Pardes (film)
| Pardes | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Subhash Ghai |
| Produced by | Subhash Ghai |
| Written by |
|
| Starring | |
| Music by | Nadeem-Shravan |
| Cinematography | Kabir Lal |
| Edited by | Renu Saluja |
| Distributed by | Mukta Arts |
Release date |
|
Running time | 191 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹10 crore (US$1.4 million)[1] |
| Box office | ₹41 crore (US$5.7 million)[1] |
Pardes (English: Foreign Land) is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Subhash Ghai. It was released on 8 August 1997.[2] The film stars Shahrukh Khan, Amrish Puri, Alok Nath and newcomers Mahima Chaudhry and Apurva Agnihotri. The film was a commercial, critical and musical hit. Mahima Chaudhry won the Best Newcomer Award for her performance. The film was remade in Telugu as Pelli Kanuka (1998).
Plot
Pardes is a story that discusses the cultural values of the East and West portrayed by Arjun (Shah Rukh Khan) and Ganga (Mahima Chaudhry). Kishorilal (Amrish Puri) is a wealthy businessman living in America visits his old friend Suraj Dev (Alok Nath) in India. During his stay at the conservative traditional Indian household, he gets to know Suraj's eldest daughter Ganga who shares his love for Indian culture.
Ganga's younger siblings are enchanted by the uncle from America because they perceive Western culture and values to be more desirable. They come up with a plan to impress him with an English song. Unimpressed, he sings back a hymn-like song in a more traditional Indian style, "I Love My India." Ganga joins in this song, expressing her equal love for India. The song emphasizes the movie's theme in key moments. After this event, Kishorilal asks Suraj to promise Ganga as a bride for his westernized son, Rajiv (Apoorva Agnihotri). He is convinced that Ganga will be not only a perfect bride, but she will also be able to revive treasured Indian values and make sure it is passed on to his Americanized family.
Kishorilal knows he will have a tough time trying to convince his son to meet Ganga let alone marry her. Back in America, he asks his foster son, Arjun (Shahrukh Khan) to help his plan move along. Arjun has values similar to Kishorilal and Ganga. He spends most of his time working full-time in his uncle's garage and in the spare time he composes music and is being interviewed for composing a new hit song. However, when Kishorilal calls to ask for his help, his loyalty to his uncle is so strong that he cuts the interview short.
Arjun flies to India ahead of Rajiv to set the stage for him to meet Ganga, unintentionally offending Ganga's family with a barrage of orders that includes removing farm animals from around the house and gardens into a nearby farm (to be out of sight) and relocating their servants from residing inside the house to living outdoors. As a result of this Ganga dresses up with horn-rimmed eyeglasses and buck teeth, sending Arjun into a panic about the success of Kishorilal's plans. Later he gets a chance to meet the authentic Ganga, he is entranced.
In an effort to make up for his offensive behaviour Arjun promises to be a trustworthy friend and asks her how he should make amends. Immediately, Ganga requests he return the farm animals and the servants back into the house. She explains to Arjun that in her family, they love all who are a part of it, even animals and servants. This is in direct contrast to Arjun's western view that they are not very important.
When Rajiv arrives, he also acts offensively; sometimes intentionally, and sometimes because he has no idea of what Indians consider rude or inappropriate. Arjun, despite his own attraction to Ganga, smooths the way for Rajiv to bond with Ganga, as per Kishorilal's wishes. In his determination to make Rajiv's marriage happen with Ganga Arjun deceives Ganga about Rajiv's character and habits; he assures her that Rajiv is a "nice guy" he also covers up for Rajiv, telling Ganga the cigarettes she found in Rajiv's room are his own.
Rajiv and Ganga both agree to marry each other thanks to Arjun's efforts. The engagement is set in India, but the families agree that Ganga should visit America before her wedding day. Soon after her engagement, Ganga arrives in the USA but her feelings are hurt as her traditional dress is despised by Rajiv's snarky mother. After a few weeks in the USA, Ganga is home-sick. Her only true friend is Arjun with whom she begins to form a special bond. One day, she is invited to attend a very large and influential gathering arranged by Kishorilal and is also invited to sing. She sings the same "I Love My India" and receives warm, sincere applause.
Gradually Ganga realizes that Rajiv isn't the person Arjun had portrayed him to be when they were in India. Rajiv not only seems eager to leave her at home whenever possible, with little explanation or apology. When he does bring her out with his friends, he smokes, gets drunk and acts like a bully. At one party, he is drinking and flirting with other women while another man begins dancing too closely with Ganga. Rajiv ignores the situation, Arjun loses his temper and fights the man to the ground. Later, Ganga is shocked to discover pictures of Rajiv with his girlfriend that clearly show he has had a sexual relationship with her. She is also astonished to find that Kishorilal's family treats Arjun, a trusted member as a servant.
When Rajiv abandons Ganga for dinner with his girlfriend, Ganga confronts Arjun and demands an explanation. Arjun justifies Rajiv's behaviour, reminding Ganga that Rajiv lives like an American and that she should not make a fuss about such a petty affair. This exchange leads to a key monologue from Ganga. Infuriated that Arjun sees Rajiv's casual, unapologetic unfaithfulness as a "petty affair", she tells him that she needs "Love" – the kind of love he (Arjun) gives others. She further rejects being made into a "decoration" to fit into Kishorilal's palatial mansion. At this point, Arjun realizes that he has fallen in love with Ganga, but because of his immense loyalty to Kishorilal, he continues to encourage her to continue with the engagement and worry about changing Rajiv later.
The next day, it is Arjun's birthday and he is depressed, a thoughtful Ganga senses his frustration and asks Rajiv to accompany her to wish Arjun a "happy birthday". Rajiv refuses, making it clear that he views Arjun as some kind of servant. Hence, Ganga visits the garage without Rajiv, throwing a surprise party to liven up Arjun's spirits. Rajiv's hostile aunt Neeta notices the growing friendship between Ganga and Arjun and warns Kishorilal. He arranges for Arjun to relocate urgently telling him he has been promoted, and must start with attending a board meeting the following morning in another city far away. Kishorilal then plans a short outing vacation for Rajiv to be with Ganga in Las Vegas.
In Las Vegas, Rajiv gets drunk and reveals his contempt for his fellow Indians; he derides Indians as "hypocrites" and "stupid". Ganga heatedly responds that Indians hate America's drug-riddled, amoral alternative and slaps Rajiv. Furious, he tries to rape Ganga; after a violent struggle, she knocks him unconscious and flees.
Rajiv informs Kishorilal who quickly starts looking for the missing Ganga. Arjun finds her crying at a train station with her clothes torn. He tries to persuade her to go back to Kishorilal's home, but she refuses. Arjun promises to protect her and help her get back to her family safely in India. After Arjun and Ganga safely arrive in India, Kishorilal informs Suraj that Arjun eloped with Ganga and Suraj quickly picks up a family sword that hangs on the wall. Arjun seizes that sword and swears to Ganga's faithfulness and chastity. Then Arjun leaves, intending never to return. Meanwhile, Ganga is not allowed to say a word, and is locked inside a horse shed. Ganga's younger siblings and grandmother sneak in and advise her to run away with Arjun. It is now that Ganga realizes that she is in love with Arjun, and with their help, secretly leaves home. By this time, Kishorilal has arrived in India with Rajiv.
Ganga catches up with Arjun at a temple, and demands that he express his love but Arjun is still loyal to Kishorilal and refuses to marry her. Ganga is devastated but before Arjun walks away, Rajiv turns up with several thugs to kill Arjun but Ganga protects Arjun using her body as a shield.
In the ensuing fight, Arjun takes a terrible beating before getting the upper hand. Kishorilal arrives with Suraj just as Arjun is about to kill Rajiv. Kishorilal furiously suggests that Arjun "honorably" kill himself with a conveniently handy gun, and demands Arjun "tell the truth" about how he came to be in India with Rajiv's promised bride. This leads to the second key monologue of the film.
Arjun confronts Kishorilal with "not wanting to know the truth; people who want the truth, don't ask for it with a gun". He accuses Kishorilal of having become a true Westerner after all, since his wealth has eviscerated his compassion and ability to examine the truth when it doesn't match what he wants it to be. Confessing that he does, in truth, love Ganga, he affirms that he never pursued her and has acted honourably, while Rajiv in every way rejected honourable action and lied about how Ganga came to have returned so suddenly to India; not only was Ganga (personification of the most valued aspects of Indian culture), unable to merge with Western culture, Western values (in the person of Rajiv) almost utterly ruined Ganga.
Ganga confirms Rajiv's attempted rape, which shocks everyone, then tells her father she is willing to die by whatever means he chooses; poison, fire, or hunger. This pivotal scene both verbalizes and symbolizes how good, happy, pure Ganga (Indian values), instead of being able to uplift and enrich Rajiv (Western values), has been sacrificed to the unsuccessful attempt to merge India with the West.
Moreover, but realizing he has indeed heard the truth, Kishorilal affirms that Ganga will marry his son. Rejecting Rajiv (and, symbolically, his own Western compromises), he embraces Arjun as his true son, and along with Suraj and his family blesses the upcoming marriage between Arjun and Ganga.
Cast
- Shah Rukh Khan as Arjun Sagar, Kishorilal's foster son who is also a talented singer.
- Mahima Chaudhry as Kusum Ganga, a.k.a.Ganga Rajiv's wife to be who falls in love with Arjun.
- Amrish Puri as Kishorilal a wealthy businessman who lives in America.
- Apurva Agnihotri as Rajiv, Kishorilal's son and Arjun's foster brother.
- Alok Nath as Suraj Dev, Ganga's father
- Padmavathi Rao as Narmada, wife of Suraj Dev
- Dina Pathak as Suraj's mother
- Himani Shivpuri as Kulwanti
- Madhuri Bhatia as Neeta, Rajiv's aunt who despises Ganga.
- Smita Jaykar as Paddy
- Pawan Malhotra as Sharafat Ali
- Prachi Save as Daksha
- Aditya Narayan as Potla (Ganga's little brother)
- Ajay Nagrath as Daboo (Ganga's little brother)
- Samta Sagar as Sonali
- Subhash Ghai as Singer on the boat (special appearance)
- Rakesh Thareja as Paul (Rajiv's friend)
Soundtrack
| Pardes | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Nadeem Shravan | |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Label | Zee Music Company |
| Producer | Srinjoy Bhattacharya |
The soundtrack was composed by the duo Nadeem-Shravan, while the lyrics can be credited to Anand Bakshi. It was released under the label of Tips Music Films. The album was very successful among the audience. The tracks "Do Dil Mil Rahe Hai", "I Love My India", "Meri Mehbooba", "Yeh Dil Dewaana" and "Jahan Piya" was immensely popular with songs being played till date. Music director duo Nadeem-Shravan received a Filmfare nomination for the album and won a Star Screen Award for Best Music Director. Ghai wanted A. R. Rahman to compose the music of this film, but Rahman politely declined the offer since he has busy with mega projects in the South Indian Tamil film industry
Track list
| No | Title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Nahin Hona Tha" | Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Hema Sardesai, Sabri Bros. |
| 2 | "Meri Mehbooba" | Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik |
| 3 | "Yeh Dil Deewana" | Sonu Nigam, Vocals by Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani |
| 4 | "I Love My India" | Kavita Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Aditya Narayan |
| 5 | "My First Day in USA" | Hema Sardesai |
| 6 | "Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain" | Kumar Sanu |
| 7 | "Jahan Piya Wahan Main" | K. S. Chitra |
| 8 | "I Love My India" (Part 2) | Kavita Krishnamurthy |
| 9 | "Title Music" | Sapna Awasthi, Shankar Mahadevan |
Reception
Box office
Pardes grossed ₹34.83 crore (US$4.9 million) in India and $1.7 million (₹6.12 crore) in other countries, for a worldwide total of ₹40.95 crore (US$5.7 million), against its ₹10 crore (US$1.4 million) budget. It had a worldwide opening weekend of ₹3.40 crore (US$470,000), and grossed ₹6.19 crore (US$860,000) in its first week.[1] It is the 4th-highest-grossing film of 1997 worldwide.[3]
India
It opened on Friday, August 8, 1997, across 210 screens, and earned ₹61 lakh (US$85,000) nett on its opening day. It grossed ₹2 crore (US$280,000) nett in its opening weekend, and had a first week of ₹3.64 crore (US$510,000) nett. The film earned a total of ₹22.83 crore (US$3.2 million) nett, and was declared "Super Hit" by Box Office India.[1] It is the 4th-highest-grossing film of 1997 in India.[4]
Overseas
It earned $1.7 million (₹6.12 crore in 1997) outside India.[1] Overseas, it is the 2nd-highest-grossing film of 1997 after Dil To Pagal Hai which grossed $3.3 million (₹12.04 crore in 1997).[5]
| Territory | Territory wise Collections break-up |
|---|---|
| India | Nett Gross: ₹22.83 crore (US$3.2 million) |
| Entertainment tax: ₹12 crore (US$1.7 million) | |
| Total Gross: ₹34.83 crore (US$4.9 million) | |
| International (outside India) |
$1.7 million (₹6.12 crore in 1997) |
| Worldwide | ₹40.95 crore (US$5.7 million) |
Critical reception
Pardes received mixed reviews from critics. Praise was given to the music, however aspects of the script were criticised.[6][7]
India Today cites it as one of the first major Bollywood pictures to succeed in the United States.[8]
In their book, New Cosmopolitanisms: South Asians in the US, Gita Rajan and Shailja Sharma view the film as a dichotomous depiction of the good NRI versus bad NRI, with Khan depicting the good immigrant, who assists the rowdy Indian American playboy Rajiv (Apurva Agnihotri), the bad. Khan's character of Arjun is perceived as a metaphor for cosmopolitanism or Indian cultural nationalism in the wider sense, in direct contrast to Rajiv who represents wealthy Westernization and all its negative vices and connotations.[9]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Pardes". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ↑ "Pardes - Movie - Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
- ↑ "Top Worldwide Grossers 1997". Box Office India. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ↑ "Top India Total Nett Gross 1997". Box Office India. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ↑ "Top Overseas Gross 1997". Box Office India. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ↑ "Planet Bollywood: Film Review: Pardes". planetbollywood.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011.
- ↑ "Pardes". ApunKaChoice. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013.
- ↑ "Pardes (1997)". India Today. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ Sharma & Rajan 2006, p. 126.
- Bibliography
- Sharma, Edited by Gita Rajan and Shailja; Rajan, Gita (2006). New Cosmopolitanisms: South Asians in the US. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-6784-2.