Kranti

About the film

Kranti (transl. Revolution) is a 1981 Indian historical drama film, produced, edited, dialogue and directed by Manoj Kumar, with the story and screenplay written by Salim–Javed. It stars an ensemble cast, consisting of Dilip Kumar in the title role along with Manoj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi in pivotal roles. The film also marked the return of Dilip Kumar after a four-year hiatus. It ranks among the top 10 highest grossing Indian films of all time, when adjusted for ticket-price inflation. It was one of the most expensive Indian films of the time and it went on to become the highest grossing Indian film of the 1980s decade by a distance, when adjusted for inflation.

At the time of release it was the fastest earner of all time setting first run records in practically all circuits barring Mumbai and South. It celebrated a silver jubilee in 26 centres and even in places like Mirzapur (UP) and Junagadh (Gujarat) where jubilees were very rare. There are hardly ten films in history that are estimated to have celebrated jubilees in over 25 centres. The craze of the film was such that in places like Delhi, Rajasthan, UP and Haryana there were shops selling Kranti T-shirts, jackets, vests and even underwear. This film celebrated golden jubilee in many centres across India. It ran for 67 weeks straight in the theatres including a theatre where it was housefull for 96 days.

Synopsis

The film takes place in 19th-century British India and is the story of the fight for independence from the British between 1825 and 1875. The film tells the story of men that lead the struggle against British Rule: Sanga, Bharat known as Kranti, a prince and a freedom fighter. Sanga is an honest and dedicated employee in the kingdom of Ramgarh, owing allegiance and loyalty to no one except Raja Laxman Singh. When Laxman Singh conditionally permits the British to use the port for trading purposes, Sangha finds out that the British are taking out gold and jewellery and bringing in ammunition, and puts a stop to this. He goes to report this outrage to Laxman Singh, only to find him stabbed to death. Sanga is charged with treason and of killing Laxman Singh. Sentenced to death, he escapes and forms a group of revolutionaries who have only one goal - to drive the British out of India. This group multiplies into several armies, all united with one slogan - an Independent India, also known as Kranti.

Soundtrack

The music is scored by Laxmikant Pyarelal and the lyrics are written by Manoj Kumar and Santosh Anand. The music was popular with some hit songs like "Zindagi Ki Na Toote Ladi" and "Chana Jor Garam". Laxmikant Pyarelal used famous singers Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor, Shailender Singh and Nitin Mukesh to sing for the actors.

Additional information

During the making of Kranti in November 1977 at Rajkamal Kalamandir Studios, Bombay, a sudden cloudburst caused a wall to collapse on cinematographer and producer Nariman Irani. He was seriously injured, hospitalized, and died a few days later.

Key details