Saudagar (1973)

A calculative man schemes to deceit a poor but young widow for his personal monetary gains.

Director:

Sudhendu Roy

Writers:

Narendranath Mitra (story), Sudhendu Roy (screenplay)

Stars:

Amitabh Bachchan, Nutan, Trilok Kapoor

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Moti
Nutan	...	Mahjubhi
Trilok Kapoor
Padma Khanna	...	Phoolbanu
Murad
Leela Mishra	...	Badi Bhi
Dev Kishan
Jugnu
V. Gopal
C.S. Dubey

Storyline

Moti sells gurd in the market. He collects the raw material and takes them to an older woman, Mahjubhi, who makes exemplary gurd. Moti loves a village girl but is unable to afford to pay for the maher (dowry/marriage expenses) to her father. So he decides to marry Mahjubhi, proposes to her, which she accepts, they marry, and she moves in with him. Moti extracts a lot of work from Mahjubhi so that he can save enough money to pay for his marriage expenses. Shortly after he saves enough money, he decides to give Mahjubhi talaq (divorce), accusing her of infidelity. Shortly after that he marries the village girl, and he goes back to his business of selling gurd. With the skills of Mahjubhi taken away, will Moti survive on his own, and will his new wife be able to offer him the support and skills in order to enable him to survive in his trade.

---

Plot Keywords:

market | bathing | selfishness | river | paan | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Family

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the late 1960's , producer, assistant director Raaj Grover took Amitabh to meet Tarachand Barjatya for a screen test. Amitabh arrived in a taxi cab wearing a white churidar pyjama. This angered Raaj Grovel as he felt the tight fitting pants emphasized on Amitabh long and skinny legs . He told Amitabh what he felt. The appointment was for 11:05. Amitabh and Raj Grover arrived and knocked on the door at 11 pm. This angered Barjatya and he told them that he said the appointment was for 11:05 am not 11:00. The minute Tarachand Barjatya saw Amitabh he said "No heroine will ever want to work with you. You are too tall. Why don't you go and become a poet like your father." After that there was a 10 minute silence in the room. A dejected Amitabh thanked Barjatya for his time and left. Two years lated Tarachand Barjatya changed his mind about Amitabh after seeing the movie Anand. That is when Amitabh signed Saudagar.

---

Connections

Referenced in Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007)

User Reviews

Excellent ! Betrayal & Desire destroying lives constrained by poverty.

Hindi movies rarely have subtle and powerful acting depicting complex human weaknesses like desire leading to destruction of lives. A simple tale told powerfully. Watch it with compassion for the characters; understanding the limitations of the culture (Mehr money for Marriage starting the problem and Easy Divorce compounding it); and Desire in one area destroying lives in another..

"Yeh aag nahi Bujhi" as the last line nails it home. Very subtle acting; Powerful Screenplay .. Must Watch.

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

26 October 1973 (India)

Also Known As:

Dealer

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rajshri Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1