Bhagwaan Dada

Bhagwaan Dada
DVD cover
Directed by	J. Om Prakash
Produced by	Rakesh Roshan
Written by	Rahi Masoom Reza (story) Ramesh Pant (screenplay & dialogue)
Starring	Rakesh Roshan Danny Denzongpa Rajinikanth Sridevi Hrithik Roshan
Music by	Rajesh Roshan (composer) Indivar (lyrics) Farooq Kaiser
Release dates	25 Apr 1986
Language	Hindi
Box office	4.1 million

Bhagwaan Dada is a 1986 Hindi-language Indian feature film about a criminal who becomes morally redeemed through his love for a child. Bhagwaan Dada was directed by J. Om Prakash.^[1] The primary cast are Rakesh Roshan, Rajinikanth, Sridevi and Danny Denzongpa, and Hrithik Roshan, aged 12, in his only speaking role as a child. Other noted actors such as Tina Munim, Paresh Rawal, Om Prakash (veteran actor not to be confused with J. Om Prakash, the director), and Satish Shah appear in various supporting roles.

Plot summary

A villager new to the big city – Bhagwaan (Rajinikanth) – turns to crime to avoid starvation. He is drawn into the gang of slum crime lord 'dada' Shambu (Danny Denzongpa) where he falls into every crime but one: violence against women. When an impoverished but honourable young widow hangs herself after being raped by Shambu Dada, the cries of her orphaned baby awaken Bhagwaan’s soul. He rebels against his former master. Bhagwaan vows to atone for his formerly evil life, and adopts the orphaned baby as his own son. The innocent young boy becomes Bhagwaan’s source of personal redemption and the inspiration for all that he does.

12 years later the man now lovingly hailed as “Bhagwaan Dada” has transformed the former crime-ridden slum into a safe and happy neighbourhood – Shantinagar – where his adopted son Govinda (Hrithik Roshan) has become the pride and joy of the whole community. Despite his own dark past, this loving father has worked hard to raise the boy as a good person with sound moral values.

At this time, Bhagwaan chances to rescue another naïve young man new to the big city – Swaroop (Rakesh Roshan) – when Shambu Dada's gang steal all Swaroop's money. Impressed with Swaroop's education as well as the similarity of situation to his own arrival in the city years before, Bhagwaan takes the "innocent and simple" villager under his protective wing. He arranges a good job, even brings Swaroop home to live with himself and his son, young Govinda. Swaroop and Bhagwaan claim each other as 'brothers'.

After some initial confusion when Govinda mistakes Bijli for his new 'uncle' Swaroop's wife, all four of them Bhagwaan, Govinda, Swaroop, and now Bijli – live happily in Bhagwaan's modest home, Govinda remaining impishly determined to matchmake between Swaroop and Bijli.

Intercepted on her way out to work one evening, Bijli spills Bhagwaan a yarn about how she is secretly an undercover policewoman assigned to pose as a prostitute to arrest real prostitutes and their patrons. Bhagwaan believes her. He preserves her 'secret', and all four continue happily in the house just as before, ignorance being bliss.

Meanwhile, Shambu Dada has sworn revenge against Bhagwaan for foiling his plan to abduct Bijli. After brutally beating to death one of his gangmembers who botched the abduction, Shambu dumps the corpse in Bhagwaan’s territory seeking to frame Bhagwaan for the murder.

The honest policeman Inspector Vijay (Paresh Rawal), though, is fully aware of Shambu Dada's crime empire activities as well as Bhagwaan's reformation. When Bhagwaan discovers the corpse and duly reports the murder, Inspector Vijay not only fails to arrest Bhagwaan but even introduces Bhagwaan to a newspaper reporter – Madhu (Tina Munim) – who is researching crime trends in the city, and recommends that she visit Shantinagar.

The street-savvy Bhagwaan helps Inspector Vijay set a trap that allows the police to capture Shambu Dada in possession of the murder weapon. Shambu is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. All seems well.

Bhagwaan invites Madhu to attend a joyous public celebration in Shantinagar. When young Govinda mischievously invites Bijli to garland his 'uncle' Swaroop, we discover that the blushing Swaroop hides a growing attraction to Bijli.

Knowing himself to be mortally wounded, Bhagwaan returns to the wedding just at the point where the ceremony requires him, as the bride's brother, to bless the newly wedded couple – which he does, using a smear of his own red blood instead of the hard-won sindoor. Geeta and Swaroop now realise he is injured and dying, also that Govinda, too, is missing.

Cast

• Rajinikanth as Bhagwaan Dada
• Rakesh Roshan as Swaroop
• Sridevi as Bijli/Geeta
• Danny Denzongpa as Shambu Dada
• Hrithik Roshan as Govinda
• Om Prakash

Music

Rajesh Roshan Composed 5 songs penned by Faruk Kaiser and Indeevar.Two of them Tujhse Pehle bematlab Thi Zindagi, Aaya Pyar Ka Zamana, was Hit^[2]

Reception

Rakesh Roshan's young son Hrithik Roshan who was 12 years old at the time appears as a child artist in the film. However, he has done noticeable job and gets attraction from the audience. The film was directed by Rakesh's father in law J Om Prakash, but during his sickness, Rakesh Roshan himself had directed some portion of the film. It was a major flop as the presentation of the story was very poor and except for Hrithik Roshan, nobody (not even Rakesh Roshan, Rajnikant, Danny and Sri Devi) impressed. One or two songs of the film became little popular.

References

External links

• Bhagwaan Dada at the Internet Movie Database