Kanyadaan (1968 film)

Kanyadaan
Kanyadaan
Directed by	Mohan Segal
Written by	R.A Baqueri
Produced by	Rajendra Bhatia
Starring	Shashi Kapoor; Asha Parekh; Om Prakash; Dilip Raj; Padma Rani;
Cinematography	K. H. Kapadia
Edited by	Pratap Dave
Music by	Shankar Jaikishan
Production; company	Kiron Productions
Release date	1968
Running time	149 min
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	₹3.2 crore (equivalent to ₹165 crore or US$21 million in 2023)

Kanyadaan (transl. Giving Away the Bride) is a 1968 Hindi social romantic drama film directed by Mohan Sehgal.^[2] The film was produced by Rajendra Bhatia for Kiron Productions. The story and screenplay was written by R.A Baqueri with dialogue by Sarshar Sailani and director of photography was K. H. Kapadia.^[3] The music direction was by Shankar Jaikishan and lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri and Gopaldas Neeraj.^[4] The film stars Shashi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Om Prakash, Achala Sachdev, Dilip Raj, Sayeeda Khan and Padma Rani.^[5]

The plot revolved around the social issue of child marriage.^[6] Rekha and Amar are married off as children, they grow up to fall in love with different people and are ultimately not accepting the marriage performed in childhood.

Plot

The film starts with a hockey match between the girls' team Bulbuls, and the boys' team Heroes. The girls win by 2 goals to one. Amar (Dileep Raj) from the boys' team and Lata (Sayeeda Khan) from the Bulbul team are attracted to each other. Amar Kumar (Shashi Kapoor) is a poet, and friends with Amar. People often get confused with their names as their names are the same. When Kumar finds out about his friend's love, he takes the initiative to get them married and also promises Lata's father that he would take care of her as she has no in-laws to do so. Kumar, on the way to a town on business has a car breakdown and meets Rekha (Asha Parekh), a village girl. She invites him to stay at their house as he has no other place to go and Kumar accepts it. Both Rekha and Kumar are attracted to each other.

When he starts back, he deliberately stops at her village. Convinced about Rekha's feelings for him, he approaches her mother to ask her hand in marriage. But when Rekha's mother (Achala Sachdev) reveals that Rekha was already married to a guy named Amar in her childhood and even Rekha was oblivious to that till now, he gets shocked. She gives him a photo of the wedding and asks him to help her to find Amar, as she couldn't find out where he lives now. Kumar quietly leaves. Rekha, being a girl who respects traditions to the core, accepts her fate and tries to forget Kumar. But When Kumar returns later with a childhood photo of himself along with his parents and his driving licence stating that his full name is Amar Kumar, she feels very happy and leaves with him as his wife.

However, Kumar later reveals the truth that the original Amar is already married to Lata and she shouldn't disturb their peaceful marital life. He tells her that he loves her very much and asks her to accept the truth and marry him. But Rekha, sad and enraged leaves his house to kill herself, almost getting mowed down by the other Amar's car. Amar and Lata on being told that she has no one and nowhere to go, thinking that her husband may have thrown her out of his house, offer her shelter. When Rekha realizes that this is real Amar and that he is happily married, doesn't reveal the truth. Kumar feels sad and depressed and turns to drinking. Meanwhile, tensions start to build in Amar's house due to the over familiarity of the innocent Rekha in household matters. Later, when Lata finds out about her husband's child- marriage and is furious. Rekha leaves the house with the intention to end her life. But her mother who has come to know of her circumstances and has arrived from the village convinces Rekha that the marriage that has happened in their childhood, without their consent was not a marriage at all, and a real kanyadan (giving away bride in marriage by her parents or guardians) should happen when parents give away their adult daughter with her consent. Rekha at last accepts Kumar as a husband.

Cast

Shashi Kapoor as Amar Kumar
Asha Parekh as Rekha
Om Prakash as Bansi
Dilip Raj as Amar
Sayeeda Khan as Lata
Achala Sachdev as Rekha's mother
Madhumati
Sabita Chatterjee
Laxmi Chhaya
Padma Rani as Rekha's friend Gulabi Padma Rani
Tun Tun as Bansi's mother-in-law
Nazir Kashmiri
Indira Bansal
Chandrashekhar

Box-office

The film was a box office success,^[7] doing a business of ₹3.2 crore, making it the fourth highest earner of 1968.^[8]

Music

Track list

#	Song	Singer	Lyrics
1	"Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe"	Mohammed Rafi	Gopaldas Neeraj
2	"Mil Gaye Mil Gaye Aaj Mere Sanam"	Lata Mangeshkar
3	"Sunday Ko Pyar Hua, Monday Ko Ikrar Hua"	Asha Bhosle, Mahendra Kapoor
4	"Parai Hu Parai Meri Aarzu Na Kar"	Lata Mangeshkar
5	"Phoolo Ki Mahak Lehro Ki Lachak"	Mahendra Kapoor
6	"Tum Nahi Bhulte Jahan Jayoon"	Mohammed Rafi
7	"Meri Zindagi Mein Aate"	Mohammed Rafi

The film's music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan, with lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri and Neeraj. The singers providing playback were Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor.^[9] The film turned out to be a success with Shankar Jaikishan's music and songs like "Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe" and "Meri Zindagi Mein Aate".^[10]

References

^ "Kanyadaan - Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget, Reviews, Cast, etc".
^ Gulazāra; Govind Nihalani; Saibal Chatterjee (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. pp. 669–. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
^ "Kanyadaan". Gomolo.com. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
^ "Kanyadaan 1968". Lyricsbogie. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
^ "Kanyadaan 1968". Alan Goble. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
^ Bhawana Sommya / Jigna Kothari / Supriya Madangarli (9 January 2013). MOTHER MAIDEN MISTRESS. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 1967–. ISBN 978-93-5029-485-7. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
^ "Worth Their Weight in Gold! - Box Office India : India's premier film trade magazine". Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
^ "Top Grossers of 1960s". Bollyindiaboxoffice. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
^ "Kanyadan". Hindi Geetmala. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
^ "Rafi harmonic for charming Shashi Kapoor". Mohdrafi.com. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2014.