Kunwara Baap (1974 film)
Kunwara Baap (lit. 'The Bachelor Father') is a 1974 Hindi film produced by Amarlal Chabria and directed by and starring Mehmood. The film also stars Bharathi, and Vinod Mehra. Based on Charlie Chaplin's The Kid (1921),[1] it is a film with a serious message about polio vaccination. However, Mehmood did some comedy scenes in the film to earn a Filmfare nomination as Best Comic, the only nomination for the film.[2] Rajesh Roshan makes his debut as a film composer. The hijra song "Saj Rahi Gali" sung by Mohammed Rafi topped the annual Binaca Geet Mala, which was the only countdown show at the time.[3] This film was Tamil actress Manorama's only film in Hindi, however, her lines consisted of some Tamil.
| Kunwara Baap | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Mehmood |
| Produced by | Amarlal Chabria |
| Starring | Mehmood Macky Ali Vinod Mehra Lalita Pawar Nazir Hussain |
| Music by | Rajesh Roshan |
| Cinematography | Prabhakar N Niklankar |
| Edited by | Bhagwant Deshpande |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Plot
Bharathi plays a deserted wife to Vinod Mehra. She abandons her newly born son outside of a temple where he is rescued by a rickshawala (Mehmood). The boy develops polio and the rikshawala feels guilty after a doctor (Sanjeev Kumar) admonishes him. He takes care of the boy Macky Ali and loves him as his own. In the meantime, the boy's real-life parents reconcile and turn to a police officer (Vinod Khanna) for help in finding their missing son. when they find their child, the rikshawala does not want to give him up. The policeman urges him to do so, as the wealthy parents can pay for an operation that can help the boy walk again. He does sorrowfully. But the boy comes back with his parents to see the rikshawala die. The film ends with Mehmood, the actor, getting up and explaining to the audience that his death was for the camera, but polio is real and deadly and that people should get their children vaccinated. The Sports Day, a major scene in the movie, is shot in Bishop Cotton Boys' School
Mehmood made the film Kunwara Baap to raise awareness for polio, which had affected his own son, Macky Ali aka Maqdoom Ali. Macky was affected by polio since birth and made his debut starring in the film. Kunwara Baap had special appearances from actors Mumtaz Ali (Mehmood's father), Sanjeev Kumar, Vinod Mehra, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini, Dara Singh, Lalita Pawar, Yogita Bali and Mukri. It was also the debut film performance for music composer Rajesh Roshan.[4][5]
Cast
- Mehmood as Mahesh / Rickshaw Walla
- Macky Ali as Hindustan
- Bharathi as Radha
- Manorama as Sheela
- Bhushan Tiwari as Kaloo Dada
- Sanjeev Kumar as Doctor
- Nazir Hussain as Bishop Cotton School's Principal
- Mumtaz Ali as Sheela's Father
- Abbas Ali as Beggar on the Bus Stop
- Mukri as Havaldar
- Sunder as Pandit
- Guest appearance
- Amitabh Bachchan as Anthony
- Dharmendra as Himself
- Vinod Khanna as Inspector Ramesh
- Vinod Mehra as Vinod
- Yogeeta Bali as Fake Wife of Mahesh
- Hema Malini as Herself
- Dara Singh as Himself as Wrestler
- Asit Sen as Ring Referee
- Maruti as Dara Singh's Man at Arena
- Lalita Pawar as Orphanage Matron
- Lucky Ali as Child artist
Soundtrack
| # | Title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Saj Rahi Gali Meri Maa" | Mohammed Rafi, Mehmood |
| 2 | "Main Hoon Ghoda Yeh Hai Gaadi" | Kishore Kumar, Mehmood |
| 3 | "Jai Bholenath Jai Ho Prabhu" | Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar |
| 4 | "Aari Aaja Nindiya" | Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Mehmood |
References
- Kumar, Kiran (2014). Movie Magic. Partridge Publishing. p. 121.
- "1st Filmfare Awards 1953" (PDF).
- "Music mohalla". 4 January 2009.
- "Mehmood and Kunwara Baap: A father's fight". Cinestaan. Cinestaan Digital Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- "Mehmood's son Macky Ali passes away". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
External links
- Kunwara Baap on IMDb