Caravan (1971 film)

The film is an action thriller about a young woman, Sunita (Asha Parekh) and her father Mohandas (Murad), who finds out that his trusted employee, Rajan (Krishen Mehta), has been embezzling money from him. He confronts him and Rajan attacks him, flinging him out of the window of the multi-storied building, but the police think that the death was accidental. This leaves the coast clear for Rajan to wed Mohandas' only daughter, Sunita. Sunita is distraught and ends up married to this "wrong" man, Rajan. Shortly after the wedding, Sunita finds out the truth. She thinks that Rajan has conspired with his girlfriend Monica (Helen) to murder her. So she runs away to find her father's old friend in Bangalore, who may be able to help. On the way, she experiences an accident and ends up with a band of performing gypsies. She meets caravan van-driver Mohan (Jeetendra) and she is attracted towards him. Sunita does not know that she has put herself in danger again - this time at the hands of knife-thrower, Nisha (Aruna Irani), who loves Mohan, and will kill anyone who gets in her way. To make matters worse, Rajan has not given up his search for Sunita.

• Jeetendra as Mohan
• Asha Parekh as Sunita / Soni
• Aruna Irani as Nisha
• Mehmood Jr. as Monto
• Helen as Monica
• Krishen Mehta as Rajan
• Ravindra Kapoor as Johny
• Madan Puri as Mithalal Tota
• Sanjana as Tara
• Manorama as Mrs. Tota
• Anwar Ali as Bhola
• Murad as Mohandas
• Dulari as Mohan's mom
• Shivraj as Karamchand

The film was largely a Khan–Hussain family production, directed by Nasir Hussain (father of future filmmaker Mansoor Khan) and produced by his brother Tahir Hussain (father of future superstar Aamir Khan), under the Nasir Hussain Films banner.

The film's plot was loosely inspired by the 1953 film Girl on the Run, a little-known crime drama set against the backdrop of a carnival burlesque show, which was changed to a gypsy show.[1]

The soundtrack of the film is one of the hit compositions by R. D. Burman. The lyrics of the songs are provided by the veteran poet Majrooh Sultanpuri.

Caravan was declared a "Super Hit" domestically according to Box Office India.[2] The film grossed ₹36 million[3] ($4.81 million)[4] in India. It was the sixth highest-grossing film of 1971 at the domestic Indian box office.[3] Adjusted for inflation, the film's domestic box office gross is equivalent to $30 million (₹1.95 billion).

Overseas, Caravan released in China in 1979 and became a blockbuster there, surpassing Raj Kapoor's Awaara (1951). Caravan become the highest-grossing foreign film ever in China up until then, with 88 million box office admissions in its initial run. It reportedly sold a total of nearly 300 million tickets including re-runs, greater than any foreign film released in China since then.[5][6] At an average ticket price of CN¥0.2,[7] the film grossed an estimated CN¥60 million, equivalent to $39 million[8] (₹317 million).[9] Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to $137 million (₹8.9 billion).

In total, the film grossed an estimated ₹353 million ($44 million) in Asia, equivalent to ₹10.85 billion ($167 million) adjusted for inflation.

In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated 19 million tickets in India,[3][10] and nearly 300 million tickets in China,[6] for an estimated total of nearly 319 million tickets sold in Asia.

Along with Awaara and Noorie (1979), Caravan left a strong impression on Chinese audiences in the 1980s. It took decades before Tahir Hussain's son Aamir Khan later had a similar impact in China,[11][12] with films such as Lagaan (2001),[13] 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014), and Dangal (2016).[11][12][14] During his visit to China, Aamir Khan said his father's film Caravan is still fondly remembered there.[14]

• Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Asha Bhosle for "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja"

• List of highest-grossing Indian films in overseas markets

• Caravan on IMDb