Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

About the film

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (transl. Conqueror of Destiny) is a 1978 Indian action crime drama film produced and directed by Prakash Mehra, and written by Kader Khan, Vijay Kaul and Laxmikant Sharma. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, in his fifth of nine films with Prakash Mehra, along with Vinod Khanna, Raakhee, Rekha, Ranjeet, and Amjad Khan in pivotal roles, while Nirupa Roy, and Kader Khan gave special appearances. The film tells of the story of Sikandar (played by Amitabh Bachchan), an orphan raised in the slums of Bombay. The film's plot is loosely inspired by the Bengali novel Devdas (1917). and the French play Cyrano de Bergerac.

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1978, and the biggest Diwali blockbuster of all time. It was also the third highest-grossing Indian film of the decade, after Sholay and Bobby. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was also an overseas blockbuster in the Soviet Union.

Plot

The story revolves around a nameless, young orphan boy who finds employment in the house of a wealthy man, Ramnath (Shriram Lagoo). Unfortunately, Ramnath harbors an intense dislike for the boy due to a tragic incident involving another orphan who had killed Ramnath's wife. Despite this, Ramnath's young daughter Kaamna empathizes with the boy, and they develop a strong bond of friendship.

Later on, the boy is adopted by a Muslim woman named Fatima, (Nirupa Roy), who also works for Ramnath. She renames him Sikandar, meaning "Conqueror," and takes on the responsibility of raising him as her own son. However, things take a turn for the worse when Sikandar is accused of trying to rob Ramnath's house while attempting to deliver a birthday gift to Kaamna. Ramnath promptly banishes Sikandar and his mother from his home.

Unfortunately, tragedy strikes again when Fatima dies, leaving the young Sikandar to look after her daughter, Mehroo. In the midst of his grief and despair, Sikandar seeks guidance from a fakir named Darvesh Baba, (Kader Khan). The wise Darvesh Baba advises Sikandar to find happiness in sadness and embrace the challenges of life. By doing so, he will become the conqueror of fate.

Soundtrack

The Soundtrack was composed by the duo of the brothers Kalyanji–Anandji, with the lyrics by Anjaan and Prakash Mehra (Salaam-e-Ishq).

Vocals were supplied by Kishore Kumar for Amitabh Bachchan, with Mohammed Rafi and Mahendra Kapoor for Vinod Khanna. Rafi's voice was used for the sad version of the title track.

Rafi wanted Kumar to sing the sad version, but agreed to sing it himself upon music directors Kalyanji–Anandji's insistence.

Box office

Produced on a budget of ₹10 million, the film grossed ₹170 million in India. It was the highest-grossing film of the year, as well as the third highest-grossing film of the decade, after Sholay (1975) and Bobby (1973). The film was a blockbuster, according to Box Office India. The film was such a huge hit, that people used to stand in queues, waiting endlessly, to buy the film's tickets. Sometimes the crowds slept in front of the cinema halls overnight in their wait for the tickets. Its Indian gross is equivalent to $20.76 million in 1978. Adjusted for inflation, its Indian gross is equivalent to ₹5.5 billion ($74.22 million) in 2017.

It was also an overseas blockbuster in the Soviet Union, where the film grossed 6.3 million rubles (25.2 million ticket sales, at average 25 kopecks ticket price), which was $7.96 million (₹98.9 million) in 1984. Adjusted for inflation, its overseas gross is equivalent to $25 million (₹1.407 billion) in 2017.

Worldwide, the film grossed ₹269 million ($31.75 million). Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to $157 million (₹8.84 billion) in 2017.

Key details