Leela Chitnis

Satyam Shivam Sundaram is a Hindi drama film based on the life of a small village girl whose face gets accidently burnt. An engineer fall in love with her without knowing the reality and gets married. Their life changes when both learn the bitter truth of their life.

Truth, beauty and Godliness are subjective and humans have not been able to find an objective definition for either through centuries of search. It is a human's love, faith and devotion that gives any meaning to any of the 3. The story is set in a village where Roopa (Zeenat Aman) lives with her father, the village priest Pandit Shyam Sunder (Kanhaiyalal). Roopa is unconsidered a jinx as her mother died while giving birth to her. Bansi (A. K. Hangal) is Roopa's uncle and protects her from Pandit's wrath. Pandit wanted a boy and hence hated Roopa as a burden on himself. From the very early age, Roopa had a fabulous voice and she supported her father, the temple priest, in conducting religious ceremonies for patrons, which requires singing devotional songs. Still, the priest does not value Roopa and does not even celebrate her birthday as he says that he lost his wife the same day and does not know how to celebrate that day. As a young child (Padmini Kolhapure), the right side of Roopa's face and neck were burned by a pot of boiling oil which she spilled on herself while cooking a meal for her father. She was cooking the meal on occasion of her birthday, which Bansi insisted should be celebrated, leaving part of her face disfigured. Due to this dis-figuration, she is unmarried and everyone in the village pities her. Henceforth, Roopa keeps her right cheek hidden under the veil of her sari. Despite the terrible accident, Roopa remains religious and goes to the village temple daily, singing hymns and devotional songs. Pandit is eager to get Roopa married as she is old enough, but Shastri (Subroto Mahapatra), Roopa's prospective father-in-law & Shastri's son (Javed Khan) demand a hefty dowry to take her on. Despite the cruelty of her own father, Roopa understands her fate and says that she is resigned to stay at home and does not want Shyam to exert himself in his old age to gather money for her dowry. Rajeev (Shashi Kapoor) is a dashing engineer who arrives in the village to oversee the operation of a major dam. He lives in a guest house managed by dam supervisor Bade Babu (David Abraham Cheulkar) and Bade Babu's wife (Leela Chitnis). Jai Singh (Vishwa Mehra) is the supervisor. Rajeev's mom and dad have already passed away. Rajeev abhors anything ugly and he even gets scared when he sees his optically disfigured face in mirrors at the village fair. He hears Roopa's lovely singing at the temple and then later at the inauguration function of the new dam and meets her when she arrives at the temple again early morning. Rajeev does not see her disfigured side, and falls in love with her. Village belle Champa (Sheetal) is also in love with Rajeev. Rajeev mistakes Champa for Pooja and expresses his love for her. When he realizes she is not Pooja, he runs away, angering Champa. Rajeev continues to pursue Roopa during her morning singing sessions at the temple. He follows her to a waterfall where he watches her bathe and return to the temple. Rajeev introduces himself to Roopa and it is clear that he is attracted to her. Roopa hides her hideous side from Rajeev. One day Roopa and Rajeev both share a sensuous moment under the waterfall, where Pooja also finds herself attracted to Rajeev. Rajeev kisses her that day. He wants to sleep with her, but Roopa says she will have sex only after marriage. Rajeev then asks her father's permission to marry her. Roopa does not want to cheat Rajeev because she loves him deeply and first request his father to reject the marriage proposal. But everyone from the village (including the Panchayat) request her to change her mind. They even donate funds for her wedding festivities and thereby she agreed to get married to Rajeev thinking he may accept her with her condition as he claimed to love her truly. After the wedding, Rajeev discovers the truth and thinks that he was cheated and forced to marry someone else, at which point he disowns Roopa and drives her out of the house. Rajeev roams around the village at the wedding night in search of another Roopa, as he think there is another girl with the same name, waiting for him. On the other side, after being rejected by Rajeev at their wedding night, Roopa decides to commit suicide but rescued by Rajeev, when he thought he found the girl he fall in love with, not his wife. After being rescued, Roopa decides to meet him at night, using a veil to hide the scarred side of her face. Rajeev spends his days ignoring his wife, and his nights loving his mistress including having sex with her in the darkness of night, not knowing they are both the same woman. Rajeev's servant Jaisingh notices that Roopa is meeting Rajeev as his mistress at night. During one of their nights together, they make love and Roopa gets pregnant. When Rajeev finds out that his wife is pregnant, he accuses her of infidelity and refuses to believe that his "mistress" and wife are the same. He publicly shames her and wont relent even when Jaisingh also confirms that Rajeev's wife is Roopa and there is no other girl, and sends her back to her home. Seeing it, Roopa's father dies out of agony. Roopa vows that she will never ever return to Rajeev as his mistress. A terrible storm ravages the village, breaking open the dam which Rajeev had come to repair. The village is being evacuated as the dam's shutters are opening. In the swirling waters of the flood, Rajeev sees how shallow he has been. He finds his wife singing a lovely song in her sweet voice and comes to the realization that Roopa and his wife are the same woman, and saves Roopa from drowning. The dam waters flood the village and break the bridge that the villagers were using to cross over to the other side and safety. Once safe in the vicinity of the temple, Rajeev ask for Roopa's forgiveness and accepts Roopa as his wife.

Humiliated and falsely imprisoned, Reeta Mehra (Sadhana) swears to take revenge against Sohanlal (Rehman). Upon her release she finds out that her ailing mother (Leela Chitnis) has passed away, and this adds fuel to her vengeance. She then meets with Heeralal (Ashok Kumar), who was a former business partner of Heeralal, who went to jail to save him, and as a result had to serve a lengthy jail sentence. Upon his release, he finds out that Heeralal had not kept his promise to look after his wife and child. Heeralal coaches Reeta on how to go about their vengeance - their target is the only son of Sohanlal - Rajpal (Sanjay Khan); make him fall in love with Reeta; get them married and then extract vengeance from Sohanlal. But fate has something else planned for this group of people. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Bipinchandra breaks family tradition by marrying a city girl, Hemangini, much to the chagrin of his sister-in-law, Kadambini, and her husband, Navinchandra. Things are delicate even after both women give birth to two children each. Then Hemangini testifies against Navinchandra in Court, leading to the division of the property. Things got worse by the arrival of Kadambini's orphaned school-going step-brother, Kishan, who is beaten and abused by not only by Kadambini and Navinchandra, but also by their overweight son. When Hemangini objects to Kishan's ill-treatment, Bipin takes the side of the rest of the family, and may probably force her to abandon Kishan to his fate or divorce her. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Mary and Peter fall in love with each other and are about to get married, when Peter is asked to re-join his regiment to go to war. Shortly thereafter, he is missing, believed to be dead, leaving behind a devastated Mary who subsequently gives birth to twins, and leaves them on the doorsteps of two Goan households, and becomes a nun. Twenty four years later, India is a free country, while Goa is under the rule of the Portugese, Mary is the Mother Superior; Peter, who is still alive, is the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Goa, who has been entrusted the task of apprehending two revolutionaries by the name of Ram and Rahim - none other than his very own sons. Watch what happens when duo unleash a series of attacks against the oppressive Portugese regime, including robbing the Bank of Portugal, disrobing an arrogant Superindent of Police, Alburqueue, then setting his house on fire, joining hands with dreaded bandit Daler Singh, and abducting the daughter of the Goa's Hakim, Rita. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Tragedy strikes Ramu`s life and he ends up orphaned and crippled on the streets of Mumbai. He soon meets a blind boy named Mohan and the two team up and help each other survive.

Anand, the grandson of a rich man, leaves home to avoid an arranged marriage. He ends up falling for a girl in Mumbai, but his grandfather will do anything to bring him back home.

Kailash is stuck in a dilemma when his biggest case is against the person who is his mentor, his prospective father in law and the judge of the case.

In his quest for a heir, Rai Bahadur has an affair with a prostitute Meher. When Meher becomes pregnant he promises to take the child and educate him. But fate has other plans, for his wife Meena also becomes pregnant at the same time, and shortly thereafter both women give birth to two boys. Meher threatens to expose him if he does not take her son, and leave Meena's son in an orphanage. However, both children end up in his palatial home. He belittles Meher's son and finally accuses him of stealing. Fed up of these accusations, Meena leaves the house with Kishore, and ironically ends up with Meher. In the meantime, Rai's son has grown up to be an arrogant, and a champion boxer. And it is in the boxing ring that both half-brothers will meet again -- for a match of their lives -- as the trophy is none other than the beautiful Mala -- who both love and hope to marry. —gavin@sunny_deol2009@yahoo.com Rai Bahadur is a well-known and kind-hearted wealthy individual, who practices law. He lives with his wife, Meena, but both have no children. In his quest for a heir to his estate, he has an affair with a prostitute named Meher on the sly. When Meher becomes pregnant he promises to take the child, let him take his name, and educate him. But fate has other plans, for Meena also becomes pregnant at the same, and shortly thereafter both women give birth to two boys. Meher threatens to expose him if he does not take her son, and leave Meena's son in an orphanage. Rai Bahadur instructs a nurse to carry out this task - in vain though as both children end up in his palatial home. He knows that Kishore (Meher's son) is the child of a prostitute, belittles him, humiliates him, and finally accuses him of stealing. Fed up of these accusations, Meena leaves the house with Kishore, and ironically ends up with Meher, who looks after them. In the meantime, Rai's son, Pran, has grown up to be educated and arrogant, and a champion boxer. And it is in the boxing ring that both half-brothers will meet again - for a match of their lives - as the trophy is none other than the beautiful Mala - who both Pran and Kishore love and hope to marry. Watch as events unfold that will prove that it is not necessarily one's birth that fosters one's character. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

After serving a long prison term for a crime he did not commit, but was committed by his lord, Seth Hiralal, Bharat was finally released from prison. As he emerged from the prison gates, he vowed to the police inspector that he would never return to prison again. In stark contrast, Seth Hiralal, who appeared to be a respectable member of society, was secretly a notorious smuggler who consistently evaded paying taxes to the government. When the government introduced a new budget, one of Hiralal's loyal employees approached him with concerns about the company's income tax obligations. However, Hiralal became defensive and argumentative, leading the employee to resign from his position. Meanwhile, a CID officer posed as a press reporter and visited Hiralal's office to gauge his opinion on the new budget. Noticing the officer's true identity, Hiralal feigned support for the new budget. Just then, Bharat burst into the office, fresh from his release from prison, and demanded answers about promises Hiralal had made him before his incarceration. Enraged, Hiralal expelled Bharat from his office. In an attempt to cover up the situation, Hiralal lied to the CID officer that Bharat was trying to extort favors from him. Bharat tells his friend Jeevan about the circumstances that led him to end up in jail. In a flashback, Bharat reveals that he was once an orphan who was exploited by a gang and forced to beg on the streets. One day, he managed to escape and survived for a few days with the help of a kind person. However, that person was later imprisoned, leaving Bharat once again without a family. For living, Bharat turned to illegal activities. It was during this period that he met Bela, another struggling young girl. Bharat fell deeply in love with her and began to work towards a better life. Bela encouraged Bharat to change his ways and find a legitimate job. Bharat's efforts were rewarded when he impressed Hiralal's wife, who took a liking to him as if he were her own son who had been lost in childhood. Hiralal's wife introduced Bharat to her husband, and Bharat opened up about his troubled past. Moved by his story, Hiralal promised Bharat a job. Bela was overjoyed to see Bharat turning his life around. One day, Hiralal had an argument with one of his employees, who then walked away. Hiralal chased the employee along with Bharat, while driving the car by himself. In a fit of rage, Hiralal committed a vehicular assault on the employee and asked Bharat to pledge to admit the crime on his behalf. Hiralal promised Bharat that he would secure his future if he took the fall and served the prison sentence. Bharat accepted the offer and was imprisoned. Bela visited Bharat and broke down in tears due to their separation, ultimately leading her to take her own life. Back in the present, Bharat confides in his friend Jeevan about his desire for revenge against Hiralal. However, Jeevan disagreed and suggested that Bharat should instead help someone else who was struggling. But Bharat refused to listen and set out to murder Hiralal. Meanwhile, Hiralal's wife was celebrating the birthday of their lost son, worried about Hiralal's absence from the celebration. Bharat saw her crying and felt a pang of guilt. Unbeknownst to him, Jeevan informs the police about Bharat's plans to kill Hiralal. Hiralal's wife blamed Hiralal for his absence at their son's birthday party, and he apologized profusely. Just then, Bharat shot Hiralal, but miraculously, he survived. The police arrived on the scene, and Bharat fled the scene. As the police were chasing him, Bharat hid under a bridge along with Madhu, another individual who had also fled amidst false accusations of theft. The police and the person who had been pursuing Madhu were unable to capture them. Madhu escaped from Bharat, but he managed to catch up with her. Bharat then asked Madhu about her alleged stealing, to which she claimed she was innocent and had only gone to fetch a doctor for her ailing father. She also confided in Bharat about her struggling family situation. However, Bharat didn't believe her and instructed her to stop stealing. Disappointed, Madhu cried beside her ailing father. Bharat saw this and realized his mistake, deciding to fetch a doctor for Madhu's father. The doctor advised that Madhu's father needed to be admitted to the hospital, and Bharat paid the doctor's bill. He then informed Madhu that the doctor said her father would recover soon. Bharat asked Madhu about her father's accident, revealing his contribution to the accident. Madhu then asked Bharat to stay the night at her home, and he accepted the offer. He took care of Madhu's father during the night. As Madhu handed Bharat a blanket, she discovered a letter written by her twin sister Bela, who was studying in Lucknow. The letter revealed that Bela had given up on her studies and had instead decided to participate in a beauty contest. Bela was the opposite of Madhu - proud of her beauty and youth, she wanted to use her looks to manipulate men and earn money. With this intention, Bela left college and instructed her friend to inform Madhu that she didn't know where she was going. Bharat apologized to Madhu for doubting her character. Madhu thanked Bharat for saving her father's life, and Bharat thanked her in return for saving his own life from committing a murder. Bharat comforted Madhu and went to meet the doctor. Later, he told Jeevan that he had chosen to follow the right path. Hiralal invited Bharat to his home and offered him a job, but Bharat refused, citing his desire to stay on the right path. Madhu was slapped by her brother for not giving him her bangles, and Bharat comforted her as she cried, promising to take care of her and her father. While traveling to Bombay by train, Bela used her beauty to trap a young wealthy man, who offered her a hotel room. At the hotel, she received a call from a journalist asking for an interview, but she postponed it to keep him waiting. Meanwhile, she gets a call from Shekhar, the owner of the hotel, asking her out on a date, which she also postponed. Madhu and Bharat visited the hospital to see her father. Bela told Shekhar that she wanted wealth and power to rule over men. Later, Bela performed at an event organized by Shekhar, attended by wealthy men in the city. Impressed by her performance, the gentleman she had met on the train offered her a flower bouquet. However, Shekhar got angry and asked him to leave. Shekhar praised Bela's spectacular performance and obtained an autograph from her. Bela dreamed of being wealthier and more popular. A henchman of Hiralal arrived and offered Bela a necklace with a proposal to meet Mr. Hiralal. Bela refused to meet him and told him to schedule an appointment instead. The henchman then revealed that the papers Bela had signed as an autograph were actually a five-year contract with Hiralal, who had bought both Bela and the hotel. Panicked after being deceived by Shekhar, Bela completely opposed the henchman's threats and gave the necklace back to him. Hiralal arrived on the scene, and Bela tried to escape, but they captured her in the hotel. The romance between Madhu and Bharat continued to grow stronger. Madhu received a letter from Bela's friend, stating that Bela had left college and was missing. The gentleman Bela met on the train disapproved of her socializing with other men and tried to stop her, but she ignored him and left. Madhu informed Bharat about Bela's situation and handed him her photograph. Bharat decided to go to Lucknow to bring Bela back home. Hiralal arrived at Bela's location, and she instructed her secretary to make him wait for two hours before reminding her of their meeting. When they finally met, Hiralal offered Bela a spot in his gang. Bela requested 25% of the earnings, and Hiralal agreed. After completing a smuggling operation, Bela attempted to escape with the money, but the police followed her taxi. She quickly switched to another taxi, and then the plate number of the original taxi was changed to evade the authorities. Surprisingly, the new taxi driver turned out to be none other than Bharat. Bharat asked Bela for payment before starting the journey, and then inquired about the reason for her hurry. She remained silent and asked him to stop the taxi, suspecting him. She fled from the scene, and Bharat followed her. Bela managed to shake off Bharat and handed over the money to Hiralal, then informed him that their car had been suspected and that even the taxi driver had become suspicious of her. Hiralal then spotted Bharat as the taxi driver and told Bela that he could easily take care of him. Hiralal sent a henchman to kill Bharat, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Bharat captured the henchman and threatened him into revealing his boss's identity. The henchman refused to comply and managed to escape. Meanwhile, Madhu's father had recovered from his injuries and was discharged from the hospital. He visited Bharat's room and recognized him as the suspect in his accident. Disappointed, Madhu's father rebukes Bharat for deceiving Madhu. However, Bharat maintained his innocence and confessed his genuine love for Madhu. Madhu's father then asks Bharat to call off their marriage in order to protect Madhu from Hiralal's threats. Bharat promises to Madhu to discuss their relationship with Madhu's father and to bring Bela back into their lives. Bharat reminisced about their first meeting with Madhu and suddenly left, leaving her distraught. Madhu asked her father what he had said to Bharat that made him depart. Her father told her that their wedding was no longer possible. Enraged, Madhu criticized her father and tried to leave, but he told her that Bharat would not return as he had promised to stay away from her. Bharat returned to work with Hiralal, who offered him a gun and promised to secure his future. Unbeknownst to Bharat, Hiralal informed Bela that Bharat was working with him again. Bela instructed Hiralal to send Bharat to her, as she could use him to infiltrate the gang. Hiralal orders Bela to blow up a train carrying Bharat as part of their smuggling plan. Bela tried to win Bharat over, but he showed no interest. She then ordered him to sabotage the rail tracks, which would cause the train to explode and harm innocent passengers. However, Bharat disobeyed her, and she used a gun to blackmail him into compliance. After a tense confrontation, Bela realized the gravity of her actions and apologized to Bharat. She agreed to return home and start anew. Hiralal berated Bharat for foiling his plan and dismissed him from his service. Hiralal provided a sum of money to the man Bela met on the train, instructing him to harm Bela. Back at home, Bela confided in Madhu about her lover and praised him. When Madhu discovered that the man was none other than Bharat, her sister's love, she decided to disclose her relationship with him and sacrifice her love for her sister. The man Bela met on the train came to visit her, bearing money and requesting her return. However, when Bela refused, he threw acid in her face, hoping that no one would ever love her again. Bela took drastic measures to protect Madhu from him by cutting off the power supply, and the man escaped. The police eventually apprehended the suspect. Hiralal told Bela that her eyesight was irreparably damaged and offered to provide her with medical assistance. However, Bela rejected his offer and declared that she still loved Bharat. When Hiralal threatened her in Bharat's name, Bela threatened to expose his smuggling activities. Hiralal attempted to console her, promising to send Bharat to her. Meanwhile, Hiralal's wife visited Madhu and inquired about Bharat's whereabouts. Bharat attempted to shoot Hiralal with a gun, but Hiralal's wife misinterpreted the situation, telling Bharat that Madhu was unwell. Bharat subsequently went to visit Madhu, with Hiralal following closely behind. Bharat confessed his love to Madhu, unaware that Bela was listening in. Madhu asked Bharat to pretend to love Bela, but he refused, stating that Bela was merely experiencing a misunderstanding. Hearing this, heartbroken Bela flees home and attempts to take her own life. Bharat stopped her just in time, but before she could return to him, Hiralal shot and killed her. Hiralal then called the police, claiming he had witnessed Bharat murdering Bela. The police arrested Bharat as a result. Madhu and her father were devastated by the news of her sister's death. In court, Hiralal testified that he had witnessed Bharat murdering Bela. However, the defense attorney proved to the judge that Hiralal was lying. The defense attorney presented evidence that the murder weapon, which had Bharat's fingerprints, was once given to Bharat by Hiralal, only to be returned later. Bharat interpreted the defense attorney's words, telling the judge that the advocate was lying to save him. As a result, Bharat agreed to confess his crimes. Hiralal's lawyer made Bharat confess to attempting to murder Hiralal multiple times. The lawyer claimed that Bharat had murdered Bela in order to trap Madhu. Madhu objected to the lawyer's opinion, and Hiralal's lawyer requested that the judge impose a suitable punishment on Bharat. The defense attorney announced that he would no longer defend Bharat. Bharat confessed in court that he did not murder Bela, but had been forced to lie due to Hiralal's lawyer trapping him. He then confessed to his earlier crimes. The court adjourned until the next day. The defense attorney informed Hiralal's wife that there was no longer any hope of saving Bharat. A witness named Banwala, who had previously testified against Bharat, appeared at Hiralal's residence with a disguised police officer. Hiralal offered him money, but Banwala requested only 5 rupees. Banwala then revealed that he was actually Shambhu, an old servant of Hiralal who had once asked for 5 rupees from Hiralal to buy medicine for his ill son. However, Hiralal had refused, and Shambhu's son had since passed away. Shambhu threatened that another child would suffer a similar fate tomorrow, namely Bharat, whom Shambhu had stolen from Hiralal as revenge for his son's death. Shambhu threw the money at Hiralal and departed. Hiralal and his wife visited Bharat in jail and noticed a scar on his back. They suddenly realized that Bharat was their lost son. Hiralal's wife begged Hiralal to save their son from the death penalty. In court, Hiralal confessed that Bharat was innocent and that he himself had committed all the crimes. He revealed that Bharat was indeed his own son. The judge declared Bharat free of all charges and sentenced Hiralal to the death penalty instead. At the end of the film, Hiralal reunites both Bharat and Madhu before being taken away to prison.

"Awara", a film that introduced Raj Kapoor`s tramp character inspired by Charlie Chaplin, is regarded among the greatest films of all time. The film tells the story of Raj (Raj Kapoor) the estranged son of a wealthy judge Raghunath (Prithviraj Kapoor) who throws his wife out on the streets suspecting her of adultery as a result of which Raj and his mother live in poverty. Raj meets Rita (Nargis) in school and she leaves an impression on him, but they drift apart when Raj is expelled from school. Raj is convinced by Jagga (K.N. Singh), a crime boss, to take up a life of crime to escape his life of poverty. He encounters Rita again who is now a lawyer and a ward of Raghunath. Through dramatic twists and turns, Raghunath discovers that Raj is his son and a contrite Raj goes to jail with Rita promising to wait for him.