| Ram Teri Ganga Maili | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Raj Kapoor |
| Written by | Raj Kapoor V. P. Sathe K. K. Singh Jyoti Swaroop |
| Produced by | Randhir Kapoor |
| Starring | Rajiv Kapoor Mandakini |
| Cinematography | Radhu Karmakar |
| Edited by | Raj Kapoor |
| Music by | Ravindra Jain |
| Distributed by | R. K. Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 178 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹1.44crore |
| Box office | est.₹19crores (equivalent to ₹326 crore (US$46 million) in 2016) |
Ram Teri Ganga Maili (transl. Ram, your Ganga is tainted) is a 1985 IndianHindi-languageromantic drama film co-written and directed byRaj Kapoor. The film starsRajiv Kapoor andMandakini. The music was composed byRavindra Jain. It was the last film directed by Kapoor.
Ram Teri Ganga Maili was released on 16 August 1985. The film was thehighest-grossing Indian film of the year, whichBox Office India classified as an "All-Time Blockbuster".[1] It was also one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the 1980s, alongsideKranti (1981) andMaine Pyar Kiya (1989).
The film won fiveFilmfare Awards. The film generated controversy because of Mandakini's scenes ofbreastfeeding andbathing in a translucent saree. The film still received a U (Universal) certificate from theIndian Film Certification Board, which was later amended to U/A.
Narendra Sahay a.k.a. "Naren" is the son of Jeeva Sahay. He is a rich politician inCalcutta. Naren visitsGangotri to study the source of theholy riverGanga, and to get some holy water for his wheelchair-using paternal grandmother. There he meets a very pretty girl named Ganga Singh. Ganga lives near Gangotri with her brother, Karam. Naren sees Ganga Taking Bath in a white saree under the waterfall and she also helped him to collect the holy water. Soon, they fall in love, decide to marry and sleep together. They are happily married but suddenly Naren has to return to Calcutta as he wanted to convince his parents about Ganga. While leaving for Calcutta, he promises that he will soon return to her but is prevented from doing so.
Ganga is pregnant with Naren's child and she gives birth to son. She faces many problems at her place because of her child and her beauty. Karam is killed by enemies and Ganga is alone; finally deciding to go to her husband, Naren, Ganga travels from Gangotri to Calcutta. AtRishikesh, she is exploited by two women and a man. Then inBenaras, she is molested by aPandit, rescued by the police and given a travel ticket to Calcutta. She falls into the clutches of Manilal who lures her to a brothel near Benaras.
Bhagwat Choudhary, a rich politician, buys Ganga and brings her to his "bagan bari" (house near a garden) as a concubine. Bhagwat has fixed his daughter, Radha's wedding to Naren, who was informed that Ganga is dead. So, he decided to marry Radha, according to his father's wish. Naren's maternal uncle, Kunj Bihari, finds Ganga in Bhagwat's bagan bari and invites her to dance at her husband's wedding (to test if her husband can recognize her or not). At the end, Naren recognizes his wife, Ganga. Jeeva refuses to accept Ganga as his daughter-in-law and Naren soon finds out about his son. They try to leave with their son but Bhagwat Choudhary shoots Ganga in a fit of rage, causing Naren to thrash Bhagwat Choudhary, believing that he killed Ganga. Radha then informs him that Ganga has survived and Naren leaves with Ganga and their son by the river Ganga.
According toPadmini Kolhapure, she was the initial choice for the female lead role but declined because the script had a kissing scene.[2] Mandakini, who ultimately played the role, disputed Kolhapure's claims. She said Raj Kapoor wanted only a new face, rather than an established actress, as he believed he could not "make someone pure Ganga if they have an established image". Mandakini also stated that she did not breastfeed despite popular belief, but the scene was shot in a way to suggest that.[3] in 2025,Khusboo revealed that she was first choice for playing Ganga.[4]
The inspiration for this movie is the song 'Ek Radha, Ek Meera', about the differing kinds of love for Krishna from Radha and Meera. The song had been written and composed by then new music directorRavindra Jain. Upon hearing the song (being sung on the stage by Ravindra Jain himself) at a wedding, Raj Kapoor was struck by the song. He later invited the singer to sing the same song to him again. Thus was born a movie, from the love of a song. The entire movie was conceived from that one song. This incident was narrated byRandhir Kapoor, who had accompanied his father to that wedding.[5]
According toPhilip Lutgendorf, the movie is an allegory that "synthesizes classical and mythic narrative, soft-core political and social commentary (here condemning the corruption of politicians and capitalists and championing the nascent environmental initiatives of Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi). The narrative recapitulates theAbhijñānaśākuntalam story that first appeared in the epicMahabharata and then was reworked, some six hundred years later, by the poetKalidasa."[6]
The final song sequence "Ek Radha ek Meera" brings Raj Kapoor's personal experiences with filmdom and reality. This song sequence is the climax of the plot where the bride-to-be is face-to-face with the other "saut", the culturally "polluted" dancer who has made that journey from the pure source of the Himalayas to the ever-flowing and ever-absorbing Ganges with all of the human impurities. It also differentiates between the love ofRadha andMeera and reconnects the movie back to the Krishna Leelas.[citation needed]
Ram Teri Ganga Maili performed well at the box office, becoming thehighest-grossing Indian film of the year, whichBox Office India classified as an "All-Time Blockbuster". It collected a nett amount of ₹9.5 crore.[1]
The film also caused a stir because of two scenes: one in which Mandakini bathes under a waterfall wearing only a flimsy whitesaree through which her breasts are partially visible and another in which she is shown breast-feeding a child. Some critics claimed that the scenes were vulgar and exploitative, and were used to get around the Censor Board's stringent rules againstnudity. Kapoor defended the inclusion of the scenes stating that they were tasteful.[citation needed]
Music of this movie was given by lateRavindra Jain, who won Fimfare Award for Best Music Director for this.