# Abhimaan (अभिमान) (1973 film)
**Abhimaan** (अभिमान, "Pride") is a 1973 Hindi musical drama directed by [Hrishikesh Mukherjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/hrishikesh-mukherjee), starring [Amitabh Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amitabh-bachchan) as the popular singer Subir Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri as his wife Uma, a classically trained singer whose success outstrips her husband's and wounds his ego.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/) • [2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/cast/) The film is often compared to *A Star Is Born* (1954) transposed to 1970s Indian cinema.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/abhimaan) • [4](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781838713973_A40384807/preview-9781838713973_A40384807.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 27 July 1973, Hindi, drama/musical, about 2 hours 2 minutes[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/cast/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/) |
| Director and writers | Hrishikesh Mukherjee (story); Nabendu Ghosh (screenplay); Rajinder Singh Bedi (dialogue)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/fullcredits/) |
| Music | S.D. Burman; lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri; playback by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, and Manhar Udhas[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/cast/) |
| Lead cast | Amitabh Bachchan (Subir Kumar), Jaya Bhaduri (Uma Kumar), Asrani, Bindu, Durga Khote, A.K. Hangal[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/) |
| Box office | India lifetime collection 8.5 million (0.85 crore), classified "Average"[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/box-office/) |
| Award | Jaya Bachchan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress[7](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/news/world-asia-india-64813501) |
| Audience rating | 7.8/10 on IMDb from about 3,300 users[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Subir Kumar is a famous Bombay-based pop singer thronged by female fans, some of whom propose marriage to him, though he is unsure marriage is for him. On a visit to his aunt ([Durga Khote](https://www.edgepedia.org/durga-khote)) he meets Uma (Jaya Bhaduri), a village girl taught to sing by her father (A.K. Hangal); she is classically trained and teases Subir about his popular style. They marry, and after returning to Bombay he announces that the two will sing together.[8](https://sony.shemaroome.com/movie_details.html?catalog_slug=bollywood-retro-movies&item_slug=abhimaan) • [4](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781838713973_A40384807/preview-9781838713973_A40384807.pdf)
Uma's career rises quickly. Producers want her for solo performances at a higher fee than her husband, and fans mob her rather than him. Subir cannot accept that his wife is more sought after, and the resulting conflicts strain the marriage; the film asks whether the couple will split or whether love will conquer an inflated ego.[8](https://sony.shemaroome.com/movie_details.html?catalog_slug=bollywood-retro-movies&item_slug=abhimaan) • [4](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781838713973_A40384807/preview-9781838713973_A40384807.pdf)
## Origins
Mukherjee denied that the film was written around its stars. He said the story was written around 1955, inspired by the marriage of a family friend, a couple who were professional singers and whose marriage was heading for the rocks; in the real story, he said, ego did not play as large a part as the ego he added for drama.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/trivia/?item=tr5481890) He also stated that the film drew on the breakdown of the marriage between the singer [Kishore Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kishore-kumar) and his wife [Ruma Guha Thakurta](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruma-guha-thakurta), herself a singer.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/trivia/?item=tr5481890) • [10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/special/why-kishore-kumar-stopped-singing-for-abhimaan/20230727.htm)
## Music
The score is by Sachin Dev Burman with lyrics by [Majrooh Sultanpuri](https://www.edgepedia.org/majrooh-sultanpuri).[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/cast/) The soundtrack includes "Meet Na Mila Re Man Ka", "Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina", "Teri Bindiya Re", "Piya Bina Piya Bina", "Ab To Hai Tumse Har Khushi Apni", "Loote Koi Man Ka Nagar", and "Nadiya Kinare".[11](https://music.apple.com/us/album/abhimaan-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1337279850)
**Kishore Kumar's withdrawal.** Kishore Kumar recorded two songs for Burman, "Meet Na Mila" and "Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina". When he learned that the film was based on his own troubled marriage to Ruma Guha Thakurta, he stopped recording, and Burman recorded the two duets in other voices: "Teri Bindiya Re" with [Mohammed Rafi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohammed-rafi) and "Loote Koi Mann Ka Dagar" with Manhar Udhas. This is why three voices sing for Amitabh Bachchan's character while only [Lata Mangeshkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/lata-mangeshkar) sings for Jaya's.[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/special/why-kishore-kumar-stopped-singing-for-abhimaan/20230727.htm) Mukherjee later said Lata Mangeshkar charged nothing for the songs.[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/special/why-kishore-kumar-stopped-singing-for-abhimaan/20230727.htm)
## Production and reception
The film was produced under the banner Amiya (AmiYa Productions), with Susheela Kamat and Pawan Kumar credited as producers.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/abhimaan) • [2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/cast/) According to IMDb trivia, Amitabh Bachchan and [Jaya Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaya-bachchan) invested their own money in the project under the AMIYA name, AMI for Amitabh and YA for Jaya; as the film did not do good business, they lost their investment.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/trivia/?item=tr5481890) Bollywood Hungama records a lifetime India net collection of 8.5 million (0.85 crore) and an "Average" verdict, against hits the same year such as *[Bobby](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobby-1973-film)* (55 million (5.5 crore)) and *[Zanjeer](https://www.edgepedia.org/zanjeer-1973-film)* (30 million (3 crore)).[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/box-office/) • [12](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office-collections/filterbycountry/IND/1973/) The film was, however, a big hit in Sri Lanka, where it was screened for 590 days at the Empire cinema in Colombo.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/trivia/?item=tr5481890)
Mukherjee paired Bachchan with Jaya Bhaduri, whom he married about a month before the film's release, and parallels were widely drawn between the couple's off-screen relationship and the plot.[7](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/news/world-asia-india-64813501) Jaya won the [Filmfare Award for Best Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-actress) for her performance.[7](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/news/world-asia-india-64813501) A BBC piece marking the film's 50th year in 2023 described it as a marital drama about the fragility of human relationships that remains relevant, noting that ego often comes between couples, especially in a society where many men are uncomfortable with wives who do better.[7](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/news/world-asia-india-64813501)
## Legacy
The film is counted among Mukherjee's best-known works alongside *[Anand](https://www.edgepedia.org/anand-1971-film)*, *Guddi*, *Bawarchi*, *[Chupke Chupke](https://www.edgepedia.org/chupke-chupke-1975-film)*, and *Namak Haraam*, and among the films in which Amitabh Bachchan played roles far removed from his action-hero persona, here as the egoistical singer envious of his wife's success.[13](https://virtuafil.org/images/expos/parts/exhibits/1853.pdf) • [14](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/amitabh-bachchan/introduction/teaching) In 2022 the [International Film Festival of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-film-festival-of-india) paid homage to *Abhimaan* as a film that has stood the test of time.[15](https://iffigoa.org/public/images/thePeacock/367326_1731665805.pdf) Critics and viewers continue to read it as a study of male ego and marriage; a Rotten Tomatoes critic review calls it "A Star Is Born with the flavor of 1970s Indian Cinema".[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/abhimaan)
## References
1. [Abhimaan (1973), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/)
2. [Abhimaan Cast & Crew, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/cast/)
3. [Abhimaan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/abhimaan)
4. [100 Bollywood Films, Routledge (preview)](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781838713973_A40384807/preview-9781838713973_A40384807.pdf)
5. [Abhimaan (1973) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/fullcredits/)
6. [Abhimaan Box Office, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abhimaan-2/box-office/)
7. [Abhimaan: A Bollywood marital drama that's relevant even after 50 years, BBC News (mirror)](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/news/world-asia-india-64813501)
8. [Abhimaan, ShemarooMe](https://sony.shemaroome.com/movie_details.html?catalog_slug=bollywood-retro-movies&item_slug=abhimaan)
9. [Abhimaan (1973) Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069671/trivia/?item=tr5481890)
10. [Why Kishore Kumar Stopped Singing For Abhimaan, Rediff.com (27 July 2023)](https://m.rediff.com/movies/special/why-kishore-kumar-stopped-singing-for-abhimaan/20230727.htm)
11. [Abhimaan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/abhimaan-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1337279850)
12. [Box Office Collection 1973, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office-collections/filterbycountry/IND/1973/)
13. [Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Virtua Film exhibit](https://virtuafil.org/images/expos/parts/exhibits/1853.pdf)
14. [Amitabh Bachchan, Actor (b. 1942), Tuli Research Centre](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/amitabh-bachchan/introduction/teaching)
15. [IFFI 2022 homage, IFFI Goa Peacock (PDF)](https://iffigoa.org/public/images/thePeacock/367326_1731665805.pdf)
---
*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 1970 to 1975*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license