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Aa Gale Lag Jaa (आ गले लग जा) (1973 film)

Aa Gale Lag Jaa (आ गले लग जा) is a 1973 Hindi-language romantic drama directed by Manmohan Desai and starring Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, and Shatrughan Sinha.1 The film tells the story of Prem and Preeti, a couple separated by a forged letter, who meet again years later, when Preeti discovers that Rahul is her son while Prem already knows that Rahul is his.2 Its soundtrack, composed by R. D. Burman, produced several durable hits, including "Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi".3

Key factDetail
DirectorManmohan Desai1
Lead castShashi Kapoor (Prem), Sharmila Tagore (Preeti), Shatrughan Sinha (Dr. Amar)1
MusicR. D. Burman; lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi2
ReleaseNovember 1973; sources give 5, 6, or 16 November3 • 4 • 2
RuntimeReported variously as 149 minutes, 2h 27m, 2h 28m, 2h 29m, and 2h 46m5 • 1 • 2
Original titleThe film was originally titled Hum Dono2
Audience rating7.1 on IMDb5

Spoilers

Plot

Preeti lives a wealthy lifestyle in Bombay with her widower father, Heerachand, and is a medical student. On a trip to Simla she falls in love with Prem, and the two become intimate. When her father opposes the alliance, Prem leaves Preeti a note explaining that her father refused the match and that he was leaving to see his ailing mother. Heerachand intercepts the letter and alters it, writing that Prem abandoned Preeti because her father refused to pay him money.2

Years later Prem and Preeti meet again. Prem arrives with a handicapped boy, Rahul, while Preeti is about to become engaged to Dr. Amar, and Preeti comes to believe that Prem has reappeared to be near her sister-in-law Tikki. In fact Rahul is Prem and Preeti's son; Preeti's father had told her after the birth that her child was stillborn, and Prem has come to Dr. Amar for Rahul's treatment. After the successful operation Preeti learns the truth and confronts her father, who confesses and asks forgiveness. The film ends with Preeti and Prem reunited with their son and their families reconciled.2

Production and credits

The film was written by a team associated with Desai's 1970s output: the story is credited to Jeevanprabha M. Desai (Smt. Jeevanprabha M. Desai), the screenplay to Prayag Raj, and the dialogues to K. B. Pathak.2 • 6 Peter Pereira was the director of photography and R. D. Burman the music director.2

Producer credit is reported differently across sources. Apple TV lists Shashi Kapoor as producer,1 the Hindi-language film wiki and the Goldmines releases list A. K. Nadiadwala,4 • 7 and Moviebuff credits H. A. Nadiadwala.2 A catalog record lists the production as Ranjit Studios.8

Music

R. D. Burman composed the score and songs, with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi.2 The soundtrack includes "Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi" (sung by Kishore Kumar and Sushma Shrestha), "Wada Karo" (Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar), "Ai Mere Bete", and "Naa Koi Dil Mein Samaya".3 Moviebuff notes that "Tera Mujh Se Hain Pehle" was sampled from "The Yellow Rose of Texas" as recorded by Elvis Presley.2 Viewer reviews on Letterboxd repeatedly single out "Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi" as the film's most remembered element.9

Reception and afterlife

The film circulated internationally. An advertisement for Aa Gale Lag Jaa appeared in the Punjabi newspaper Des Perdes in 1974, and the Indian Workers Association in Southall showed Indian films at the Dominion cinema to raise funds; the archive record describes Kapoor, Tagore, and Sinha as three of India's most well-known actors during the 1970s.10

The film remains in circulation: it streams on Amazon Prime Video in India and airs on Sony MAX 2 in the United Kingdom, with an IMDb rating of 7.1.5 • 11 A separate Hindi film with the same title, directed by Hamid Ali Khan and starring Jugal Hansraj, Urmila Matondkar, and Paresh Rawal, was released in 1994 with a different story about a poor young man and a wealthy woman.12

References

  1. Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Apple TV
  2. Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973), Moviebuff
  3. Aa Gale Lag Jaa Movie (1973), Digit Binge
  4. आ गले लग जा (1973 फ़िल्म), Hindi Wikia
  5. Aa Gale Lag Jaa streaming, JustWatch (India)
  6. Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Rotten Tomatoes
  7. आ गले लग जा (1973), Goldmines Bollywood, YouTube
  8. Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973) cast, credits and record, Travel India Guide
  9. Reviews of Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973), Letterboxd
  10. Indian Cinema, Connecting Histories (Birmingham City Archives)
  11. Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973) TV Listings, MyTelly
  12. Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1994), JustWatch (US)

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026

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