Bairaag (बैराग)
Bairaag (बैराग) is a 1976 Hindi-language drama film directed by Asit Sen and produced by Mushir Alam and Mohammad Riaz for M R Productions, starring Dilip Kumar in a triple role alongside Saira Banu and Leena Chandavarkar.1 • 2 It was the last film Dilip Kumar completed before a self-imposed break of nearly five years from acting.3
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 4 October 1976 per Bollywood Hungama; the censor certificate (Bombay U-82851) is dated 15 October 19764 • 1 |
| Director / Producers | Asit Sen; Mushir Alam and Mohammad Riaz (M R Productions, Bombay)1 |
| Star cast | Dilip Kumar as Kailash, Bholenath 'Bhola', and Sanjay; Saira Banu as Tara; Leena Chandavarkar as Sonia2 |
| Music | Kalyanji-Anandji, lyrics by Anand Bakshi; playback by Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, and Asha Bhosle1 • 4 |
| Runtime | 2h 29m on streaming platforms; the censor record lists 155m 28s on 16 reels2 • 1 |
| Box office | India net lifetime collection of ₹10.5 million (₹1.05 crore), classified a flop5 |
| Audience rating | 6.2/10 on IMDb from about 142 votes6 |
Spoilers
Plot
The story is set around the wealthy Thakur Chandrabhan, a widower living in a small village with his sister, his widowed daughter-in-law Saraswati, and his granddaughter Tara, who is of marriageable age. Also in the household is Bholanath, blind since birth, who helps with household chores.7
Tara's marriage is arranged with Pratap Singh of a noble family, who demands a dowry of 300,000 rupees (3 lakh rupees). Bholanath offers his hidden savings, guarded by a snake, to Pratap, who accepts the money and absconds. Unable to pursue him, Bholanath is bitten by the snake, regains his vision, and travels to Bombay to find Pratap.7
When he returns weeks later, Tara notices changes: he calls her "Tara" instead of "Little Mistress," is terrified of snakes, and seems more cultured and educated. The family arranges the couple's engagement, but police interrupt the ceremony with an arrest warrant charging Bholanath with theft and the murder of a young woman named Lucy.7 A fuller synopsis on CinemaParadiso supplies the backstory: Kailash and his wife Pushpa have twins, one born blind; the doctor takes the blind child away instead of killing him, and the blind son grows up as the simple villager Bholanath while his twin grows into an irresponsible playboy, with circumstances later reuniting the family.8
Production and cast
Dilip Kumar played three parts, Kailash, Bholenath, and Sanjay, and in his autobiography he wrote that he "worked arduously to define the three roles I enacted in it differently and distinctively."3 The Hindi Film Database records him "in three roles" and notes Leena Chandavarkar in "a friendly role."1
The supporting cast included Prem Chopra as Kunwar Pratap Singh, Madan Puri, Helen as Lucy, Kader Khan as a Superintendent of Police, Nasir Khan, Nazir Hussain, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Mukri, Kumari Naaz, Purnima, Leela Mishra, Paintal, Jairaj, Sujit Kumar, and Asit Sen himself.2 • 1 The writers were Abrar Alvi, S. Khalil, and Rahi Masoom Reza.6
For Saira Banu, the film was her third screen pairing with her husband Dilip Kumar after Gopi (1970) and Sagina (1974).9 She has also described Bairaag as her first encounter with Bhojpuri-language cinema in 1976.10
Music
Kalyanji-Anandji composed the score, with lyrics by Anand Bakshi and assistant music directors Babla, Jay Kumar Parte, and Frank Fernand. The soundtrack has seven tracks, including the title song "Suno Re Suno Ik Bat Sunaoon" sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi, a Lata Mangeshkar solo ("Chhoti-Si Umar Men Hai Lag Gaya Rog"), duets by Rafi with Asha Bhosle, and a Mahendra Kapoor number; the record label was GCIL-Odeon.1 P. Harikishan's sound work in the film won the Filmfare Award for Best Sound.11
Reception and Dilip Kumar's sabbatical
Bollywood Hungama lists Bairaag's lifetime India net collection as ₹10.5 million (₹1.05 crore) and classifies the film as a flop, placing it fifteenth among the 21 films it tracks for 1976.5 A contemporary review by APS Malhotra in The Hindu judged that the film was "not too hackneyed and not too original either" and that director Asit Sen "failed to experiment."11
The film's commercial failure coincided with a turning point in Dilip Kumar's career. In his autobiography he wrote that after completing Bairaag he found himself "once more at the crossroads" and resolved not to work for the sake of working; he was fifty-four when the film was released. He then took a sabbatical of nearly five years, signing Manoj Kumar's Kranti (released 1981) and later Subhash Ghai's Vidhaata (1982).3
Availability
The film is available for streaming in India on VI Movies and TV and the Ultraplaybox Amazon channel, and free with ads on Zee5.2
References
- Bairag (बैराग), Hindi Film Database
- Bairaag (1976), JustWatch
- Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow (autobiography)
- Bairaag Cast & Crew, Bollywood Hungama
- Bollywood Box Office 1976, Bollywood Hungama
- Bairaag (1976), IMDb
- Bairaag, Ultra Media & Entertainment
- Rent Bairaag (1976), CinemaParadiso
- Saira Banu, among the highest paid stars of the 60s, The Indian Express
- Saira Banu interview, Business Of Cinema
- Bairaag (1976), Moviebuff
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 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026
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