's first complete film in colour.

Soundtrack

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The film's soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Jaikishan, with lyrics penned by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri.[2] It was the best-selling Hindi film album of the 1960s.[13]

# Title Singer(s) Lyricist Duration
1 "Bol Radha Bol" (Alternate title: "Mere Man Ki Ganga") Vyjayanthimala, Mukesh Shailendra 04:39
2 "Dost Dost Na Raha" Mukesh 05:51
3 "Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega" Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor 04:45
4 "O Mere Sanam" Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh 04:13
5 "O Mehbooba" Mukesh Hasrat Jaipuri 04:59
6 "Yeh Mera Prem Patra" Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Vyjayanthimala 04:25
7 "Main Kya Karoon Ram" Lata Mangeshkar 03:45
8 "Ich Liebe Dich (I Love You)" Vivian Lobo 02:16

Reception

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Widely anticipated before release owing to its scale, cast and music, Sangam emerged an All Time Blockbuster at the box office as well the second biggest-earner ever, behind Mughal-E-Azam. It ran for almost one year in Kolkata's famous Orient cinema and completed 175 days in other famous cinemas of the city, Priya and Darpan.[14]

It further solidified Rajendra Kumar's Superstar status and was also one of the last major hits of Raj Kapoor's career as a lead.[15] Today, Sangam is considered a cult classic and one of the best romantic films ever made in Hindi cinema.[2]

Awards

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Award Category Nominee Outcome Note Ref.
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Best Indian Films Raj Kapoor Won On behalf of R. K. Films [16]
[17]
[18]
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Art Direction M. R. Acharekar
Best Cinematography Radhu Karmakar
Best Audiography Allauddin Khan Qureshi
12th Filmfare Awards Best Film Raj Kapoor Nominated On behalf of R. K. Films
Best Director Won
Best Actor Nominated
Best Actress Vyjayanthimala Won
Best Supporting Actor Rajendra Kumar Nominated
Best Story Inder Raj Anand
Best Music Director Shankar-Jaikishan
Best Lyricist Shailendra for "Dost Dost Na Raha"
Best Male Playback Singer Mukesh for "Dost Dost Na Raha"
Best Editing Raj Kapoor Won
Best Sound Design Allauddin Khan Qureshi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Aḵẖtar, Jāvīd; Kabir, Nasreen Munni (2002). Talking Films: Conversations on Hindi Cinema with Javed Akhtar. Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-19-566462-1. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2017. most of the writers working in this so-called Hindi cinema write in Urdu: Gulzar or Rajinder Singh Bedi or Inder Raj Anand or Rahi Masoom Raza or Wajahat Mirza, who wrote dialogue for films like Mughal-e-Azam and Gunga Jumna and Mother India. So most dialogue-writers and most song-writers are from the Urdu discipline, even today.
  2. ^ a b c "An IAF pilot, a love triangle & Raj Kapoor: Why Sangam is a Bollywood hit even after 50 yrs". ThePrint. 9 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Sangam - First Indian Movie To Be Shot Abroad - Raj Kapoor - Classic Hindi Movie Poster - Posters". Tallenge Store. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Blast from the past: This film started the trend of shooting abroad". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  5. ^ DHNS. "Happily ever after?". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  6. ^ "rediff.com, Movies: Classics Revisited: Sangam". inhome.rediff.com. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  7. ^ "'Sangam': A trendsetting love triangle in Bollywood - EasternEye". 17 June 2023.
  8. ^ Sergey Kudryavtsev. "Личное СВК (13000 названий) - фильмы 1961–1965 годов (часть 2 – 200 фильмов)". Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. ^ Rajagopalan, Sudha (2005). Indian Films in Soviet Cinemas: The Culture of Movie-going After Stalin. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253220998. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  10. ^ "7 Hollywood movies that are majorly inspired from Bollywood films". 12 May 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Surendra Miglani (28 May 2006). "Sangam revisited". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Raj Kapoor - Remembering Uttam Kumar: 10 memorable quotes about the 'Mahanayak' of Bengali cinema". The Times of India. 29 August 2018. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Music Hits 1960–1969". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  14. ^ "All Time Longest Runners In Kolkata: Sholay 2nd - HAHK 4th". Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Top Actors". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  16. ^ "BFJA Awards (1965)". Gomolo.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  17. ^ "The Nominations – 1964". Indiatimes. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  18. ^ "The Winners – 1964". Indiatimes. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
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