| Ram Balram | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Vijay Anand |
| Produced by | Tito |
| Written by | Vijay Anand |
| Starring | Dharmendra Amitabh Bachchan Zeenat Aman Rekha |
| Music by | Laxmikant-Pyarelal |
| Cinematography | Fali Mistry |
| Editing by | Vijay Anand |
| Distributed by | Navjeevan Productions |
| Release date(s) | 1980 |
| Running time | 169 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Ram Balram is a 1980 Hindi-language film directed by Vijay Anand. It starred Dharmendra as 'Ram' and Amitabh Bachchan as 'Balram'. The other cast included Zeenat Aman and Rekha. Ajit, Amjad Khan and Prem Chopra were the villains in the film. The film marked the third time, in which bollywood eternal superstars (Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra) came together after their previous successful ventures in Chupke Chupke and Sholay. It was expected to be another Sholay, but did not live up to expectation. The movie had an awesome initial which opened to thunder responses all over India with cinema houses packed full. However, proccedings from the movie started to drop by the 4th week and it then went on to surface as the third highest grossing film of the year earning a disappointing "Semi-Hit" at boxoffice. It was termed disappointing since at that time, films of Dharmendra and Amitabh are expected to earn more especially the latter, who was already the most popular star at the time. However, some boxoffice analyst rate it as 'Superhit' or outright 'Hit' when taking into consideration its net gross.
Ram and Balram are 2 young boys who live with their loving parents. Their scheming uncle, Jagatpal, however kills the boy's father and mother. Jagatpal lies to the boys that their parents have been killed in an accident and promises to raise them himself.
He enrols the younger brother Balram(Amitabh Bachan), in school and eventually sends him off to join the police force. The older becomes a mechanic. Jagatpal has a tight hold on the boys, even when Ram(Dharmendra) is an adult, he still gives all his wages to his uncle and is only allowed to keep a few rupees for pocket money.
When Balram returns as a fully fledged police officer, Jagatpal finally reveals his plan. He is going to use Ram to target the biggest smugglers in India. Now that Balram is a police officer, he will protect his brother from getting arrested. Balram has reservations, but Jagatpal threatens to beat him just as he did when he was a boy.
Balram is still unhappy with Jagatpal's plan so tells his superiors in the police force that his brother intends to infiltrate the smuggler's underworld so that Balram can arrest them.
The plan goes well. Ram becomes one of the lieutenants of one of the biggest smugglers (Amjad Khan) and Balram's excellent arrest rate make him one of the force's most successful officers. Jagatpal becomes enormously wealthy from Ram's illicit gains.
The brothers also find love. Balram with the daughter of a college professor (Rekha) and Ram with a girl who has moved to the area looking for her father (Zeenat Aman). Unbeknownst to Ram, the girl believes her father to be Jagatpal. She, along with her courtesan mother, attempt to extort money for Jagatpal but he refuses to believe he is the father. His suspicions are confirmed when he catches the mother paying off a former customer. The man is confronted by Jagatpal and confesses that the girl is not Jagatpal's daughter.
Jagatpal's plan comes unstuck however when the boy's mother returns. She did not die after all. Ram recognises his mother but Balram cannot as he was too young when they were separated. Both boys weep when they are reunited, Ram for the mother he has missed all those years and Balram for the opportunity he now has to get to know his mother.
She reveals Jagatpal's actions to the two brothers and they unite to take him down.
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