Caravan (1971 film)

Caravan (Hindi pronunciation: [kaːɾʋaːn]; Karwaan; transl. Travellers) is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Nasir Hussain and produced by his brother Tahir Hussain, under the Nasir Hussain Films and T.V. Films banners. The film stars Jeetendra and Asha Parekh . Three Hussain fixtures were involved in the music production: composer R.D. Burman, lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, and singer Mohammad Rafi. The film's plot was loosely inspired by Girl on the Run (1953).

Caravan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNasir Hussain
Produced byTahir Hussain
Written byNasir Hussain
Screenplay bySachin Bhowmick
StarringJeetendra
Asha Parekh
Music byR. D. Burman
CinematographyMunir Khan
Edited byBabu Lavande
Gurudutt Shirali
Production
company
Nasir Hussain Films
T.V. Films
Distributed bySky Entertainment (DVD since 2002)
Release date
  • 5 November 1971 (1971-11-05)
Running time
161 min
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box officeest. ₹353 million ($44 million)

Caravan was a blockbuster hit domestically in India. It found even greater success abroad in China when it released there in 1979, becoming the highest-grossing foreign film in China. The film is estimated to have sold over 300 million tickets in Asia, mostly in China.

Plot

The film is an action thriller about a young woman, Sunita (Asha Parekh) and her father Mohandas (Murad), who finds out that his trusted employee, Rajan (Krishen Mehta), has been embezzling money from him. He confronts him and Rajan attacks him, flinging him out of the window of the multi-storied building, but the police think that the death was accidental. This leaves the coast clear for Rajan to wed Mohandas' only daughter, Sunita. Sunita is distraught and ends up married to this "wrong" man, Rajan. Shortly after the wedding, Sunita finds out the truth. She thinks that Rajan has conspired with his girlfriend Monica (Helen) to murder her. So she runs away to find her father's old friend in Bangalore, who may be able to help. On the way, she experiences an accident and ends up with a band of performing gypsies. She meets caravan van-driver Mohan (Jeetendra) and she is attracted towards him. Sunita does not know that she has put herself in danger again - this time at the hands of knife-thrower, Nisha (Aruna Irani), who loves Mohan, and will kill anyone who gets in her way. To make matters worse, Rajan has not given up his search for Sunita.

Cast

Production

The film was largely a Khan–Hussain family production, directed by Nasir Hussain (father of future filmmaker Mansoor Khan) and produced by his brother Tahir Hussain (father of future superstar Aamir Khan), under the Nasir Hussain Films banner.

The film's plot was loosely inspired by the 1953 film Girl on the Run, a little-known crime drama set against the backdrop of a carnival burlesque show, which was changed to a gypsy show in Caravan.[1]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film is one of the hit compositions by R. D. Burman. The lyrics of the songs are provided by the veteran poet Majrooh Sultanpuri.

#TitleSinger(s)Notes
1 "Ab Jo Mile Hain To" Asha Bhosle Picturized on Aruna Irani, Jeetendra & Asha Parekh
2 "Chadti Jawani Meri Chaal Mastani" Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi Picturized on Jeetendra & Aruna Irani
3 "Daiya Yeh Main Kahan" Asha Bhosle Picturized on Asha Parekh
4 "Dilbar Dil Se Pyare" Lata Mangeshkar Picturized on Aruna Irani
5 "Goria Kahan Tera Desh" Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle Picturized on Jeetendra and Aruna Irani
6 "Hum To Hain Rahi Dil Ke" Kishore Kumar Picturized on Jeetendra
7 "Kitna Pyara Wada Hai" Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi Picturized on Jeetendra and Asha Parekh
8 "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" Asha Bhosle, R.D. Burman Picturized on Helen
Asha Bhosle won the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award

Box office

Caravan was declared a "Super Hit" domestically according to Box Office India.[2] The film grossed ₹36 million [3] ($4.81 million )[4] in India. It was the sixth highest-grossing film of 1971 at the domestic Indian box office.[3] Adjusted for inflation, the film's domestic box office gross is equivalent to $30 million (₹2.11 billion ).

Overseas, Caravan released in China in 1979 and became a blockbuster there, surpassing Raj Kapoor's Awaara (1951). Caravan became the highest-grossing foreign film ever in China up until then, with 88 million box office admissions in its initial run. It reportedly sold a total of nearly 300 million tickets including re-runs, the highest for any foreign film ever released in China.[5][6] At an average ticket price of CN¥0.20,[7] the film grossed an estimated CN¥60 million , equivalent to $39 million [8] (₹317 million ).[9] Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to $137 million (₹9.6 billion ).

In total, the film grossed an estimated ₹353 million ($44 million ) in Asia, equivalent to ₹10.85 billion ($167 million ) adjusted for inflation.

In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated 19 million tickets in India,[3][10] and nearly 300 million tickets in China,[6] for an estimated total of nearly 319 million tickets sold in Asia.

Legacy

Along with Awaara and Noorie (1979), Caravan left a strong impression on Chinese audiences in the 1980s. It took decades before Tahir Hussain's son Aamir Khan later had a similar impact in China,[11][12] with films such as Lagaan (2001),[13] 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014), and Dangal (2016).[11][12][14] During his visit to China, Aamir Khan said his father's film Caravan is still fondly remembered there.[14]

Awards and nominations

Nominations

See also
  • List of highest-grossing Indian films in overseas markets

Notes
  1. Parekh, Asha; Mohamed, Khalid (2017). Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl. Om Books International. p. 120. ISBN 978-93-86316-98-1.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Box Office 1971". "BoxOfficeIndia.com". Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  4. "Official exchange rate (INR per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1971. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  5. "【图片】浩大工程之关于发行收入与放映收入关系【世界电影票房吧】". Baidu Tieba (in Chinese). Baidu. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  6. "《流浪者》《大篷车》中国内地票房" (in Chinese). Sina Corp. 9 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  7. Link, Perry (2000). The Uses of Literature: Life in the Socialist Chinese Literary System. Princeton University Press. p. 204. ISBN 9780691001982.
  8. "Official exchange rate (CNY per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1979. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  9. "Official exchange rate (INR per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1979. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  10. Mittal, Ashok (1995). Cinema Industry in India: Pricing and Taxation. Indus Publishing. pp. 71 & 77. ISBN 9788173870231.
  11. "Dangal underlines popularity of Indian films in China". China Daily. 20 July 2017.
  12. "Aamir: I couldn't really enjoy the food in China". Rediff. 21 May 2015.
  13. Anil K. Joseph (20 November 2002). "Lagaan revives memories of Raj Kapoor in China". Press Trust of India. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  14. "Aamir Khan's Father's Film Caravan Still Remembered in China. Now, it Loves PK". NDTV. 11 June 2015.
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