{ "id": "ep6v4zjnkq", "slug": "mili-1975-film", "title": "Mili (मिली) (1975 film)", "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-1970-1975", "label": "Released 1970 to 1975", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1975" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1975", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000: Released 1970 to 1975", "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-1970-1975", "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-1970-1975", "label": "Released 1970 to 1975", "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-1970-1975" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Mili (मिली) is a 1975 Hindi drama by Hrishikesh Mukherjee starring Jaya Bhaduri and Amitabh Bachchan as neighbors who fall in love before her terminal blood disorder is revealed; S.D. Burman's final film score.", "snippet": "Mili (मिली) is a 1975 Hindi drama by Hrishikesh Mukherjee starring Jaya Bhaduri and Amitabh Bachchan as neighbors who fall in love before her terminal blood disorder is revealed; S.D. Burman's final film score.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1970s.yr-1970-1975", "markdown": "# Mili (मिली) (1975 film)\n\n**Mili** (मिली) is a 1975 Hindi-language drama directed by [Hrishikesh Mukherjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/hrishikesh-mukherjee), starring the real-life married couple Jaya Bhaduri and [Amitabh Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amitabh-bachchan) as a cheerful young woman and the reclusive neighbor who falls in love with her, only to learn that she has a terminal illness.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) • [2](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/mili) It was released in India on June 20, 1975, produced by N.C. Sippy for Sippy Films, with music by Sachin Dev Burman in what became his final film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writers | Hrishikesh Mukherjee; story and screenplay by Bimal Dutta, with Rahi Masoom Reza (dialogue) and Mohini N. Sippy[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) |\n| Release | June 20, 1975 (India); Hindi language; produced by Sippy Films[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) |\n| Lead cast | Jaya Bhaduri as Mili Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan as Shekhar Dayal, Ashok Kumar as Mr. Khanna, Usha Kiran as Sharda Khanna[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) |\n| Music | Sachin Dev Burman's last film; his final composed song was \"Badi sooni sooni hai,\" sung by Kishore Kumar[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) |\n| Runtime | Listed at 2h 30m (150 min) on IMDb; other databases give about 115–116 minutes[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) • [2](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/mili) |\n| Reception | IMDb rating 7.4/10 from about 1,600 votes; one award win and one nomination recorded[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/ratings/) |\n| Afterlife | Loosely remade as *Love*; a remake of the original was announced in 2023[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) • [5](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/hindi/news/2023/Jul/12/gulzarskoshishandhrishikesh-mukherjeesmiliandbawarchito-get-remakes-45541.html) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nShekhar Dayal (Amitabh Bachchan) moves into a new Bombay neighborhood and resents the noise of the children playing on what was formerly the communal terrace, craving quiet and solitude.[6](https://cinegraph.org/movies/mili-1975) He is the son of Seth Shankar Dayal, a man notorious for having killed his wife over suspected adultery and been hanged for it, and Shekhar carries the scandal with him, drinking heavily and keeping people at a distance.[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm)\n\nMili Khanna (Jaya Bhaduri) lives in the same apartment building with her father ([Ashok Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashok-kumar)), her army-officer brother Ranjeet (Suresh Chatwal), and a widowed aunt ([Usha Kiran](https://www.edgepedia.org/usha-kiran)); the whole building functions as her extended family.[2](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/mili) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) A college student who leads the colony's children in games and theatrical rehearsals, she gradually breaks through Shekhar's hostility, and the two bond over stargazing and palm-reading.[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) Just as he opens himself to love, he learns that Mili has a rare blood disorder and does not have long to live.[6](https://cinegraph.org/movies/mili-1975) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/jaya-bachchan-mili-rajesh-khanna-anand-exactly-the-same-movie-heres-how-8182596/lite/) The film ends on a deliberately open note, with Mili flying to Switzerland for experimental treatment while her father bids her a tearful goodbye from the terrace.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/jaya-bachchan-mili-rajesh-khanna-anand-exactly-the-same-movie-heres-how-8182596/lite/) • [4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm)\n\n## Production and music\n\nMukherjee developed the film from a short story he had heard about a girl suffering from a form of anemia who falls in love and wants to live.[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) Bimal Dutta wrote the story and screenplay, and Rahi Masoom Reza, who alternated with Gulzar as dialogue writer on Mukherjee's films, wrote the lines.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) • [4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) Mukherjee also served as producer and editor, with Jaywant Pathare as cinematographer.[8](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/mili/IEMV006064)\n\n**S.D. Burman's last score.** The music was composed by Sachin Dev Burman, and *Mili* became his final film. According to a Rediff retrospective, he suffered a stroke while recording \"Badi sooni sooni\" with [Kishore Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kishore-kumar) and fell into a coma; he died in October 1975, and his wife Meera, son Rahul (R.D. Burman), and assistant completed the soundtrack.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) • [4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) The songs include \"Badi sooni sooni hai\" and \"Aaye tum yaad mujhe,\" with lyrics by Yogesh; \"Main Ne Kaha Pholoon Se\" is sung by [Lata Mangeshkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/lata-mangeshkar).[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/)\n\n## Cast and performances\n\nJaya Bhaduri, still credited under her maiden name, plays the title role at a time when she was already married to Amitabh Bachchan; the Rediff review notes that the 27-year-old actress is believable as the college-going prankster bantering with her doting father.[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) She received a Filmfare nomination for the performance but lost to [Lakshmi](https://www.edgepedia.org/lakshmi-actress) for *[Julie](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-1975-film)* (1975).[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) Bachchan's Shekhar, a brooding, mostly inebriated figure who gradually softens, is described by one retrospective as one of his better-acted films and an early attempt at playing a doomed man.[9](https://thecinemawala.com/2016/11/03/films-that-i-like-mili/) The supporting cast includes [Aruna Irani](https://www.edgepedia.org/aruna-irani) as Runa Singh, the building's society secretary, a role noted as a departure from her usual vamp parts, and Asrani in a guest appearance as a drunk party-crasher.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/) • [9](https://thecinemawala.com/2016/11/03/films-that-i-like-mili/)\n\n## Place in 1975 Hindi cinema and relation to Anand\n\n*Mili* was released in a year remembered as a peak of [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema), alongside *Sholay*, *Deewar*, *Aandhi*, *Chupke Chupke*, and *Julie*; film historian S M M Ausaja cited it among the thriving middle-of-the-road films of that year.[10](https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/entertainment/1975-year-of-sholay-deewar-nishant-and-more-when-creativity-peaked-in-hindi-cinema/) Against the year's blockbusters it was an average grosser, but it has been reappraised over time.[9](https://thecinemawala.com/2016/11/03/films-that-i-like-mili/)\n\nThe film is often compared with Mukherjee's *Anand* (1971), which also centers on a terminally ill, life-affirming protagonist. [The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express) argues the plots are very similar, but that Mili differs from Anand in being talkative rather than philosophical, simply living her outlook rather than announcing it, and that the film ends on a hopeful note suggesting she may have survived.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/jaya-bachchan-mili-rajesh-khanna-anand-exactly-the-same-movie-heres-how-8182596/lite/) Rediff's retrospective calls the dismissal of *Mili* as *Anand*'s \"recycled sibling\" unfair, noting its own tone and attributes.[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm)\n\n## Legacy\n\nThe film was loosely remade as *Love*, starring [Salman Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/salman-khan) and Revathy.[4](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm) In July 2023, producers Anushree Mehta and Abir Sengupta of Jaadugar Films and Sameer Raj Sippy of SRS Productions, grandson of producer N.C. Sippy, announced remakes of *Mili*, Gulzar's *Koshish* (1972), and Mukherjee's *Bawarchi* (1972) with a modern outlook.[5](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/hindi/news/2023/Jul/12/gulzarskoshishandhrishikesh-mukherjeesmiliandbawarchito-get-remakes-45541.html) *Mili* is also referenced in the 1981 film *Ek Duuje Ke Liye*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Mili (1975), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/)\n2. [Mili | मिली, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/mili)\n3. [Mili (1975) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073391/ratings/)\n4. [Classics revisited: The spirit of Mili lives on, Rediff.com Movies (2013)](https://m.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classics-revisited-the-spirit-of-mili-lives-on/20130328.htm)\n5. [Gulzar's Koshish and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Mili and Bawarchi to get remakes, Cinema Express (2023)](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/hindi/news/2023/Jul/12/gulzarskoshishandhrishikesh-mukherjeesmiliandbawarchito-get-remakes-45541.html)\n6. [Mili, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/mili-1975)\n7. [Rajesh Khanna's Anand and Jaya Bachchan's Mili are exactly the same movie. Here's how, The Indian Express (2022)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/jaya-bachchan-mili-rajesh-khanna-anand-exactly-the-same-movie-heres-how-8182596/lite/)\n8. [Mili, BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/mili/IEMV006064)\n9. [Films That I Like – Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Mili (1975)', The Cinemawala (2016)](https://thecinemawala.com/2016/11/03/films-that-i-like-mili/)\n10. [1975: Year of 'Sholay', 'Deewar', 'Nishant' and more, The Tribune (2025)](https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/entertainment/1975-year-of-sholay-deewar-nishant-and-more-when-creativity-peaked-in-hindi-cinema/)\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 1970 to 1975*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; 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/mili-1975-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/mili-1975-film.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": "\"Mili (मिली) (1975 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/mili-1975-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Mili (मिली) (1975 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/mili-1975-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/mili-1975-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/mili-1975-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Mili (मिली) (1975 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/mili-1975-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Mili is a 1975 Hindi drama by Hrishikesh Mukherjee starring Jaya Bhaduri and Amitabh Bachchan as neighbors who fall in love before her terminal blood disorder is revealed; S.D." }