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Sooryavansham
1999 film by E. V. V. Satyanarayana From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sooryavansham (pronounced [suːrjaːʋaːŋʃm], transl. Solar dynasty) is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana. It stars Amitabh Bachchan in dual roles, with Soundarya (in her only Hindi film), Jayasudha, Rachna Banerjee, Anupam Kher and Kader Khan. The film is a remake of the 1997 Tamil-language film Surya Vamsam, and revolves around a traditional father and his illiterate yet obedient son, following their tense relationship and shows how the strict patriarchy causes a drift between them.
Made on a budget of ₹7 crore (US$943,000), principal photography took place in and around various locations in India such as Hyderabad, Gujarat and Rajasthan, as well as Sri Lanka. S. Gopal Reddy acted as the cinematographer, while Gautham Raju edited the film. Koti composed the film score while Anu Malik composed the film's songs, with lyrics penned by Sameer.
The film was opened to positive reviews towards the performance of Bachchan but ended up being a box-office bomb, grossing only ₹12.65 crore (US$1.5 million). However, over the years, it has gathered cult following[2] among the Indian diaspora, and has been telecasted frequently on the television channel Sony Max.[2][3]
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Plot
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The Sooryavansham family head, Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh, is the respected sarpanch of the village of Bharatpur. He has rendered yeoman service not only to the people of Bharatpur but also to those of eighteen neighboring villages. He lives in a mansion with his wife Sharda and his three sons—Karan, Varun, and Heera. Heera, the youngest, is illiterate and therefore treated like a servant. Disliked by Bhanupratap, he is excluded from family matters and confined to menial tasks. Despite this treatment, Heera loves his father unconditionally and finds affection only from his mother and his friend Dharmendra (Mindra), a servant in the household.
Days before the wedding of Bhanupratap's daughter, the groom arrives with his sister Radha. Mistaking Heera for a servant, Radha makes him run errands. On the wedding day, she is shocked to learn from her father that Heera is Bhanupratap’s son. Curious, she asks Mindra to tell her about Heera’s past.
As a child, Heera consistently failed in school but continued attending to see Gauri, a girl adopted by Bhanupratap after her parents’ death. When a teacher beat Gauri, Heera quit studies altogether. Believing that Heera’s presence would hinder Gauri’s education, Bhanupratap sent her to a boarding school. When they grew up, Bhanupratap arranged their marriage. However, Gauri, unwilling to marry an illiterate man, attempted suicide. Heera saved her but accepted the blame, claiming he had refused the marriage. Bhanupratap misunderstood, thinking Heera harbored lust for Gauri, and his hatred for his son deepened. Gauri later married a wealthy man. Moved by Heera’s story, Radha proposed marriage to him, and he accepted.
Meanwhile, Deshraj Thakur, another zamindar in Bharatpur, plotted to ruin Bhanupratap’s family by marrying Radha to his son Arjun. This would force Radha’s lawyer father to act in Deshraj’s favor. Radha’s mother approved the alliance and pressured Bhanupratap to separate Radha from Heera. Bhanupratap gave Heera an ultimatum: either marry Radha or regain his father’s respect. Encouraged by Mindra, Heera chose Radha. On the wedding day, he eloped with her, angering Bhanupratap, who disowned him.
Heera and Radha settled in Mindra’s house on the village outskirts. Heera worked as a labourer in a transport company before starting his own transport business with money borrowed from Radha’s uncle, Ranjeet. He named the company after his father. In time, Heera became wealthy and respected, while Radha cleared the UPSC examination and became an IAS officer. The couple had a son, named after Heera’s father, and nicknamed Sonu. Bhanupratap, however, continued to hate Heera despite his rise in status.
Heera later fulfilled his father’s dream of establishing a hospital for the poor. At the inauguration, he publicly credited his success to Bhanupratap, believing his father had expelled him so he could learn self-reliance. Bhanupratap, secretly present at the ceremony, overheard this.
While reconsidering his actions, Bhanupratap met his grandson Sonu outside school and began secretly spending time with him. Learning of this, Heera asked Sonu to give some kheer to his “friend” the next time they met. Meanwhile, Sharda pleaded with Bhanupratap to reconcile with Heera. Bhanupratap, tormented by guilt, phoned his son but collapsed after coughing blood. He was hospitalized, and Deshraj accused Heera of poisoning the kheer to kill his father.
As Deshraj’s men assaulted Heera, Bhanupratap recovered and came to his son’s rescue. He revealed that the kheer had been poisoned by Deshraj himself. Father and son fought together against Deshraj’s men until Deshraj confessed his crime. Finally, the family reunited, and Bhanupratap embraced Heera in front of all their relatives.
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Cast
- Amitabh Bachchan in a (dual role) as:
- Thakur Bhanu Pratap
- Heera Thakur, Bhanu's son
- Jayasudha as Sharda Thakur, Bhanu’s wife (voice dubbed by Rekha)[4]
- Soundarya as Radha Thakur IAS, Heera’s wife (voice dubbed by Rekha)
- Rachana Banerjee as Gauri Singh, Heera’s childhood friend
- Anupam Kher as Dharmendra “Mindra” Tripathi
- Kader Khan as Rtd. Major Ranjeet Singh
- Shivaji Satam as Advocate Ramesh, Radha's father
- Bindu as Mona Lawyer, Radha's mother
- Mukesh Rishi as Deshraj “Kevada” Thakur
- Imran Khan as Arjun Thakur, Kevada’s son
- Rajesh Khattar as Varun Thakur, Bhanu’s younger son
- Neelima Azeem as Mrs. Varun Thakur
- Ahuti Prasad as Karan Thakur, Bhanu’s elder son
- Delhi Rajeshwari
- Brahmanandam as Dr. P. K. Mare
- Ananda Vardhan as Sonu (Jr. Thakur Bhanupratap Singh), Heera & Radha’s son (voice dubbed by Prachi Save Saathi)
- Chalapathi Rao as Police Commissioner
- Gangadhar Pandey as Card's playing
- M. Shailaja as Kamli
- Naushaad Abbas
- Raja Ravindra as Gauri's husband
- Ramya Sri as a servant
- AVS as a beggar
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Production
Before working in Hindi language films, Soundarya had acted in a total of 65 South Indian films. Her brother Amarnath, who managed her career, stated that she always performed decorous roles and same would be the case in Bollywood.[5] Soundarya said that she was excited when a role in the film was offered to her and to have got an opportunity to co-star with Amitabh Bachchan. Having studied Sanskrit, the actress added, she was quite comfortable with Hindi, and could read and write it. She also asked the viewers to be optimistic about the film, although the actress was a bit dubious about her role.[6]
Film's mahurat ceremony was attended by a number of celebrities from the Telugu cinema, including Nagarjuna and Venkatesh Daggubati.[7] Rekha lent her voice for actresses Jayasudha and Soundarya.[8]
Soundtrack
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The film score was composed by Koti while the songs were composed by Anu Malik. The tunes of all the songs of the film are different from those of their Tamil counterparts, except one- "Dil Mere Tu Deewana Hai".[citation needed] The songs were written by Sameer. The voices are of Kumar Sanu, Sonu Nigam, Chithra, Jaspinder Narula, Amitabh Bachchan (in the song "Chori Se Chori Se"), and Anuradha Paudwal. The song "Dil Mere Tu Deewana Hai" is portrayed in different tones – once in happy note and twice with forlorn touch. All the songs aptly relate the story through various phases.
Sooryavansham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
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Reception
Box office
In India, the film had box office collections of ₹6.67 crore nett and ₹11.42 crore gross. Overseas, the film collected $285,000, including £53,000 in the United Kingdom. Worldwide, the film grossed ₹12.65 crore.[1]
References
External links
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