Zakhm
Zakhm (English: Wound) is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced by Mukesh Bhatt for Pooja Bhatt Productions and directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The lead roles are played by Ajay Devgn, Pooja Bhatt, Sonali Bendre, Kunal Khemu and Nagarjuna, with music composed by M. M. Keeravani.[1] The film won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. The film was a moderate commercial success and received universal critical acclaim.
| Zakhm | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster for Zakhm | |
| Directed by | Mahesh Bhatt |
| Produced by | Mukesh Bhatt Pooja Bhatt |
| Written by | Girish Dhamija (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Tanuja Chandra Mahesh Bhatt |
| Story by | Mahesh Bhatt |
| Starring | Ajay Devgn Akkineni Nagarjuna Pooja Bhatt Sonali Bendre Kunal Khemu Akshay Anand |
| Music by | M. M. Keeravani |
| Cinematography | Nirmal Jani |
| Edited by | Sanjay Sankla |
Production company | Pooja Bhatt Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 126 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Plot
Music director Ajay (Ajay Devgn) argues with his wife, Sonia (Sonali Bendre). Sonia wants to give birth to their child in England whereas Ajay wants his child to be born in India and does not want to go to England (because of the insecurity caused by the Mumbai riots).
Ajay soon learns that his mother (Pooja Bhatt) has been burned by a group of Muslim rioters while leaving a church and is in a critical condition. In a flashback, the struggles which his mother had to undergo to raise her children are shown. She was in love with a Hindu film producer Raman Desai (Nagarjuna) but was not allowed to marry him on account of her Muslim faith. He marries her but does not document or acknowledge their marriage as it was done without any traditional upholdings. The fact that she had children with a Hindu man forces her to hide her faith and live her life as a Hindu, even in front of her son.
After his father's sudden death caused by an accident on the day Ajay's younger brother is born, Ajay realises his mother is a Muslim. She makes him promise to bury her according to her faith when she dies, for it is only through a proper burial that she will be able to find herself reunited with her lover in heaven. She also takes a promise from Ajay that he will never tell his brother about her real identity. Ajay's mother succumbs to the burns. Sonia learns about her mother-in-law's past life and decides not to leave Ajay. She stands by him and supports his decision to bury his mother. However, Ajay's task is impeded by a fundamentalist leader Subodhbhai (Ashutosh Rana), who wanted to make this a political issue and encouraged the Hindu youth to kill Muslims. Anand (Akshay Anand) happens to be a youth leader and Ajay's younger brother. But when Anand comes to know of Subodhbhai's intentions, he stands by his brother's decision to bury their mom according to Islamic customs. Her body is buried as she had desired, and she reunites with Raman in heaven. At last, Ajay is seen releasing his mother's Mangalsutra in the sea, indicating the end of her struggleful life and meeting with her husband.
Cast
- Ajay Devgn as Ajay R. Desai
- Master Kunal Khemu as young Ajay R. Desai
- Nagarjuna as Director Raman Desai
- Pooja Bhatt as Mrs. Raman Desai
- Sonali Bendre as Sonia A. Desai
- Ashutosh Rana as Subodh Malgaonkar
- Sharat Saxena as Inspector Pawar at hospital
- Akshay Anand as Anand R. Desai
- Avtar Gill as Isa
- Zafar Karachiwala
- Saurabh Shukla as Gurdayal Singh
- Madan Jain as Anwar Hashmi (journalist)
- Amardeep Jha
- Namartha Dhamija
- Vishwajeet Pradhan as Sr. Inspector Yadav
Soundtrack
| Zakhm | |
|---|---|
| Film score by | |
| Released | 1998 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 34:40 |
| Label | HMV Audio |
The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani with lyrics by Anand Bakshi. The soundtrack was released by the HMV Audio Company. The composer selected Chitra for " Gali main aaj Chand nikala " but due to date issues the song was later sung by Alka Yagnik.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gali Mein Aaj Chaand Nikla" | Alka Yagnik | 5:07 |
| 2. | "Hum Yahan Tum Yahan (Male)" | Kumar Sanu | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Maa Ne Kaha (Male)" | M. M. Keeravani | 2:48 |
| 4. | "Padh Likh Ke" | Alka Yagnik | 4:35 |
| 5. | "Hum Yahan Tum Yahan (Female)" | Alka Yagnik | 4:52 |
| 6. | "Maa Ne Kaha (Female)" | Chitra | 2:47 |
| 7. | "Raat Sari Bekaraari Mein" | Alka Yagnik | 5:04 |
| 8. | "Maa Ne Kaha (Sad)" | M. M. Kreem | 1:29 |
| 9. | "Gali Mein Aaj Chaand Nikla (Sad)" | Alka Yagnik | 3:06 |
| Total length: | 34:40 | ||
Awards
- Won: 1998 National Film Award for Best Actor – Ajay Devgn[2]
- Won: 1999 Screen Award for Best Actor – Ajay Devgn[3]
TV series
The story has been adapted into a TV series, named Naamkarann, airing on STAR Plus from September 2016.[4]
References
- Khanna, Anish (25 December 1998). "Film Review – Zakhm". Planet Bollywood. Archived from the original on 5 November 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- Namrata, Nongpiur (21 May 2011). "10 National Award Winning Actors of Bollywood". Mens XP. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- Chatterjee, Saibal (1 March 1999). "That's No Shooting Star". Outlook. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- Singh, Anvita (28 July 2016). "Mahesh Bhatts TV show based on Zakhm to star Viraf Patel and Barkha Bisht?". India Today. Retrieved 6 September 2016.