Ram Aur Shyam

Ram Aur Shyam (English: Ram And Shyam) is a 1967 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Tapi Chanakya. The film is a remake of Chanakya's 1964 Telugu film Ramudu Bheemudu. It stars Dilip Kumar in a double role as twin brothers, alongside Waheeda Rehman, Mumtaz, Nirupa Roy, Pran. The music was composed by Naushad, with lyrics written by Shakeel Badayuni.

Not to be confused with Ram Aur Shyam (1996 film).

Ram Aur Shyam
Ram Aur Shyam poster
Directed byTapi Chanakya
Written byKaushal Bharati
D.V. Narasaraju
Story byD. V. Narasa Raju
Based onRamudu Bheemudu (Telugu) by D. V. Narasa Raju
Produced byChakrapani
B. Nagi Reddy
StarringDilip Kumar
Waheeda Rehman
Mumtaz
CinematographyMarcus Bartley
Edited byC. P. Jambulingam
Music byNaushad (composer)
Shakeel Badayuni (lyrics)
Production
company
Distributed byVijaya Productions
Release date
20 October 1967 (1967-10-20)
Running time
171 min.
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box officeest. ₹104.3 million ($13.8 million)

Ram Aur Shyam was the second highest-grossing Indian film of 1967, domestically in India and overseas. It was listed at number 15 in "Top 50 Film of Last 50 years" list compiled by Box Office India magazine in 2011 which featured all-time highest-grossing Bollywood films by using gold-price inflation.[1] The film received 3 nominations at the 15th Filmfare Awards, including Best Actress for Waheeda Rehman and Best Supporting Actress for Mumtaz and won Best Actor for Dilip Kumar.

Plot

Ram lives with his sister Sulakshana and niece Kuku in his family estate. His brother-in-law Gajendra is a ghar jamai who looks after his factories and controls his property with an iron grip. Ram is shy and cowardly in nature and so he is always abused and brutally beaten by Gajendra. Sulakshana and Kuku try to protect Ram from Gajendra whenever he whips Ram. Everybody decides to get Ram married for his well being.

Gajendra finds a rich girl Anjana with the aim of getting a huge dowry. Anjana dislikes Ram after he spills tea over her due to nervousness. Gajendra, angry at Ram's behaviour, conspires with the support of his mother and cunning Munimji to kill Ram and take over his property. Ram overhears this and escapes to the city to save his life. Meanwhile, Ram's long lost twin brother Shyam lives in a village with his adopted mother Ganga, whom he believes to be his biological mother. No one other than Ganga knows the truth about the twin brothers.

Shyam is strong, brave and mischievous, unlike his brother. He has a love-hate relationship with Shanta. Shyam escapes to the city, after a mischievous conflict with Ganga, and meets Anjana, who is impressed by his personality. Anjana and her father confuse Shyam with Ram. Ram meets Shanta, who thinks he is Shyam and takes him forcefully to his mother. Ram and Shanta develop feelings for each other. Meanwhile, Shyam decides to take the place of Ram to face Gajendra.

Shyam refuses to sign his property over, after which angry Gajendra attacks him. Shyam retaliates and whips Gajendra hard, shocking everybody. Sulakshana stops her brother to protect her husband. Gajendra is startled after being beaten up by Shyam, whom everybody believes as Ram. Shanta and Anjana meet and both claim the picture of Ram as their fiancé. Gajendra learns that Shyam has taken the place of Ram. He abducts Ram and Shanta, and plans to kill Ram. He frames Shyam for the murder of Ram though Ram is alive. Shyam is arrested by police. Anjana and her father learn from Ganga that Ram and Shyam are twin brothers lost in a village fair.

They also learn about the true colour of Gajendra. Shyam escapes from police custody and battles Gajendra and his henchmen. Gajendra tries to shoot them, but both the brothers and Shanta manage to defeat him. At the end, the twin brothers are happily married and the family reunited.

Cast

Reception

Dilip Kumar, who was known as "Tragedy-King" surprised the audience with his comic performance, which won him Best Actor at the 15th Filmfare Awards.[2]

Box-Office

At the domestic Indian box office, Ram Aur Shyam grossed ₹27.5 million[3] ($3.7 million) nett.[4] Adjusted for inflation, the film's domestic nett gross is equivalent to $32 million (₹1.84 billion) in 2016.[5] It was 1967's second highest-grossing film in India, after Upkar.[3]

Overseas at the Soviet box office, Ram Aur Shyam was released with 1,160 prints and sold 33.4 million tickets in 1972.[6] At the average Soviet ticket price of 25 kopecks at the time,[7][8] the film grossed 8.35 million Rbls ($10.1 million),[9] ₹76.8 million).[10] Adjusted for inflation, the film's overseas Soviet gross is equivalent to $71 million (₹3.96 billion) in 2016.[5] It was the second highest-grossing 1967 Indian film in the Soviet Union, after Hamraaz.[6]

Worldwide, the film grossed ₹104.3 million ($13.8 million) by 1972. Adjusted for inflation, its worldwide gross is equivalent to ₹5.8 billion ($85 million) in 2016.

Legacy

Dilip Kumar stated in an interview "The script of Ram Aur Shyam (1967) offered me endless stimulation. Each scene was sharply written to highlight the contrast between the characters and their predicaments."[11]

According to Rediff.com, the most famous twin act in India, remains to be Dilip Kumar's turn in Ram Aur Shyam. The film is also included in their list of "Landmark Film of 60s".[12]

Soundtrack
Ram Aur Shyam
Soundtrack album by
Naushad
Released1967
GenreFeature Film Soundtrack
LabelHMV, Saregama
ProducerNaushad

Lyrics were written by Shakeel Badayuni.

SongSinger
"Maine Kab Tumse Kaha" Lata Mangeshkar
"Main Hoon Saqi, Tu Hai Sharabi Sharabi" Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
"Aaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki" Mohammed Rafi
"Aayi Hai Baharen" Mohammed Rafi
"Balam Tere Pyar Ki Thandi Aag Mein Jalte Jalte Main" Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
"Dheere Dheere Bol, Koi Sun Lega Sajna" Mahendra Kapoor, Asha Bhosle
"Aaj Sakhi Ri Mori Piya" Asha Bhosle

References
  1. "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years | Box Office India : India's premier film trade magazine". 17 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. Aps Maphotra (10 January 2009). "Ram aur Shyam 1967". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  3. "Box Office 1967". Box Office India. 7 February 2009. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.
  4. "Pacific Exchange Rate Service (7.5 INR per USD)" (PDF). UBC Sauder School of Business. University of British Columbia. 1967. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  5. "Exchange Rates (68.3 INR per USD)". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007.
  6. Sergey Kudryavtsev (3 August 2008). "Зарубежные популярные фильмы в советском кинопрокате (Индия)". Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  7. Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War, page 48 Archived 10 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Cornell University Press, 2011
  8. The Routledge Handbook of the Cold War, page 357 Archived 4 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Routledge, 2014
  9. "Archive (0.83 Rbl per dollar)". Central Bank of Russia. 1972. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  10. "Pacific Exchange Rate Service (7.6 INR per USD)" (PDF). UBC Sauder School of Business. University of British Columbia. 1972. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  11. "Veteran Dilip Kumar talks about celluloid magic". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  12. "rediff.com: Ram Aur Shyam, 1967". m.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
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