# Gharaonda (घरौंदा)
**Gharaonda** (घरौंदा; "The Nest") is a 1977 Hindi-language drama film directed and produced by Bhimsain Khurana, starring [Amol Palekar](https://www.edgepedia.org/amol-palekar) and [Zarina Wahab](https://www.edgepedia.org/zarina-wahab) as a middle-class working couple in Bombay whose attempt to buy a home before marrying ends in financial ruin and a painful compromise[1](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/bhimsainji-was-a-true-artiste-gharaonda-actress-zarina-wahab-118041800971_1.html). It was Bhimsain's first feature film, made after he had established himself as a pioneer of Indian animation[1](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/bhimsainji-was-a-true-artiste-gharaonda-actress-zarina-wahab-118041800971_1.html). The trade press listed it in English as *Gharaonda (The City Has a Heart of Stone)*[2](https://chasingcinema.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/indian_cinema_1977-78.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 1977, India; Hindi language; drama and romance[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/gharonda/cast/) |
| Director and producer | Bhimsain, under the banner Climb Films, Bombay; his first feature[4](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/film/gharaonda) • [1](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/bhimsainji-was-a-true-artiste-gharaonda-actress-zarina-wahab-118041800971_1.html) |
| Writing | Story by Dr. Shankar Shesh; screenplay by Gulzar; dialogues by Gulzar and Bhushan Banmali[4](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/film/gharaonda) |
| Music | Jaidev (composer); Gulzar (lyricist); playback by Bhupinder Singh and Runa Laila[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/gharonda/cast/) • [5](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm) |
| Lead cast | Amol Palekar (Sudip), Zarina Wahab (Chhaya), Shreeram Lagoo (Mr. Modi), Sadhu Meher (Guha), Jalal Agha (Abdul), Dina Pathak (Guha's mother)[6](https://mdblist.com/movie/o0bb-gharaonda?cache=1) |
| Runtime | 2 hours 21 minutes (141 minutes)[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gharaonda) • [6](https://mdblist.com/movie/o0bb-gharaonda?cache=1) |
| Awards | 1978 Filmfare Awards: Best Supporting Actor (winner), Best Lyricist (winner), Best Actress (nomination)[8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/gharaonda/2030216151/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Sudip (Amol Palekar), a clerk, and Chhaya (Zarina Wahab), a typist, work at adjacent desks in a small office and fall in love. Both come from lower-middle-class families, and they resolve to marry once they have a home of their own in Bombay[5](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm) • [8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/gharaonda/2030216151/). Their savings are lost when the builder they deal with turns out to be a fraud who absconds with their money[9](https://www.tvpassport.com/movie/gharaonda/16050259).
The setback changes Sudip. Out of desperation he proposes a solution he himself calls depraved: that Chhaya marry his employer, the wealthy middle-aged Mr. Modi (Shreeram Lagoo), a heart patient recuperating from a serious condition, so that the couple can escape their misery[5](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm). Chhaya agrees, in part to fund her younger brother's education abroad, and marries Modi, whose late wife she resembles[5](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm) • [10](https://scroll.in/latest/867800/andhra-pradesh-cm-defends-plan-to-turn-government-schools-into-english-medium-institutions). When Modi later tries to give Sudip financial help, Sudip refuses, and he announces his intention to leave the city, telling Chhaya the exact departure time of his train; at that moment she remains with her husband[4](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/film/gharaonda). The film ends on a note the [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) synopsis describes as not taking the easy way out, with Sudip staying in Bombay to fight rather than leave[8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/gharaonda/2030216151/).
## Production
Bhimsain Khurana (died 2018) was already known for animation before this film: his short *Ek Anek Ekta* made him a pioneer of Indian animation filmmaking, and his award-winning shorts were regularly broadcast on [Doordarshan](https://www.edgepedia.org/doordarshan) in the 1970s and 1980s[1](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/bhimsainji-was-a-true-artiste-gharaonda-actress-zarina-wahab-118041800971_1.html) • [10](https://scroll.in/latest/867800/andhra-pradesh-cm-defends-plan-to-turn-government-schools-into-english-medium-institutions). *Gharaonda*, released in 1977, was his first feature[1](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/bhimsainji-was-a-true-artiste-gharaonda-actress-zarina-wahab-118041800971_1.html). He also took screenplay and dialogue credit on the film[11](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/filmography/bhimsain).
The crew listed in the trade record includes A. K. Bir on cinematography, Waman B. Bhosle on editing, and Binod Pradhan is also credited with cinematography on the Hindi-language film page[4](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/film/gharaonda) • [12](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/gharaonda-1977). Retrospective accounts single out Bir's unadorned imagery, with most sequences set in daytime at recognizable Bombay locations including the Bandra Fort, the beaches, the Charni Road overbridge, and the now-defunct Naaz cafe[5](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm) • [10](https://scroll.in/latest/867800/andhra-pradesh-cm-defends-plan-to-turn-government-schools-into-english-medium-institutions).
## Music
Jaidev composed the score and Gulzar wrote the lyrics[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/gharonda/cast/). The film carries only three songs, “Do deewane shaher mein,” “Ek akela is shaher mein,” and “Mujhe pyaar tumse nahi hai,” performed in [Runa Laila](https://www.edgepedia.org/runa-laila)'s and Bhupinder Singh's voices[5](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm). The songs are tied to the couple's situation: they sing about finding a house together so they can marry[13](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amol-palekar-zarina-wahab-gharaonda-explains-why-love-doesnt-always-win-against-money-8155317/lite/). Gulzar won the 1978 Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist for the film[8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/gharaonda/2030216151/).
## Reception and awards
At the 1978 [Filmfare Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-awards) the film won Best Supporting Actor for Shreeram Lagoo's performance as Mr. Modi and Best Lyricist for Gulzar, and Zarina Wahab was nominated for Best Actress[8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/gharaonda/2030216151/). Retrospective critics have treated the film as a classic of 1970s middle-cinema: Rediff's retrospective places it against the same year's entertainers *Amar Akbar Anthony*, *Dharam Veer*, and *Hum Kisise Kum Nahin* as a critically acclaimed account of the city's matchbox dwellers[5](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm). On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.2/10 from about 288 user votes[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150718/ratings/).
## Theme and legacy
The film's subject is the Bombay housing market. A study of housing in Indian cinema describes *Gharaonda* as capturing "the impossibility of finding an affordable home in Bombay," with a romantic song sequence staged among concrete pillars and staircases of a building under construction, the couple's hoped-for matchbox homes remaining beyond their means[15](https://dsource.in/dcontent/idc-archive/assets/projects/doc/idc-smita-dalvi-thesis.pdf). Scroll, marking the 2018 release of *Love Per Square Foot*, another Mumbai housing drama, called *Gharonda* "one of the most resonant films about Mumbai's housing woes" and one of the most enduring movies about the link between house buying and soul selling[10](https://scroll.in/latest/867800/andhra-pradesh-cm-defends-plan-to-turn-government-schools-into-english-medium-institutions).
The film is also read as part of the late-1970s wave of disillusionment with Bombay as the promised escape from India's slow-growth economy, alongside *Gaman* (1978), which shared Jaidev as composer but had the less successful album[16](https://rothrocks.wordpress.com/2024/02/10/gharaonda-and-gaman-the-contrasting-approaches-and-fates-of-two-late-70s-bombay-films/). Zarina Wahab, interviewed after Bhimsain's death in April 2018 at age 82, described the film as bold and well ahead of its times, a path-breaker about the housing problem in Mumbai[1](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/bhimsainji-was-a-true-artiste-gharaonda-actress-zarina-wahab-118041800971_1.html).
## References
1. [Bhimsainji was a true artiste: 'Gharaonda' actress Zarina Wahab, IANS via Business Standard (2018)](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/bhimsainji-was-a-true-artiste-gharaonda-actress-zarina-wahab-118041800971_1.html)
2. [Hindi Cinema trade directory, 1977–78 entries](https://chasingcinema.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/indian_cinema_1977-78.pdf)
3. [Gharaonda Cast & Crew, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/gharonda/cast/)
4. [Gharaonda (1977) – Movie Details, Cinemaazi](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/film/gharaonda)
5. [Classic: Love, longing and disillusionment in Gharonda, Rediff.com Movies (2013)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-classic-love-longing-and-disillusionment-in-gharonda/20130731.htm)
6. [Gharaonda (1977), MDBList](https://mdblist.com/movie/o0bb-gharaonda?cache=1)
7. [Gharaonda, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gharaonda)
8. [Gharaonda, TV Guide (awards listing)](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/gharaonda/2030216151/)
9. [Gharaonda (Movie) 1977, TV Passport](https://www.tvpassport.com/movie/gharaonda/16050259)
10. ['Gharonda' remains one of the most resonant films about Mumbai's housing woes, Scroll.in (2018)](https://scroll.in/latest/867800/andhra-pradesh-cm-defends-plan-to-turn-government-schools-into-english-medium-institutions)
11. [Bhimsain filmography, Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/filmography/bhimsain)
12. [Gharaonda (1977), Tuli Research Centre for India Studies](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/gharaonda-1977)
13. [Amol Palekar-Zarina Wahab's Gharaonda explains why love doesn't always win against money, The Indian Express (2022)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amol-palekar-zarina-wahab-gharaonda-explains-why-love-doesnt-always-win-against-money-8155317/lite/)
14. [Gharaonda (1977) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150718/ratings/)
15. [Smita Dalvi, thesis on the Filmic House and housing in Indian cinema](https://dsource.in/dcontent/idc-archive/assets/projects/doc/idc-smita-dalvi-thesis.pdf)
16. [Gharaonda and Gaman – the contrasting approaches and fates of two late 70s Bombay films, Pictured Life (2024)](https://rothrocks.wordpress.com/2024/02/10/gharaonda-and-gaman-the-contrasting-approaches-and-fates-of-two-late-70s-bombay-films/)
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*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*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license