Zanjeer
Encyclopedia
Zanjeer also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: ज़ंजीर, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: زنجیر, translated as "Shackles"), is a 1973 Hindi film directed and produced by Prakash Mehra
Prakash Mehra
-Career:Born on 13 July 1939 at Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India, Mehra started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi. This was followed by the 1971 hit Mela starring the Khan brothers together. In 1973, he...
; starring Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
, Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan, and is the mother of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan...
, Pran, Ajit and Bindu
Bindu (actress)
Bindu is an actress in Indian cinema who was most popular, receiving several award nominations, in the 1970s. She has acted in over 160 movies in a career that spanned four decades.-Early life:...
. The movie changed the trend from romantic films to action films and pioneered Amitabh's new image of a brooding but explosive person who fights back when cornered. He was now known as "The Angry Young Man." The film became a "blockbuster" at box-office. It collected over Rs. 5 crores (Rs. 50 million) at the box office.
Plot summary
The film opens on DiwaliDiwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
with the death of young Vijay Khanna's parents, done by a man of unknown identity with a white horse on his charm bracelet, "zanjeer". Because of this traumatic event, Vijay has recurring nightmares of a white stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
. Fast forward 20 years, and Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
) is now an inspector, an honest police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
in a town where few are just. He receives complaints about a local Indian Muslim man, Sher Khan (Pran), who is running gambling dens. When he calls Khan in for questioning, Khan's superiority complex chafes against Khanna's police authority, as he scolds the officer, telling him he only orders him around due to the uniform he wears. Vijay takes him up on his challenge, and meets him in street clothes to fight him. At fight's end, Sher Khan not only closes his gambling dens, but has gained respect for Vijay. He becomes an auto mechanic
Auto mechanic
An auto mechanic is a mechanic with a variety of car makes or either in a specific area or in a specific make of car. In repairing cars, their main role is to diagnose the problem accurately and quickly...
, and reforms his ways.
Various dealings of the underworld continue unabated throughout the town, all tracing back to gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
leader Teja (Ajit
Ajit
Ajit, variously spelled Ajith, Agith, Ajay, Aje or Ajeet is a common male name derived from Sanskrit. The name used in various forms in India nationwide, and in parts of Sri Lanka where Tamil people are concentrated. The name means invincible or, literally, he who has not been conquered, from the...
). A mysterious caller continually phones Inspector Khanna to inform him exactly when a crime is about to take place, but hangs up before Khanna can extract any more information out of him. When a traffic accident perpetrated by gang members leaves several children dead, a witness, a street performer named Mala (Jaya Bhaduri), is bribed by Teja's men to keep quiet. When she is questioned by Vijay, he becomes enraged at her denying she knows anything, and, to sway her differently, takes her into the morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
to view the mangled bodies of the children. She has a change of heart, and comes clean, asking that the bribe be donated to an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
. She identifies the man behind the traffic accident.
Once it is known that Mala has broken her word, Teja's men come after her. She is chased through the night, narrowly escaping across the train tracks, and coming to Inspector Khanna's house, desperate for shelter. He lets her in, allows her to stay, and the two discover that they are both orphans, and discuss the fears associated with living alone. Khanna kindly takes her to his brother and sister-in-law, and, under the sister-in-law's tutelage, Mala begins to learn how to keep house, as well as English, and other refineries.
Eventually, Vijay is framed for bribery, stripped of his title and position as inspector, and jailed for 6 months on false charges, trapped by Teja. When he is released from jail, he plans to take revenge. Mala, by this time, has developed from a frightened stranger seeking his help to a romantic interest for him. She begs him, to seal their relationship, that he must stop being so vengeful. He agrees, but soon must come to terms with such a promise when he meets, in a Christian cemetery, the informant who had called him in the past when he was an inspector. The man, De Silva (Om Prakash
Om Prakash
Om Prakash was an Indian character actor. He was born in Jammu as Om Prakash Chibber. He used to play the role of Kamla in the stage play by the famous Dewan Mandir Natak Samaj Koliwada. Starting his career in 1942, he was a popular supporting actor from the 1950s until the 1980s. He was one of...
), a Mangalorean Catholic, appears half-insane, holding onto an empty bottle. He says that on Christmas several years before, his three sons drank poisoned moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
, and died from it. Until the killer is found, he will continue to wander with the bottle. When local criminals mocked him and called him crazy, he vowed to get back at them as he could: by phoning the inspector when a crime was about to happen.
After hearing this news, Vijay becomes depressed, torn between his desire to help the grieving De Silva, and his need to keep his promise to Mala that he would not take any more revenge on the lowlifes of the town. Eventually, along with a concerted effort by Sher Khan to cheer up Vijay, Mala relents, vowing she will not try to control him, and says he must do what is right.
The trail of tainted moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
leads back to Teja and his men. Upon finally cornering the crook on Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
, fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
bursting overhead, Vijay also finds out that the person who murdered his parents, 20 years before, on the same night, is Teja, recognisable by the zanjeer on his wrist. Sher Khan helps him to fight Teja and his men, and take justice into their own hands, until the police arrive. When the hapless police inspector is held at gunpoint by Teja, Vijay manages to drop to retrieve a pistol from the ground, and shoots him dead, his body falling into the swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
.
Cast
| Actor/Actress | Character/Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades... |
Insp. Vijay Khanna | |
| Jaya Bhaduri | Mala | |
| Pran | Sher Khan | |
| Om Prakash Om Prakash Om Prakash was an Indian character actor. He was born in Jammu as Om Prakash Chibber. He used to play the role of Kamla in the stage play by the famous Dewan Mandir Natak Samaj Koliwada. Starting his career in 1942, he was a popular supporting actor from the 1950s until the 1980s. He was one of... |
De Silva | |
| Ajit | Seth Dharam Dayal Teja | |
| Bindu Bindu (actress) Bindu is an actress in Indian cinema who was most popular, receiving several award nominations, in the 1970s. She has acted in over 160 movies in a career that spanned four decades.-Early life:... |
Mona | |
| Iftekhar Iftekhar Iftekhar was a character actor in Bollywood films, especially known for his roles as police officers in several films.-Career:... |
Police Commissioner Singh | as Iftikhar |
| Keshto Mukherjee Keshto Mukherjee Keshto Mukherjee was an Indian actor. He specialised in comic drunkard roles in the Hindi films. Though he was famous for his drunkard typecast role in Hindi films, he used to share a very good relation with the iconic Ritwik Ghatak and had very tiny but important roles in the maestro's films... |
Gangu | as Kesto Mukherji |
| Randhir | Lala Ashok | Sherkhan's friend - Usurer |
| M. Rajan | Ranjeet | Vijay's father |
| Purnima | Sumitra | Vijay's mother |
| Nandita Thakur | Shanti Bhabhi | |
| Satyendra Kapoor | Police Inspector | as Satyen Kappoo |
| Ashalata Wabgaonkar | Police Inspector's wife | Vijay's stepmother (as Asha Lata) |
| Yunus Parvez Yunus Parvez Yunus Parvez was a Bollywood character actor who played supporting roles in over 200 films from the late 1960s to the 2000s. He appeared in the 1996 film Chhote Sarkar.He died on 11 February 2007 at the age of 75... |
Constable | |
| Ram P. Sethi | Constable | |
| Gulshan Bawra | Street Singer | Song Deewane Hain |
| Sanjana | Street Dancer | Song Deewane Hain |
| Amrit Pal | Man offered 'Sher Khan' money to kill |
as Amrit Paul |
| Bhushan Tiwari | Smuggler, Teja's man | as Bhooshan Tiwari |
| Javed Khan Javed Khan Javed Khan is an Indian actor who has acted in minor roles in more than 150 films.He is best known for his role in movie Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, Andaz Apna Apna as Anand Akela, and TV series Mirza Ghalib & Nukkad.-Films:... |
Smuggler, Teja's man | as Khan |
| Ranvir Raj | Smuggler, Teja's man | as Ranbir |
| Krishan Dhawan | Smuggler, Teja's man | as Dhawan |
| Mac Mohan Mac Mohan Mohan Makijany , popularly known as Mac Mohan, was a well-known Indian character actor in Hindi language films... |
Man caught in Teja's liquor warehouse |
as Mack Mohan |
| D. K. Sapru | Patil | as Sapru |
| Ram Mohan Ram Mohan Ram Mohan is a veteran in the Indian animation industry, who started his career at the Cartoon Films Unit, Films Division, Government of India in 1956... |
Kabir | |
| Goga Kapoor Goga Kapoor Ravinder Kapoor , popularly known as Goga Kapoor, was an Indian film actor, who appeared mostly in Bollywood films. He had played supporting roles of that of villain's henchmen or that of gangster. He is mostly remembered as Kamsa in the TV serial Mahabharat, Dinkar Rao in the film Agneepath and... |
Goga | as Goga |
Crew
- Director: Prakash MehraPrakash Mehra-Career:Born on 13 July 1939 at Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India, Mehra started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi. This was followed by the 1971 hit Mela starring the Khan brothers together. In 1973, he...
- Writer: Salim-JavedSalim-JavedSalim-Javed were a scriptwriter duo who wrote a number of commercially and critically successful Hindi films in the 1970s and early 1980s. The duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, made the writer's role popular with their names appearing in the posters of the films, and in some films they...
- Producer: Prakash MehraPrakash Mehra-Career:Born on 13 July 1939 at Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India, Mehra started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi. This was followed by the 1971 hit Mela starring the Khan brothers together. In 1973, he...
, Babboo Mehra - Production Company: Prakash Mehra Productions
- Editor: R. Mahadik
- Art Director: J. J. Bhende
- Cinematographer: N. SatyenN. SatyenN. Satyen was an accomplished cinematographer in Bollywood. He had a career spanning over 50 years. He was born and brought up in Mysore, Karnataka, and moved to Mumbai in the 1960s.-Filmography:Zulmi Mohabbat Ke Dushman...
- Stunts: Ravi Khanna, Virendra Kumar
- Costume and Wardrobe: Vasant Mahajan, Shankar Jadhav
- Choreographer: Satyanarayan
- Music Director: Kalyanji AnandjiKalyanji AnandjiKalyanji Anandji is a name used by Indian composer duo known for its work on Hindi film soundtracks, particularly action potboilers in the 1970s. The name comes from first names of the two Gujarati brothers that formed the duo, Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah...
- Lyricist: Gulshan Bawra
- Playback Singers: Asha BhosleAsha BhosleAsha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
, Manna DeyManna DeyPrabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...
, Lata MangeshkarLata MangeshkarLata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
, Mohammad Rafi
Soundtrack
| Song Title | Singers | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bana Ke Kyon Bigada Re | Lata Mangeshkar | 3:25 | |
| Chakku Chhuriyan Tej Kara Lo | Asha Bhosle | 3:45 | |
| Deewane Hai Deewanon Ko | Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar |
4:35 | Popular song |
| Dil Jalon Ka Dil Jala Ke | Asha Bhosle | 3:55 | |
| Yari Hai Imaan Mera | Manna Dey | 6:20 | Evergreen hit |
Awards and nominations
- Filmfare Best Story AwardFilmfare Best Story AwardThe Filmfare Award for Best Story is an given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a writer who wrote a film's story.-1950s:* 1955 Mukhram Sharma - Aulad...
- SalimSalim KhanSalim Khan is an Indian Scriptwriter and Actor. He wrote numerous screenplays for Bollywood films. He frequently collaborated with writer Javed Akhtar; the duo is credited as Salim-Javed.-Personal life:...
-JavedJaved AkhtarJaved Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed... - Filmfare Best Screenplay AwardFilmfare Best Screenplay AwardThe Filmfare Best Screenplay Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.-Superlatives:Most AwardsSalim-Javed - 3Basu Chatterjee - 2Mani Ratnam - 2Vijay Tendulkar - 2Rajkumar Hirani - 2...
- Salim-Javed - Filmfare Best Lyricist AwardFilmfare Best Lyricist AwardThe Filmfare Lyricist Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The awards were first given in 1953, however the Award for the best lyricist was first given in 1958.-Superlatives:...
- Gulshan Bawra for the song "Yari Hai Imaan Mera" - Filmfare Best Editing AwardFilmfare Best Editing AwardThe Filmfare Best Editing Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.-List:-External links:* *...
- R. Mahadik - FilmfareFilmfare AwardsThe Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
Nomination for Best Film - Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor - Amitabh BachchanAmitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
- Filmfare Nomination for Best Supporting Actor - Pran
- Filmfare Nomination for Best Music - Kalyanji AnandjiKalyanji AnandjiKalyanji Anandji is a name used by Indian composer duo known for its work on Hindi film soundtracks, particularly action potboilers in the 1970s. The name comes from first names of the two Gujarati brothers that formed the duo, Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah...
- Filmfare Nomination for Best Male Playback Singer - Manna DeyManna DeyPrabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...
for the song "Yari Hai Imaan Mera"