Ganga Jamna

About the film

Ganga Jamna (ISO 15919: Gaṅgā Jamunā), also transliterated as Ganga Jamuna or Gunga Jumna, is a 1961 Indian crime drama film, written and produced by Dilip Kumar, and directed by Nitin Bose, with dialogues written by Wajahat Mirza; Kumar later said that he also ghost-directed and edited the film. It stars Dilip Kumar with Vyjayanthimala and his real-life brother Nasir Khan in the leading roles and its rustic setting, being a defining example of the dacoit film genre. It was ranked 11th in Outlook Magazine's poll considering 25 leading Indian directors' vote for Bollywood's greatest films in 2003.

After six months of delay, the film was finally released in January 1961. It was one of the biggest hits of the 1960s and one of the most successful Indian films in terms of box office collection, domestically in India and overseas in the Soviet Union, with an estimated footfall of over 84 million tickets sold worldwide. According to various accounts, it is still among the 10 highest grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. In 2011, with an adjusted net gross of 736 crore, the film was ranked at number 2 by Box Office India magazine behind Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and ahead of Sholay (1975) in their list of "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years" which feature all-time highest-grossing Bollywood films adjusted to gold-price inflation, which according to the magazine was a relatively more appropriate method for comparison.

Upon release it was nominated in seven categories at the 9th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Kumar and Bose, respectively, while winning three, Best Actress for Vyjayanthimala, Best Cinematography for V. Balasaheb and Best Dialogue Writer for Wajahat Mirza. It also emerged as the biggest winner at the 25th Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, where it won nine awards in the Hindi film category. In addition, the film also won Certificate of Merit at the 9th National Film Awards. It also won prizes at international film festivals, including the Boston International Film Festival and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The film was a trendsetter in Indian cinema and inspired numerous filmmakers. Dilip Kumar's performance as Ganga is considered one of the finest acting performances in the history of Indian cinema, and inspired future generations of Indian actors, most notably Amitabh Bachchan who called it "the ultimate performance". In the West, artists like Academy Award winner Sophia Loren were profoundly influenced by his performance. For his performance, Kumar also received the "Special Honour Diploma" as an actor from the Czechoslovak Academy of Arts, Prague. The film's plot also inspired screenwriter duo Salim–Javed, who wrote scripts exploring similar themes in later Bachch

Cast and crew

Ganga Jamna was directed by Nitin Bose and written by Wajahat Mirza, and released in 1961.

The film features Dilip Kumar in its principal cast.

Key details