Charas (film)

Charas
Directed by	Ramanand Sagar
Produced by	Ramanand Sagar
Written by	Ved Rahi Ramanand Sagar
Starring	Dharmendra Hema Malini Ajit Amjad Khan Aruna Irani Asrani
Music by	Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Cinematography	Prem Sagar
Editing by	Lachhmandass
Studio	Jyoti Studios Natraj Studios
Distributed by	Sagar Art International
Release date(s)	24 May 1976
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Charas is a 1976 Hindi movie produced and directed by Ramanand Sagar. The film stars Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Ajit, Aruna Irani, Amjad Khan, Asrani, Sujit Kumar, Keshto Mukherjee and Tom Alter. The film's music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Parts of the film such as the drug angle and most notably the climax scene are plagiarized from Alistair MacLean's 1969 novel Puppet on a Chain, and a 1970 film of the same name.

Plot

Vijay (Dharmendra) is a NRI living in Uganda with his father and sister Radha (Aruna Irani). They are planning to move back to India because of a civil war in the country. The night they were about to move, their home is attacked by rebels and set on fire. Vijay jumps in the fire to save his sister. He carries a woman out, but she turns out to be the housemaid in his sister's clothes (Radha asked the maid to choose the clothes she liked before she left and the maid asked her for the clothes she was wearing). Vijay's father dies from the trauma of losing his daughter. Vijay too believes that Radha burned with the house, but when no body is found he feels that there is something fishy.

Upon reaching India he realises that the caretaker (Ajeeth) of his property has sold most of it and is not willing to return it while using it for illegal purposes. Ajit tries to kill Vijay who, while escaping from his enemies, hides in the car of Ramaa (Hema Malini). After a gruesome car chase, the goons of Ajeet are chased off by an unknown man. The person claims to be a rival mafia don to Ajit and invites Vijay to join his gang in order to regain his ancestral property and find his sister Radha. Vijay declines, saying he would rather suffer all his life than to become a criminal. Ramaa takes him to his home and he contacts the police. They ask Vijay to join them in combating Ajeet's international drug racket.

Ramaa, a renowned dancer and stage performer, has a shady past. She is blackmailed by a mafia don (an ally of Ajeet) who frames her as a murder suspect. He uses her to smuggle drugs.

Vijay's mission takes him to Raipur and then Ajami where he again bumps into Ramaa.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film is composed by the duo of Laxmikant-Pyarelal and the lyrics were written by the veteran lyricist Anand Bakshi.

Tracklisting

Song	Singer(s)
Kal Ki Haseen Mulaqat Ke Liye	Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar
Aaja Teri Yaad Ayi	Mohammad Rafi, Anand Bakshi & Lata Mangeshkar
Raja Na Ja Dil Todke	Lata Mangeshkar
Mera Nam Ballerina	Asha Bhosle
Main Ek Shareef Ladki Hon	Lata Mangeshkar
Charas Charas	Mahendra Kapoor & Lata Mangeshkar

External links

• Charas at the Internet Movie Database