{ "id": "epv3ry7cx3", "slug": "muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3", "title": "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar", "updated": "2026-10-25", "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" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000: 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", "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" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (मुक़द्दर का सिकन्दर) is a 1978 Prakash Mehra Hindi drama starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Rekha, Vinod Khanna, with music by Kalyanji-Anandji; it was 1978's highest-grossing Hindi film and a Devdas-inspired orphan love story.", "snippet": "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (मुक़द्दर का सिकन्दर) is a 1978 Prakash Mehra Hindi drama starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Rekha, Vinod Khanna, with music by Kalyanji-Anandji; it was 1978's highest-grossing Hindi film and a Devdas-inspired orphan love story.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "markdown": "# Muqaddar Ka Sikandar\n\n**Muqaddar Ka Sikandar** (मुक़द्दर का सिकन्दर, \"The Emperor of Fate\") is a 1978 Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by [Prakash Mehra](https://www.edgepedia.org/prakash-mehra), starring [Amitabh Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amitabh-bachchan) as an orphan who rises from poverty while carrying an unfulfilled love[1](https://hindi.filmibeat.com/movies/muqaddar-ka-sikandar.html) • [2](http://rupkatha.com/V13/n1/v13n136.pdf). It was released on 27 October 1978 and became the highest-grossing Hindi film of that year[1](https://hindi.filmibeat.com/movies/muqaddar-ka-sikandar.html).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 27 October 1978, Hindi language, drama genre[1](https://hindi.filmibeat.com/movies/muqaddar-ka-sikandar.html) |\n| Director and producer | Prakash Mehra, under his own banner Prakash Mehra Productions[3](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf) |\n| Writers | Story by Laxmikant Sharma, screenplay by Vijay Kaul, dialogues by Kader Khan[3](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf) |\n| Music | Kalyanji-Anandji; lyrics by Anjaan and Prakash Mehra[4](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/) |\n| Lead cast | Amitabh Bachchan (Sikandar), Vinod Khanna (Vishal Anand), Rakhee (Kaamna), Rekha (Zohrabai)[4](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/) |\n| Runtime | 182 minutes per one database[5](https://3rabica.org/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D9%83%D8%A7_%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1); 189 minutes (3 h 9 m) per the Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema and Rotten Tomatoes[3](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/muqaddar_ka_sikandar) |\n| Box office | Highest-grossing Hindi film of 1978[1](https://hindi.filmibeat.com/movies/muqaddar-ka-sikandar.html) |\n\n## Production and credits\n\nPrakash Mehra produced, directed, and co-wrote lyrics for the film under his banner Prakash Mehra Productions[3](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf). The writing credits are divided three ways: Laxmikant Sharma for the story, Vijay Kaul for the screenplay, and [Kader Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kader-khan) for the dialogues[3](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf). Kader Khan also appears on screen as the fakir Darvesh Baba[4](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/).\n\nThe supporting cast pairs Bachchan's contemporaries from across the industry: [Vinod Khanna](https://www.edgepedia.org/vinod-khanna) as Vishal Anand, Rakhee as Kaamna, Rekha as the dancer Zohrabai, Amjad Khan as Dilawar, Nirupa Roy as Fatima, Shreeram Lagoo as the wealthy Ramanath, and [Sulochana Latkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sulochana-latkar) as Vishal's mother[4](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/). Mayur Verma plays the young Sikandar and Baby Shalu the young Kaamna[4](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/).\n\n## Plot\n\nSikandar is a homeless orphan who survives on the streets doing whatever work he can find[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/muqaddar_ka_sikandar). He is taken on at the house of the millionaire Ramanath, where he falls for Ramanath's daughter Kaamna, who treats him with affection; the family ejects him back into his own class and moves to Bombay[7](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/plotsummary/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/muqaddar_ka_sikandar). As the years pass he rises from his lowly station and prospers, but the class difference that first separated him from Kaamna still stands between them[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/muqaddar_ka_sikandar). Unbeknownst to Kaamna, who wants nothing to do with him, he has been quietly paying the medical bills of her disabled father[7](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/plotsummary/).\n\nThe film's authorship acknowledges a literary source in disguise. According to a News24 retrospective marking the film's 47th anniversary, the Zohra-Sikandar-Kamna triangle was directly inspired by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's novel *Devdas*, though the makers, including screenplay writer Vijay Kaul, were not willing to attribute literary antecedents to the film publicly[8](https://news24online.com/entertainment/exclusive-amitabh-bachchan-recalls-working-with-prakash-mehra-raakhee-in-muqaddar-ka-sikandar-as-movie-clocks-47-years/656968/). A Hindi film studies survey places Bachchan's role in the tradition of the melancholic, unfulfilled lover[9](https://apnaorg.com/books/english/cinema-of-enchantment/cinema-of-enchantment.pdf).\n\n## Music\n\nThe score and songs are by the composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji, with lyrics by Anjaan and by Prakash Mehra himself[4](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/). The playback roster spans the leading voices of the period: [Lata Mangeshkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/lata-mangeshkar), Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle, and [Mahendra Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahendra-kapoor)[4](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/).\n\nSeveral songs are singled out in reviews: \"Salaam-E-Ishq\", a mujra number performed on screen by Rekha; \"Pyar Zindagi Hai\"; and \"O Saathi Re\"[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/muqaddar_ka_sikandar). \"Salaam-E-Ishq\", picturized on Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, was a major hit[10](https://www.livehindustan.com/entertainment/bollywood/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-makers-wanted-to-replace-rekha-to-reena-roy-she-was-making-big-mistake-201762749480516.html). The title song contains the lines \"Hamne mana ye zamana dard ki jagir hai, har kadam par aansuon ki ek nayi zanjeer hai\"[11](https://www.amarujala.com/entertainment/movie-review/sikandar-movie-review-in-hindi-by-pankaj-shukla-salman-khan-rashmika-mandanna-a-r-murugadoss-sathyaraj-anjini-2025-03-30). For the climax, in which Bachchan's character dies, Kalyanji-Anandji needed only four lines, and these were sung by Mohammad Rafi[12](https://www.livehindustan.com/entertainment/bollywood/mohammed-rafi-dharmendra-sang-just-4-lines-in-amitabh-bachchan-mukaddar-ka-sikandar-for-free-made-audiences-cry-forever-201781222317878.html).\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film topped the domestic box office in its release year[1](https://hindi.filmibeat.com/movies/muqaddar-ka-sikandar.html) • [13](https://khabariprashad.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/28-10-2024-Khabari-Prashad-1.pdf). A survey of Hindi film fanzine culture lists it among a small set of Bachchan films that reached the distinction Indian fanzines call a \"super-super hit\", alongside *Deewar*, *Sholay*, and *Amar Akbar Anthony*[14](https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/filmandhistory/Mishra%20Actor%20as%20Parallel%20Text.pdf). The Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema notes that Mehra, who had set the trend for revenge and vigilante films after *[Zanjeer](https://www.edgepedia.org/zanjeer-1973-film)* (1973), continued that engagement with the Bachchan persona in this film[3](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf).\n\nIts title has remained a reference point in [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema). [Neeraj Pandey](https://www.edgepedia.org/neeraj-pandey)'s 2024 Netflix heist film *[Sikandar Ka Muqaddar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sikandar-ka-muqaddar)* inverts the name as an explicit callback to 1970s Hindi film aesthetics, though it shares nothing with the 1978 film[15](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/hindi/review/2024/Nov/29/sikandar-ka-muqaddar-movie-review-neeraj-pandeys-heist-drama-is-overlong-without-a-relief). Critics of the 1978 film describe a drama of love, loyalty, and loss in the tonal register of 1970s Hindi cinema, carried by Bachchan's performance[16](https://letterboxd.com/cletusvandamm/film/muqaddar-ka-sikandar/).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), FilmiBeat Hindi](https://hindi.filmibeat.com/movies/muqaddar-ka-sikandar.html)\n2. [Bhowmick, Bikash Ch. (2021). \"The audience and the star\", Rupkatha Journal](http://rupkatha.com/V13/n1/v13n136.pdf)\n3. [Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema entry for Muqaddar Ka Sikandar](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf)\n4. [Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/fullcredits/)\n5. [Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, 3rabica](https://3rabica.org/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D9%83%D8%A7_%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1)\n6. [Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/muqaddar_ka_sikandar)\n7. [Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), plot summary, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0079590/plotsummary/)\n8. [Amitabh Bachchan recalls Muqaddar Ka Sikandar at 47 years, News24](https://news24online.com/entertainment/exclusive-amitabh-bachchan-recalls-working-with-prakash-mehra-raakhee-in-muqaddar-ka-sikandar-as-movie-clocks-47-years/656968/)\n9. [Cinema of Enchantment (book PDF)](https://apnaorg.com/books/english/cinema-of-enchantment/cinema-of-enchantment.pdf)\n10. [Livehindustan: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar and Rekha](https://www.livehindustan.com/entertainment/bollywood/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-makers-wanted-to-replace-rekha-to-reena-roy-she-was-making-big-mistake-201762749480516.html)\n11. [Sikandar review, Amar Ujala](https://www.amarujala.com/entertainment/movie-review/sikandar-movie-review-in-hindi-by-pankaj-shukla-salman-khan-rashmika-mandanna-a-r-murugadoss-sathyaraj-anjini-2025-03-30)\n12. [Livehindustan: Mohammad Rafi and the climax song](https://www.livehindustan.com/entertainment/bollywood/mohammed-rafi-dharmendra-sang-just-4-lines-in-amitabh-bachchan-mukaddar-ka-sikandar-for-free-made-audiences-cry-forever-201781222317878.html)\n13. [Khabari Prashad, 28 October 2024 (PDF)](https://khabariprashad.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/28-10-2024-Khabari-Prashad-1.pdf)\n14. [Mishra, \"Actor as Parallel Text\", Film and History](https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/filmandhistory/Mishra%20Actor%20as%20Parallel%20Text.pdf)\n15. [Sikandar Ka Muqaddar review, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/hindi/review/2024/Nov/29/sikandar-ka-muqaddar-movie-review-neeraj-pandeys-heist-drama-is-overlong-without-a-relief)\n16. [Muqaddar Ka Sikandar review, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/cletusvandamm/film/muqaddar-ka-sikandar/)\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)*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 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": [ "https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/filmandhistory/Mishra%20Actor%20as%20Parallel%20Text.pdf" ], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3.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": "\"Muqaddar Ka Sikandar\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Muqaddar Ka Sikandar](https://www.edgepedia.org/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3](https://www.edgepedia.org/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Muqaddar Ka Sikandar\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/muqaddar-ka-sikandar-epv3ry7cx3. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is a 1978 Prakash Mehra Hindi drama starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Rekha, Vinod Khanna, with music by Kalyanji-Anandji; it was 1978's highest-grossing Hindi film and a Devdas-inspired orphan love story." }