Zehreela Insaan
Zehreela Insaan (transl. Poisonous human) is a 1974 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Puttanna Kanagal and produced by Virendra Sinha. The film stars Rishi Kapoor, Moushumi Chatterjee, Neetu Singh, Ambareesh and Pran. It is a remake of Kanagal's own 1972 Kannada film Naagarahaavu which was based on three Kannada novels: Nagarahavu, Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu and Sarpa Mathsara, all written by T. R. Subba Rao. The film did not do well at the box office, but the song O Hansini attained popularity.
| Zehreela Insaan | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Puttanna Kanagal |
| Produced by | Virendra Sinha |
| Story by | T. R. Subba Rao |
| Starring | Rishi Kapoor Moushumi Chatterjee Neetu Singh Ambareesh Pran |
| Music by | R. D. Burman |
| Cinematography | Sudarshan Nag |
| Edited by | V. P. Krishna |
Production company | Pragati Chitra International |
Release date | 20 November 1974 |
Running time | 146 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Plot
Arjun is an ill-tempered but soft-hearted man. He always falls into in situations that others take him as a bad person. His teacher, who he calls Masterji, is the only person who understands him and appreciates his good qualities, hence Arjun follows his wishes completely. Arjun loves a woman named Aarti and wants to marry her, but Aarti's father opposes this alliance and forcibly marries her off to a man of his choice. Arjun is dejected, but soon finds love in Margaret, his Christian college mate. As time passes, he overcomes Aarti and devotes himself to Margaret. While on a business trip to another city, Arjun finds that Aarti is now a prostitute. Angered and irritated, Arjun finds himself in a pitiable state. Margaret's uncle and mother are against her marrying Arjun. Arjun and Margaret flee to the hills; Masterji catches up with them and tries to pacify Arjun, but he refuses and instead pushes him down the hill to his death. Traumatised due to killing his teacher, Arjun asks Margaret if she will join him where he goes; she says she will, and both jump to their deaths.
Cast
- Rishi Kapoor as Arjun Singh[1]
- Moushumi Chatterjee as Aarti[1]
- Neetu Singh as Margaret[1]
- Pran as Masterji[1]
- Dara Singh as Pahelwan
- Manorama as Mary
- Dulari as Arjun's mother
- Ratnamala as Mrs. Shyam Lal (as Ratanmala)
- Madan Puri as John (as Madanpuri)
- Iftekhar as Principal Vishamber Nath
- Raj Mehra as Arjun's Father (as Rajmehra)
- Sajjan as Shyam Lal
- Asit Sen as Murari Lal (as Ashit Sen)
- Paintal as Ranjeet
- Ghanshyam Rohera as Arjun's Classmate (as Ghan Shyam)
- Maruti Rao as Budhram (as Maruti)
- Jagdish Raj as Bidre (as Jagdishraj)
- Vijay Kumar
- Nirupa Roy as Shobha
- Ambareesh as Jaleel
- Yogesh Chhabra as Tukaram Phillips
Production
Zehreela Insaan is a remake of the 1972 Kannada film Naagarahaavu, itself based on three different novels: Nagarahavu, Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu and Sarpa Mathsara, all written by T. R. Subba Rao.[2] Puttanna Kanagal, who directed the Kannada film, returned to direct the Hindi remake,[3] which was produced by Virendra Sinha under Pragati Chitra International.[4][1] Cinematography was handled by Sudarshan Nag, and the editing by V. P. Krishna.[5] Ambareesh, who played a character named Jaleel in Naagarahaavu, reprised his role in Zehreela Insaan.[6] While the character of the teacher in Naagarahaavu wore a white dhoti, black coat and Mysore turban, the same character in Zehreela Insaan wore a kurta-pyjama and a Nehru jacket.[7] Much of the film was shot in Chitradurga, with the song "O Hansini" being shot at Chitradurga Fort.[8][9]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by R. D. Burman while the lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri.[10] The song "O Hansini" attained popularity.[9]
The song Saanp Se Badhke was the re-used version of the Kannada song Haavina Dwesha from the original Kannada version.[11]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saanp Se Badhke" | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Shailendra Singh | 03:20 |
| 2. | "Mere Dil Se Ye Nain" | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Shailendra Singh, Asha Bhosle | 04:19 |
| 3. | "Ye Silsila" | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Asha Bhosle | 04:17 |
| 4. | "Title Music" (Instrumental) | — | — | |
| 5. | "Suno Kahani" | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Lata Mangeshkar | 04:56 |
| 6. | "O Hansini" | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Kishore Kumar | 05:23 |
| 7. | "Dum Tumhari Dum" | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Kishore Kumar | 04:19 |
Release and reception
Zehreela Insaan was released on 20 November 1974,[12] and did not succeed commercially.[13] Rishi Kapoor later admitted it was a "mistake", feeling that he should have accepted a film similar to his earlier Bobby (1973) and not something that was "drastically different".[14]
See also
References
- Dharap 1974, p. 374.
- Deepak, S N (15 July 2018). "Vishnuvardhan classic back in restored avatar". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 179.
- Kishore, Sarwal & Patra 2016, p. 225.
- Zehreela Insaan (motion picture) (in Hindi). Pragati Chitra International. 1974. From 4:57 to 5:01. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- Khajane, Muralidhara (26 April 2012). "Ambi-tious he wasn't". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- Kishore, Sarwal & Patra 2016, p. 232.
- Sarmmah, Surupasree (27 December 2016). "'Any role is challenging'". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- Sharma, Devesh (4 September 2016). "Ten songs of Rishi Kapoor that you shouldn't give a miss". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- Burman, Rahul Dev (1974). "Zehreela Insaan". EMI Records. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- https://www.songsofyore.com/similar-songs-in-hindi-and-kannada/
- "Zehreela Insaan". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- "Rishi Kapoor's advice to son Ranbir: Don't let success go to your head or failure to your heart". The Indian Express. 5 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- "11 khullam khulla confessions by Rishi Kapoor". The Times of India. 10 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
Bibliography
- Dharap, B. V. (1974). Indian Films. National Film Archive of India.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Kishore, Vikrant; Sarwal, Amit; Patra, Parichay, eds. (2016). Salaam Bollywood: Representations and interpretations. Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-138-64962-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul, eds. (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)