In the mid-sixties, India faced double trouble. On one hand, Pakistan attacked our frontiers, on the other, there occurred a scarcity of foodgrains in the country.Upkar, which won the best film Filmfare award for 1967, was a movie directed by Manoj Kumar, revolving around the same theme mentioned above. The lead cast included Manoj Kumar, Prem Chopra, Asha Parekh and Pran.
Upkar (obligation) is the story of a peasant-cum-soldier , Bhaarat (Manoj Kumar) who despite being well-educated, prefers to go for peasantry in his parental village, whereas his younger brother, Pooran (Prem Chopra) moves out for higher studies and gets spoilt. Bhaarat's maternal uncle (Madan Puri) is a wicked man who had earlier killed their father and now he along with the money-lender of the village fills poison in the mind of Pooran against his elder brother. Pooran gets separated from the family with his share of the land. Meanwhile Puran, with the help of his greedy uncle and some partners, tries to gain profit by selling drugs and black-marketing in the market. Asha Parekh is a doctor promoting family planning,
In the end, Bharat returns as a war hero defeating the demon designs of the enemy and his brother repents as he is caught by the police (by the brother-in-law of Bharat). Hence, he vows to be a good & hardworking brother just like his Indo-Pak war veteran brother Bharat.
Manoj Kumar could see the crops through the anklets of a village beauty. The way he shot “Mere Desh Ki Dharti” could make any city-bred guy fall in love with the lilt of bucolic life.
Several symbols of nationhood, benevolent military, self-sacrificing mothers present a complete, unadulterated picture of the struggles of the righteous in a rising nation-state. See Chinese propaganda films of the Great Leap Forward, the farm-worker parallels are astonishing.Family bonds have been dealt with in this movie in a very sentimental and impressive manner. Kalyanji Anandji's music is one of the greatest assets of this movie. It contains the evergreen patriotic song - Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle.
One bold highlight of the film is Pran, who has performed the role of the handicapped, carefree and outspoken Malang Chacha so well that you can never forget him. Getting out of the earlier grey shade characters in his career, he played a supporting actor with brilliance.
The city versus village argument continues till date but the point the director made in the film still holds ground. If every young man will move out of village, who will take care of the country's hunger.The film de-links education with your vocation and place of work, something our system and society are still grappling with.
Upkar (obligation) is the story of a peasant-cum-soldier , Bhaarat (Manoj Kumar) who despite being well-educated, prefers to go for peasantry in his parental village, whereas his younger brother, Pooran (Prem Chopra) moves out for higher studies and gets spoilt. Bhaarat's maternal uncle (Madan Puri) is a wicked man who had earlier killed their father and now he along with the money-lender of the village fills poison in the mind of Pooran against his elder brother. Pooran gets separated from the family with his share of the land. Meanwhile Puran, with the help of his greedy uncle and some partners, tries to gain profit by selling drugs and black-marketing in the market. Asha Parekh is a doctor promoting family planning,
In the end, Bharat returns as a war hero defeating the demon designs of the enemy and his brother repents as he is caught by the police (by the brother-in-law of Bharat). Hence, he vows to be a good & hardworking brother just like his Indo-Pak war veteran brother Bharat.
Several symbols of nationhood, benevolent military, self-sacrificing mothers present a complete, unadulterated picture of the struggles of the righteous in a rising nation-state. See Chinese propaganda films of the Great Leap Forward, the farm-worker parallels are astonishing.Family bonds have been dealt with in this movie in a very sentimental and impressive manner. Kalyanji Anandji's music is one of the greatest assets of this movie. It contains the evergreen patriotic song - Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle.
One bold highlight of the film is Pran, who has performed the role of the handicapped, carefree and outspoken Malang Chacha so well that you can never forget him. Getting out of the earlier grey shade characters in his career, he played a supporting actor with brilliance.
The city versus village argument continues till date but the point the director made in the film still holds ground. If every young man will move out of village, who will take care of the country's hunger.The film de-links education with your vocation and place of work, something our system and society are still grappling with.
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