Mard
1985 · India
- Director
- Manmohan Desai
- Screenplay
- Inder Raj Anand
- Producer
- Manmohan Desai
- Music
- Anu Malik
Cast
What it is about
Set in early twentieth-century India, still under British rule, the film follows a boy whose father marks him with the word "mard" (man), a symbol of strength and courage. After a series of betrayals and separations, the hero grows up without fully knowing his origins and faces the colonial authorities and those who work with them.
How it was made
Directed and produced by Manmohan Desai, with a screenplay by Inder Raj Anand and music by Anu Malik, the film draws on the American comic character Phantom and its Indian version, Betaal. Amitabh Bachchan leads the cast alongside Amrita Singh and Dara Singh. Filming took place mostly in Ooty and at several locations in Karnataka, including the Lalitha Mahal in Mysore and the Bangalore Palace. The six-track soundtrack was released in June 1985 on T-Series.
Reception and legacy
It opened in 1985 to nearly sold-out theatres and was the second highest-grossing film of the year in India, also ranking among the eight highest-grossing films of the 1980s. Bachchan received a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor. Critics objected to the double-meaning lyrics of the song "Hum to tamboo mein bamboo lagaye baithe", yet the track became a hit.
Stills
Trivia
No Kishore Kumar vocals
This is one of the films in which Kishore Kumar did not sing for Bachchan, along with Coolie and Naseeb. Bachchan refused to appear as a guest in a film produced by Kishore.
More films by Manmohan Desai
Amar Akbar Anthony
Coolie
Aa Gale Lag Jaa
Dharam Veer
Naseeb
Gangaa Jamunaa SaraswatiOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.