{ "id": "epvc90gcsw", "slug": "gaman", "title": "Gaman (गमन)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s", "label": "Hindi films of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1976-1979", "label": "Released 1976 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1976-1979" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1976-1979", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000: Released 1976 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1976-1979", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s", "label": "Hindi films of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1976-1979", "label": "Released 1976 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1976-1979" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Gaman (गमन), 1978 Hindi parallel-cinema drama and Muzaffar Ali's debut, starring Farooq Shaikh and Smita Patil; a UP migrant taxi driver in Bombay, with Jaidev's National Award-winning music.", "snippet": "Gaman (गमन), 1978 Hindi parallel-cinema drama and Muzaffar Ali's debut, starring Farooq Shaikh and Smita Patil; a UP migrant taxi driver in Bombay, with Jaidev's National Award-winning music.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1976-1979", "markdown": "# Gaman (गमन)\n\n**Gaman** (गमन; \"departure\") is a 1978 Hindi-language drama directed by Muzaffar Ali, his debut film, about a poor villager from [Uttar Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/uttar-pradesh) who migrates to Bombay and becomes a taxi driver while his wife waits in the village[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/) • [2](https://filmguide.iffigoa.org/detail/?id=6749). It belongs to the Hindi parallel cinema movement of the 1970s and 1980s, which advocated uncompromising realism, and it won [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards) for its music direction and playback singing (Singers record songs that on-screen actors lip-sync)[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/) • [3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | India, 1978, Hindi-language drama, 119 minutes[2](https://filmguide.iffigoa.org/detail/?id=6749) |\n| Director | Muzaffar Ali, who also produced; his first feature film[2](https://filmguide.iffigoa.org/detail/?id=6749) |\n| Lead cast | Farooq Shaikh as Ghulam Hasan; Smita Patil as Khairun[2](https://filmguide.iffigoa.org/detail/?id=6749) |\n| Music | Jaidev; National Award for Best Music Direction (1978)[3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/) |\n| Other National Award | Best Playback Singing (1978), Chhaya Ganguli for \"Aap ki yaad aati rahi\"[3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/) |\n| Production | Integrated Films banner; Cinegraph also lists the National Film Development Corporation of India among studios[4](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/generic/nana-patekar/research-centre/all/gaman-1978-cinema-song-synopsis-booklet-1784) • [5](https://cinegraph.org/movies/gaman-1978) |\n| Budget | About 400,000 rupees (4 lakh rupees), according to Muzaffar Ali, speaking of the 1978-79 production[6](https://sarokarnama.blogspot.com/2012/05/blog-post_10.html) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and setting\n\nGhulam Hasan, a poor villager from Uttar Pradesh, migrates to Bombay in hopes of earning a better living, leaving behind his aging mother and his wife Khairun. Life in Mumbai brings him nothing but difficulty and a sense of isolation: behind the wheel of a taxi, he copes with precarious conditions, mistreatment, and inner hollowness as he longs to go back to his village, while Khairun remains a devoted presence there as circumstance gradually destroys what they had hoped for.[2](https://filmguide.iffigoa.org/detail/?id=6749) The film is dedicated to the \"Taxi Drivers of Bombay\", and its title, which means departure, fits the story of Ghulam and the thousands of cabbies who arrive in the city to make a living[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/).\n\nThe narrative oscillates between two settings: Kotwara, a small village in Uttar Pradesh near Lucknow, and Bombay, the metropolis whose lure draws migrants[7](https://tanqeed.com/recalling-gaman-1978/). Ghulam's friend Lallulal Tewari, played by [Jalal Agha](https://www.edgepedia.org/jalal-agha), has settled in the city for years but lives in a shanty threatened with demolition, with a Maharashtrian sweetheart, [Yashodhara](https://www.edgepedia.org/yashodhara), whose family opposes the relationship. After Tewari and Yashodhara are murdered by her family, Ghulam decides to leave Bombay but keeps delaying; the film ends with him standing at the grilled gate of the V.T. Station, staring at the trains that would take him home, unable to leave[3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/).\n\n## Production\n\nMuzaffar Ali conceived the film while working for [Air India](https://www.edgepedia.org/air-india) in Bombay, where he became aware of the hybrid lives of people who had migrated to the city from other parts of the country, far from the cultures of their native regions[8](https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-man-behind-umrao-jaan-and-kotwara-muzaffar-ali/story-0noql8Re6y8dZGsXA45WSJ.html). In a 1997 interview he said he made Gaman for about 400,000 rupees (4 lakh rupees) in 1978-79, and that at the time of making it he was working as publicity in-charge at Air India[6](https://sarokarnama.blogspot.com/2012/05/blog-post_10.html).\n\nThe film was shot at Kotwara, Ali's native village, with local people appearing in the narrative, and the director credits the natives of Kotwara in the roll; reviewers note it is hard to find a frame that looks like a set or studio[7](https://tanqeed.com/recalling-gaman-1978/). Gaman was also the debut project for actor [Nana Patekar](https://www.edgepedia.org/nana-patekar), who played Vasu; Ali credited Patekar with introducing him to the Marathi acting world and to stalwarts such as Sulabha Deshpande and Arvind Deshpande[9](https://theprint.in/feature/he-was-electrifying-muzaffar-ali-remembers-directing-nana-patekar-in-gaman/3065954/).\n\nCredits differ between databases. The IFFI film guide lists the screenplay as Shama Zaidi and the cinematography as V. K. Murthy[2](https://filmguide.iffigoa.org/detail/?id=6749), while Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Indiancine.ma credit Hriday Lani as writer and Nadeem Khan as cinematographer[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gaman) • [11](https://indiancine.ma/SZG/player). The cast also included Gita Siddharth as Yashodhara, Amir Bano as Amma, Hira Devi Mishra, Sulabha Deshpande, Satish Shah, and [Protima Bedi](https://www.edgepedia.org/protima-bedi)[4](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/generic/nana-patekar/research-centre/all/gaman-1978-cinema-song-synopsis-booklet-1784).\n\n## Music and poetry\n\nJaidev's score, based on the Hindustani classical tradition with lyrics in both Hindi and Urdu, brought together the poets Shahryar and [Makhdoom Mohiuddin](https://www.edgepedia.org/makhdoom-mohiuddin) with singers including Chhaya Ganguli, Suresh Wadekar, Hariharan, and Hira Devi Mishra[3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/) • [7](https://tanqeed.com/recalling-gaman-1978/). Chhaya Ganguli won the National Award for Best Playback Singing for \"Aap ki yaad aati rahi\", a poem by Makhdoom Mohiuddin; when Mohiuddin died, Faiz Ahmed Faiz chose that poem as his eulogy[3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/) • [1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/). \"Seene mein jalan\", penned by Shahryar and sung by Suresh Wadekar, remains the film's best-remembered song and has been described as an anthem of the migrant in a big city[3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/). Shahryar's poetry over Jaidev's score is cited as capturing the cold, forever-on-the-move character of Bombay[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/).\n\n## Place in parallel cinema and Ali's career\n\nGaman appeared in the 1970s wave of Hindi parallel cinema led by [Shyam Benegal](https://www.edgepedia.org/shyam-benegal), Mani Kaul, Govind Nihalani, Ketan Mehta, and Saeed Mirza, a movement that advocated uncompromising realism and took migration as one of its serious subjects[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/). [The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express) calls the film a work of exceptional humanism and identifies migration itself, a topic that led to key political changes in Bombay, as the source of its urgency[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/).\n\nIt is the first of Ali's Awadh trilogy, followed by *Umrao Jaan* (1981), for which he is best known, and *Anjuman*[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/). Ali has said the success of Gaman encouraged him to make Anjuman, a film on the artisans of Awadh[12](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/hindi/entertainment/story/2005/09/050923_muzaffar_ali.shtml). Faiz Ahmed Faiz described Gaman as \"a poem in visuals\"[8](https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-man-behind-umrao-jaan-and-kotwara-muzaffar-ali/story-0noql8Re6y8dZGsXA45WSJ.html). A contemporary review by filmmaker Sai Paranjpye praised Farooq Shaikh's portrayal of Ghulam Hasan as \"a faceless man in the crowd\" and noted [Smita Patil](https://www.edgepedia.org/smita-patil)'s achievement in a small role, ringing true as the woman left behind[3](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/).\n\n## Reception and availability\n\nOn IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.5/10 from about 270 users[13](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150683/). As of the most recent streaming checks, Gaman is available in India on EPIC ON, with subscription and free-with-ads options[14](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/gaman).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Our ultimate guide to the 1970-80s parallel cinema gems, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/parallel-cinema-movies-6375603/)\n2. [Gaman, MYIFFI Film Guide, IFFI Goa](https://filmguide.iffigoa.org/detail/?id=6749)\n3. [Gaman (1978), Art House Cinema](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2021/08/gaman-1978/)\n4. [Ali, Muzaffar (Producer), Gaman, 1978, Song-Synopsis Booklet, Tuli Research Centre](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/generic/nana-patekar/research-centre/all/gaman-1978-cinema-song-synopsis-booklet-1784)\n5. [Gaman, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/gaman-1978)\n6. [सरोकारनामा: मुज़फ़्फ़र अली इंटरव्यू (1997)](https://sarokarnama.blogspot.com/2012/05/blog-post_10.html)\n7. [Recalling: Gaman (1978), Tanqeed](https://tanqeed.com/recalling-gaman-1978/)\n8. [The man behind Umrao Jaan and Kotwara: Muzaffar Ali, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-man-behind-umrao-jaan-and-kotwara-muzaffar-ali/story-0noql8Re6y8dZGsXA45WSJ.html)\n9. ['He was electrifying': Muzaffar Ali remembers directing Nana Patekar in 'Gaman', ThePrint](https://theprint.in/feature/he-was-electrifying-muzaffar-ali-remembers-directing-nana-patekar-in-gaman/3065954/)\n10. [Gaman, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gaman)\n11. [Gaman (Muzaffar Ali) 1978, Indiancine.ma](https://indiancine.ma/SZG/player)\n12. [Muzaffar Ali interview, BBC Hindi mirror](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/hindi/entertainment/story/2005/09/050923_muzaffar_ali.shtml)\n13. [Gaman (1978), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150683/)\n14. [Gaman streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/gaman)\n\n---\n*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*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/gaman", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/gaman.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Gaman (गमन)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/gaman. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Gaman (गमन)](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaman)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/gaman](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaman). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Gaman (गमन)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/gaman. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Gaman, 1978 Hindi parallel-cinema drama and Muzaffar Ali's debut, starring Farooq Shaikh and Smita Patil; a UP migrant taxi driver in Bombay, with Jaidev's National Award-winning music." }