Dhanraj Tamang

Dhanraj Tamang is a 1978 Indian Bengali-language vigilante action film co-written and directed by Pijush Basu.^[3][4] Produced by Asim Sarkar under the banner of Usha Films, the film is based on a story by Charuchandra Chakraborty. It stars Uttam Kumar in the titular role, alongside Sandha Roy, Utpal Dutt, Anil Chatterjee, Dilip Roy and Chhaya Devi in lead roles.^[5] Plotted in Simtang tea estate, a faithful worker Dhanraj Tamang, who gets prisoned for discovering the predation of local girls including his wife by his boss, escapes from the jail to take revenge and ultimately goes mad.

Dhanraj Tamang
Directed by	Pijush Basu
Screenplay by	Pijush Basu
Dialogues by	Pijush Basu
Story by	Charuchandra Chakraborty
Produced by	Asim Sarkar
Starring	Uttam Kumar Sandhya Roy Utpal Dutt Anil Chatterjee Dilip Roy
Cinematography	Ganesh Ghosh
Edited by	Baidyanath Chatterjee
Music by	Shyamal Mitra[1]
Production company	Usha Films
Distributed by	Chandimata Films Pvt. Ltd.[2]
Release date	29 September 1978 (1978-09-29)
Running time	110 Minutes
Country	India
Language	Bengali

Predominantly shot in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar with a sporadic schedule, the film marks the eleventh collaboration between Basu and Kumar, and also the debut of Prosenjit Chatterjee as the assistant director. Music of the film is composed by Shyamal Mitra, with lyrics penned by Gauriprasanna Mazumder.^[6][7] Ganesh Ghosh handled its cinematography, while Baidyanath Chatterjee edited the film.

Dhanraj Tamang theatrically released on 29 September 1978, coinciding with Durga Puja. Opening to positive reviews, the film was a blockbuster at the box office and after a number of commercially unsuccessful films, it redefined Kumar's stardom with a long run consisting of 210 days in theatres. The song "Ekti Sudhu Naam Dhanraj Tamang", sung by Hemanta Mukherjee, became very popular among the masses, upon its release. At the 16th Filmfare Awards East, it received the Best Actor award for Kumar.

Plot

In a tea estate close to Darjeeling, Dhanraj Tamang is a well-liked and trustworthy worker. He is always willing to assist and encourage locals. He defends women from sexual predators but is unable to save his own wife. His tea estate boss allegedly sexually assaults his wife, leading to the sentencing of the man to prison. Dhanraj comes back to exact revenge.^[8]

Cast

• Uttam Kumar as Dhanraj Tamang, the leader of the workers of Simtang tea estate
• Sandhya Roy as Phoolmaya, Dhanraj's wife
• Utpal Dutt as Mr. Mackengy, the assistant manager of Simtang tea estate
• Anil Chatterjee as Dr. Nibaran Majumder
• Dilip Roy as Moloy Chakraborty, the Deputy Jailer
• Chhaya Devi as Burima
• Tarun Kumar as Ghosh Da, owner of local wine shop
• Shambhu Bhattacharya as Naga, a local goon
• Tarun Mitra as Kishan Thapa

Soundtrack

Dhanraj Tamang
Soundtrack album by Shyamal Mitra
Released	1978
Recorded	1977
Studio	Usha Films
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	17:18
Label	Angel Digital Pvt Ltd
Producer	Ashim Sarkar
Shyamal Mitra chronology
Nishan (1978) Dhanraj Tamang (1978) Priyatama (1980)

Music of the film is composed by Shyamal Mitra, in his third collaboration with Pijush Basu after Jiban Jigyasha (1971) and Rajbangsha (1977). The album contains five songs, all of which are penned by Gauriprasanna Mazumder in his sixth collaboration with Basu after Swarna Shikhar Pranganey (1970), Jiban Jigyasha (1971), Sanyasi Raja (1975), Banhishikha (1976) and Rajbangsha (1977).

Track listing

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Ekti Sudhu Naam Dhanraj Tamang"	Hemanta Mukherjee	2:53
2.	"Dekho Chuti Peye"	Shyamal Mitra	4:01
3.	"Mon Holo Aaj"	Aarti Mukherjee	2:41
4.	"Tipai Tipai"	Aarti Mukherjee	3:44
5.	"Tora To Sobai Chili"	Chhaya Devi, Shakti Thakur	3:59
Total length:			17:18

Award

Filmfare East Awards

• 1979: Filmfare East Awards - Best Actor - Uttam Kumar.

Shelved remake

Superstar M.G Ramachandran, initially wanted to remake it in Tamil starring himself in lead, but got shelved. Later K. Raghavendra Rao showed his interest to remake it in both Hindi and Telugu language starring Amitabh Bachchan and NTR in the titular role respectively, but due to rights issues, it also couldn't come to the board.