Ram Teri Ganga Maili

Ram Teri Ganga Maili
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Raj Kapoor
Produced by Raj Kapoor
Written by Raj Kapoor
V. P. Sathe
K. K. Singh
Jyoti Swaroop
Starring Rajiv Kapoor
Mandakini
Divya Rana
Saeed Jaffrey
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Yash Pandit
Music by Ravindra Jain
Cinematography Radhu Karmakar
Edited by Raj Kapoor
Distributed by Yash Raj films
Release date
 August 16, 1985
Running time
 178 minutes
Country India
Language Hindi

Ram Teri Ganga Maili (literal translation: Ram, Your Ganga's Become Impure) is a 1985 Bollywood film directed by actor-director Raj Kapoor. The movie stars Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor, son of Raj Kapoor. It was Raj Kapoor's last film. The film was the highest grossing Hindi film of 1985. The 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 was in a "U" age rating (Universal), which was later amended to U/A.

Plot

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 is able to, she starts her journey to Alipor, 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 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 will be asked to dance at his wedding reception.

Cast

Cultural allusions

According to Philip Lutgendorf,[1] 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 Kappor'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.[2] 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

The film won five Filmfare Awards.

Songs

Audio: HMV, Music and Lyrics: Ravindra Jain, except 5 and 9

  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" – 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

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ "Filmfare Awards" (PDF). p. 71. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "Best Editor Award". Official Listings, Indiatimes. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
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