General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20263 min read

Dost (दोस्त)

Dost (दोस्त; English title Friend) is a 1974 Hindi-language drama film directed by Dulal Guha, starring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, and Shatrughan Sinha, about an orphan raised by a Catholic priest whose friendship with a petty thief tests faith and loyalty.¹^•² It was produced by Premji for Suchitra Films Pvt. Ltd. and released in India on 12 April 1974.¹^•³

Key fact	Detail
Release	12 April 1974 (India), Hindi drama¹
Director / producer	Dulal Guha; produced by Premji for Suchitra Films Pvt. Ltd.³
Lead cast	Dharmendra as Maanav, Hema Malini as Kaajal 'Kaju' Gupta, Shatrughan Sinha as Gopichand 'Gopi' Sharma³
Music	Laxmikant-Pyarelal; lyrics by Anand Bakshi; "Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai" sung by Kishore Kumar⁴
Runtime	2h 44m (164 min), mono sound¹
Box office	Net 25 million (2.5 crore), gross 50 million (5 crore); verdict Hit, ranking third among 1974 Hindi releases⁵
IMDb rating	6.9/10¹

Spoilers

Plot

Maanav (Dharmendra) is an orphan brought up by a Catholic priest, Father Francis (Abhi Bhattacharya). After completing his M.A. he returns home and finds that his mentor has died. He relocates to Bombay by train, where a man named Gopichand Sharma attempts to steal his luggage; Maanav chases him and retrieves it. Despite their differences the two men become friends, and Gopichand eventually changes his lifestyle and decides to be honest.²^•⁶

Cast

Dharmendra plays Maanav, Hema Malini plays Kaajal 'Kaju' Gupta, and Shatrughan Sinha plays Gopichand 'Gopi' Sharma.³ The supporting cast includes Ravindra Kapoor as Shyamal, Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi as Gadibabu, Anwar Hussain as Ustad Monto Sardar, Abhi Bhattacharya as Father Francis, Rehman as Mr. Gupta (Kaajal's father), and Naaz as Kalyani, Gopi's wife.⁷^•⁸ Amitabh Bachchan appears in a small guest role as Anand, uncredited.⁸

Production and casting

According to the Moviebuff listing, Sanjeev Kumar was originally set to appear in the film but Hema Malini refused to work with him, and the role went to Shatrughan Sinha.⁹ The Hindi Film Database records the film's censor certificate as Bombay U-74746, dated 8 April 1974, with 17 reels and a listed length of 176 minutes; it also notes that films with the same title were passed by the Censor Board in 1944, 1954, and 1989.⁴ Published runtimes vary across listings: 2h 44m (164 min) on IMDb, 2h 42m on Apple TV, and 2h 25m on the Times of India page.¹^•¹⁰^•¹¹

Music

The soundtrack was composed by the duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, with lyrics by Anand Bakshi.⁴ The best-known song, "Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai Seeti Baja Rahi Hai," is sung by Kishore Kumar and runs in four parts; other songs include "Kaise Jeete Hain Bhala (Aa Bata De Tujhe Kaise Jiya Jata Hai)" sung by Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and Shatrughan Sinha, and "Duniya Jab Jalti Hai" sung by Lata Mangeshkar.⁴^•¹² The Hindi Geetmala site records "Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai" as a Filmfare Awards nominee.¹³

Reception

Bollywood Hungama's box office table lists Dost with a lifetime net collection of 25 million (2.5 crore) and a verdict of Hit.¹⁴ The Keep Alive Bollywood ranking places it third among 1974 Hindi films by gross, behind Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and Chor Machaye Shor, with a gross of 50 million (5 crore).⁵ On IMDb the film holds a 6.9/10 rating from about 326 votes.¹

Availability

The film streams on Prime Video and Eros Now; as of October 2026, JustWatch lists it as available in the United States through the Eros Now Select Apple TV channel.¹⁵^•²

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 1970 to 1975

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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