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Aakhri Daku (आखिरी डाकू)

Aakhri Daku (आखिरी डाकू, Hindi name also written आखरी डाकू; translated as "The last dacoit") is a 1978 Hindi action film directed by Prakash Mehra, starring Vinod Khanna, Randhir Kapoor, Rekha, and Reena Roy. It was produced by Shanti Sagar under the banner Art Makers, with music by the composing duo Kalyanji–Anandji.1 • 2 • 3

Key factDetail
Original titleआखिरी डाकू (also rendered आखरी डाकू), translated "The last dacoit"2
Release1978; databases list 7 March 1978 (wide theatrical release in India)2
Director / producerPrakash Mehra; Shanti Sagar, banner Art Makers1 • 3
Lead castVinod Khanna, Randhir Kapoor, Rekha, Reena Roy, with Sujit Kumar, Ranjeet, Keshto Mukherjee, Paintal, Agha, and P. Jairaj4
MusicKalyanji–Anandji; lyrics by Indeevar and Anjaan; four songs1 • 5
Runtime / rating2 hours 20 minutes; censor rating U in India2
GenreAction2

Spoilers

Cast and characters

Vinod Khanna plays Mangal Singh, a feared dacoit of the Chambal valley with a government reward on his head. Reena Roy plays Champa, the dacoit's lover, who wants him to abandon his life of crime and marry her. Randhir Kapoor plays Bhola, a poor, honest village simpleton, and Rekha plays Bhola's sweetheart.2

The supporting cast includes Sujit Kumar, Ranjeet, Keshto Mukherjee, Paintal, Agha, P. Jairaj, Mumtaz Begum, Dulari, Padmini Kapila, and Helen. Achala Sachdev plays Bhola's mother in the plot summary.2

Plot

The story turns on an identity swap. Mangal Singh loots and kills in the Chambal valley; the reward on his head of Rs. 5,000 rises to Rs. 50,000. Bhola, driven to despair by poverty after his mother scolds him, tries to end his life and is caught by Mangal Singh's men. Mangal Singh, whose true face is unknown to the police, proposes a trade: Bhola will surrender as Mangal Singh and hang in his place, while the real dacoit collects the Rs. 50,000 reward from the government and passes it to Bhola's family. Events reveal that Mangal Singh is in fact Bhola's brother, and the police have already identified Bhola as the dacoit.2

Production and crew

Prakash Mehra directed the film. His Hindi output that same year included Muqaddar Ka Sikandar; a later obituary in the Hindustan Times grouped Aakhri Daku with Zindagi Ek Jua (1992) as the "duds" among his films, in contrast to his blockbusters.2 • 6 The Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema catalogs the film as Aakhri Daku (Prakash Mehra, H, 1978), the standard abbreviation for a Hindi film.7

Production credits differ across databases. Bollywood Hungama, India-Forums, and the Tuli Research Centre's poster archive name Shanti Sagar as producer; the Tuli entry records the banner as Art Makers on a 1978 half-sheet poster.1 • 3 The archived poster, an industry artifact, supports the Shanti Sagar attribution.

Music

The soundtrack, composed by Kalyanji–Anandji (Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah), has four songs. "Koi Na Koi To Sabhi Me Kami Hai" is sung by Kishore Kumar with lyrics by Indeevar; "Kahi Na Jiya Lage To Meri Gali Aaiyo" is a mujra-style number sung by Asha Bhosle; and "Maiya Mere Bhaiya Na Aaye Ri", a sad song, and "Yaar Mera Paise Kaa Deewana" are sung by Lata Mangeshkar, with lyrics by Anjaan on the latter three. The songs were released on an EP issued by Saregama India Limited.5 • 8 • 9

Release

Databases disagree on the exact day of release. Moviebuff lists 7 March 1978 as a wide theatrical release in India, and this date is repeated on several streaming-guide pages.2 The BollywoodMDB calendar instead lists the film among 1978 releases on 19 January 1978, alongside Vishwanath and Nasbandi in the same month.10 All sources agree on the year 1978.1

The film is cataloged in the filmography of Prakash Mehra in the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema and appears in listings of 1978 Hindi films.7 It is not currently available on major streaming services.11

References

  1. Aakhri Daku Cast & Crew, Bollywood Hungama
  2. Aakhri Daku (1978), Moviebuff
  3. Sagar, Shanti (Producer), Aakhri Daku, 1978 – Half Sheet Poster, Tuli Research Centre for India Studies
  4. Aakhri Daku, Bollywood Legends
  5. Aakhri Daku Music, Bollywood Hungama
  6. Prakash Mehra, creator of Bollywood's 'angry young man', Hindustan Times (2009)
  7. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema, entry listings (indiancine.ma text copy)
  8. Aakhri Daku (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP, Apple Music
  9. Aakhri Daku (1978) song lyrics and details, Hindilyrics4u
  10. Bollywood Movie Calendar 1978, BollywoodMDB
  11. Watch Aakhri Daku (1978), Yidio

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 1970s › Released 1976 to 1979

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

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Aakhri Daku (आखिरी डाकू)

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