General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

Chacha Bhatija (चाचा भतीजा)

Chacha Bhatija (चाचा भतीजा, "Uncle and Nephew") is a 1977 Hindi action comedy-drama directed by Manmohan Desai, starring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, and Randhir Kapoor as an uncle and nephew who, unaware of their relationship, team up to expose the woman who usurped their family home.¹^•² It was produced under the Dreamland banner by M.M. Malhotra and Baldev Pushkarna.³

Key fact	Detail
Director / producers	Manmohan Desai; M.M. Malhotra and Baldev Pushkarna, Dreamland banner³
Lead cast	Dharmendra as Shankar, Hema Malini as Mala, Randhir Kapoor as Sunder, Yogeeta Bali as Pinky, Rehman as Ranbir Singh Teja⁴
Writers	Screenplay and dialogue by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar; story by Prayag Raj⁵
Music	Laxmikant-Pyarelal; lyrics by Anand Bakshi; soundtrack on Polydor³
Box office	India net 35 million (3.50 crore), gross 70 million (7.00 crore), verdict Hit, fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of 1977⁶
Runtime	161 minutes (2h 41m) per IMDb; the censor certificate records 176 minutes¹^•³

Spoilers

Story

The film centers on a family broken by scheming in-laws. Businessman Teja (Rehman) lives happily with his wife Sita, his younger brother Shankar, and his son Sunder. After Sita's death, Teja remarries Sonia, who moves in with her brother Laxmidas with the aim of taking over his property. The pair poison Teja's mind against Shankar, who leaves the house, and then drive Sunder out as well.²^•⁷

Years later, uncle and nephew meet in Bombay by accident, become friends without knowing they are related, and eventually join forces to expose Sonia and make Teja see reason.² The Cinemaazi synopsis, drawn from the official press booklet, adds that the business manager Lakshmidas had earlier separated Teja from Sita, that Sita survived a suicide attempt rescued by Gul Khan and bore Sunder, and that Shankar was raised in exile by the kind-hearted Mrs. D'Silva.³

Cast and crew

Dharmendra played Shankar, the uncle; Randhir Kapoor played Sunder, the nephew; Hema Malini played Mala and Yogeeta Bali played Pinky, the two women in their lives. The supporting cast included Rehman as Ranbir Singh Teja, Anwar Hussain as Gul Khan, Indrani Mukherjee as Sita, Jeevan as Laxmidas, Sonia Sahni as Sonia, Roopesh Kumar as Kiran, Dev Kumar as Tony, Durga Khote as Mrs. D'Silva, and Keshto Mukherjee as Kesto.⁴

Behind the camera, V. Durga Prasad was the cinematographer, Kamlakar Karkhanis the editor, V. Jadhav the art director, and Ravi Khanna the action coordinator.⁵^•³

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal with lyrics by Anand Bakshi, and was released on Polydor Records.³ Songs include "Kyun Bhai Chacha Haan Bhatija," sung by Mohammed Rafi and Shailendra Singh, "Maa Ne Kaha Tha O Beta" (Shailendra Singh), "Jeene Ke Liye" (Kishore Kumar), "Hey La La Jhoomo Zara" (Rafi, Asha Bhosle, and Shailendra Singh), and "Tera Sheeshe Ka Samaan" (Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar).⁸ The comic number "Bure Kaam Ka Bura Nateeja," sung by Rafi and Shailendra Singh, remains the film's best-remembered song.⁸^•⁹

Release and box office

The exact release date differs between databases. The Times of India and IMDb give 11 January 1977,¹⁰^•¹ while TheTVDB lists 7 January 1977,⁴ Digit Binge lists 6 January 1977,¹¹ and Bollywood Hungama's trade table places it on 30 November 1976.¹² All agree on the year 1977.

The film earned an India net total of 35 million (3.50 crore) and a gross of 70 million (7.00 crore), and trade sources classify it as a Hit.⁶^•¹³ It ranked fifth among Hindi films of 1977, behind Amar Akbar Anthony, Dharam Veer, Hum Kisi Se Kum Naheen, and Parvarish.⁶

Place in Manmohan Desai's 1977

Chacha Bhatija was one of four Manmohan Desai films released in 1977, alongside Dharam Veer, Parvarish, and Amar Akbar Anthony, all of which were commercial successes.¹⁴ It was also the only film Desai made with the writer duo Salim-Javed, the screen name of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. Desai later said he would not work with them again, complaining that they interfered with the director's work, and noted that Chacha Bhatija was not as great a success as his films without their scripts, such as Amar Akbar Anthony or Dharam Veer.¹

The film has since been released on home video and streaming, and is available on ZEE5 and Prime Video in India.¹¹^•¹⁵

References

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 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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