Ram Teri Ganga Maili

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Ram Teri Ganga Maili
File:Ram Teri Ganga Maili.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRaj Kapoor
Produced byRandhir Kapoor
Written byRaj Kapoor
V. P. Sathe
K. K. Singh
Jyoti Swaroop
StarringMandakini
Rajiv Kapoor
Music byRavindra Jain
CinematographyRadhu Karmakar
Edited byRaj Kapoor
Distributed byR. K. Films
Release date
  • 16 August 1985 (1985-08-16)
Running time
178 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box office₹19 crore (equivalent to ₹326 crore (US$46 million) in 2016)

Ram Teri Ganga Maili (transl. Ram, Your Ganga is Tainted) is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor. Music director Ravindra Jain received a Filmfare Award for this film.

The film became very controversial because of Mandakini's bold scenes of breastfeeding and bathing in a transparent saree, which wasn't something the conservative Indian Censor Board allowed then. Yet, it had a U (Universal) age rating, which was later amended to U/A. It was the last film directed by Raj Kapoor.

Ram Teri Ganga Maili is included in the 'All-Time Blockbusters' list of Indian Cinema. It was certified Diamond Jubilee in Mumbai and Golden Jubilee in other major cities.The film was the year's highest-grossing film. It was also one of the highest-grossing films of 1980s, alongside Kranti (1981) and Maine Pyar Kiya (1989).[1]

Plot[edit]

Ganga lives in Gangotri with her brother, Karam. One day she comes to the assistance of a young man, Narendra Sahay, who has come with a group of Calcutta-based college students to study the source of the holy river Ganga and to get some holy water for his paternal grandmother, who uses a wheelchair. Both are attracted to each other, and on the next Puran Mashi get married, and spend the night together. Narendra leaves but promises Ganga that he will be back soon. Months go by, but he does not return. She gives birth to a son, and as soon as she can, she starts her journey to Alipore, Calcutta, to confront Narendra and ensure a better future for their son. At Rishikesh, she is exploited by two women and a man from whom she escapes and takes shelter in a crematorium. Then at Banaras, she is molested by a Pandit, rescued by the police and given a ticket to Calcutta. When she alights en route to get water for her baby, the train leaves, and she falls into the clutches of Manilal who feigns blindness and lures her to a brothel near Banaras, where she is forced to stay so that she can provide for her son. It is here that she is introduced to a powerful politician, Bhagwat Choudhary, who pays a hefty sum and asks Manilal to bring Ganga to Calcutta where he intends to keep her as his and Jeeva Sahay's mistress. What Ganga does not know is that Bhagwat's daughter, Radha, is Narendra's bride-to-be; that Jeeva is none other than Narendra's father, and that soon she is asked to perform on her husband's wedding. It creates a scene when Naren recognises that the girl dancing in the veil is none other than Ganga. He stops the marriage saying that he is already married but his family asks him to marry Radha and not that "polluted" girl. However, he disagrees and leaves his house with Ganga and his child.

Cast[edit]

Cultural allusions[edit]

According to Philip Lutgendorf,[2] the movie is an allegory that "synthesizes classical and mythic narrative, soft-core political and social commentary (here condemning the corruption of politicians and capitalists and championing the nascent environmental initiatives of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi). The narrative recapitulates the Abhijñānaśākuntalam story that first appeared in the epic Mahabharata and then was reworked, some six hundred years later, by the poet Kalidasa."

The final song sequence "Ek Radha ek Meera" brings Raj Kapoor's personal experiences with filmdom and reality. This song sequence is the climax of the plot where the bride-to-be is face-to-face with the other "saut", the culturally "polluted" dancer who has made that journey from the pure source of the Himalayas to the ever-flowing and ever-absorbing Ganges with all of the human impurities. It also differentiates between the love of Radha and Meera and reconnects the movie back to the Krishna Leelas.

The movie was a hit, and it earned Mandakini a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress.[3] The film also caused a stir because of two scenes: one in which Mandakini bathes under a waterfall wearing only a flimsy white saree through which her breasts are clearly visible and another in which she is shown breast-feeding a child. Some critics claimed that the scenes were vulgar and exploitative, and were used to get around the Censor Board's stringent rules against nudity. Kapoor defended the inclusion of the scenes stating that they were tasteful.

Awards[edit]

The film won five Filmfare Awards.

Songs[edit]

Music of this movie was given by late Ravindra Jain, who won Fimfare Award for Best Music Director for this.

  1. "Ek Dukhiyari Kahe" – Lata Mangeshkar
  2. "Ek Radha Ek Meera" – Lata Mangeshkar
  3. "Husn Pahadon Ka" – Lata Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar
  4. "Ram Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayee" – Part 1 – Suresh Wadkar
  5. "Sun Sahiba Sun Pyaar Ki Dhun Maine Tujhe Chun Liya" – Lata Mangeshkar; Lyrics – Hasrat Jaipuri
  6. "Tujhe Bulayen Yeh Meri Bahen" – Lata Mangeshkar
  7. "Yaara O Yaara" – Lata Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar
  8. "Ram Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayee" – Part 2 – Suresh Wadkar
  9. "Main Hi Main Hoon -Suresh Wadkar; Lyrics – Amir Qazalbash

References[edit]

  1. "Boxofficeindia.com". 14 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. Philip Lutgendorf. "Ram teri Ganga Maili". University of Iowa, South Asian Studies Program. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  3. "Filmfare Awards" (PDF). p. 71. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  4. "Best Editor Award". Official Listings, Indiatimes. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

External links[edit]

Template:FilmfareAwardBestFilm 1971–1990

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