Manzil (मंज़िल)
Manzil (मंज़िल) is a 1979 Hindi-language romantic drama directed by Basu Chatterjee, starring Amitabh Bachchan as Ajay Chandra, a lower-middle-class young man who pretends to be wealthy to win Aruna Khosla (Moushumi Chatterjee), the daughter of a rich lawyer.1 • 2 The film is a Hindi remake of Mrinal Sen's Bengali film Akash Kusum (1965).3 • 4
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Basu Chatterjee1 |
| Release | 1979; Digit Binge lists the release date as September 27, 1979, while BookMyShow lists September 28, 19795 • 6 |
| Lead cast | Amitabh Bachchan (Ajay Chandra), Moushumi Chatterjee (Aruna Khosla)7 |
| Source | Remake of Mrinal Sen's Akash Kusum (1965); written by Ashish Burman and Manohar Shyam Joshi3 • 7 |
| Signature song | "Rimjhim Gire Saawan", music by R.D. Burman, lyrics by Yogesh, sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar8 • 9 |
| Commercial result | A box-office failure in a year dominated by Bachchan's other hits10 |
| IMDb rating | 6.91 |
Spoilers
Plot
Ajay Chandra, an ambitious graduate from a modest household, falls for Aruna Khosla and pretends to be rich to impress her and her father.2 He also enters an ill-advised business venture, a galvanometer repair operation, hoping to get rich quickly; the venture fails, leaving him in financial ruin and facing a court case.10 • 11 When his deception about his finances is exposed, Aruna's disapproving father schemes to keep the couple apart.2
Cast
The supporting cast includes Rakesh Pandey as Prakash Mariwalla, Ajay's prosperous friend; Satyendra Kapoor as Mr. Khosla; A.K. Hangal as Anokhelal; Urmila Bhatt as Mrs. Khosla; Lalita Pawar as Mrs. Chandra, Ajay's mother; and Shreeram Lagoo as Mr. Kapoor.7 • 1
Bachchan against type
Chatterjee cast Amitabh Bachchan, then at the height of his superstardom as Hindi cinema's "angry young man", in a deliberately restrained, everyday role.10 • 11 The Ajay of Manzil is a morally flawed figure who lies and exploits others throughout the film, yet is framed as a victim of a system that sows such aspirations, and he is ultimately absolved by the institutions of that same system.10 One critic describes the character as a realistic figure free from the heavy cover of the hero or savior, in contrast to Bachchan's other successful films of 1979, such as Kala Patthar, Mr Natwarlal, Suhaag, and The Great Gambler.12
The gamble did not pay off commercially. In a year marked by the success of Mr Natwarlal and Suhaag, a passive character could not make a mark, and Cinemaazi counts Manzil among Chatterjee's failed star films.10 Newslaundry notes that the film was not one of Chatterjee's more memorable ones and is remembered more for its song.11
Rimjhim Gire Saawan and the Mumbai monsoon
The film's enduring legacy is the song Rimjhim Gire Saawan, composed by R.D. Burman with lyrics by Yogesh, sung in two versions by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.8 • 9 It was picturised on Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee amid real rain in Mumbai, with the filmmakers shooting the scene naturally in actual rain.13 • 14 As the song unfolds, the pair wander through the downpour along Marine Drive, the Oval Maidan in Churchgate, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus station, shot by Chatterjee's longtime cinematographer K.K. Mahajan.15 Scroll.in calls it one of the best cinematic depictions of the Mumbai monsoon, and the Telegraph India describes the song as now a cult classic.15 • 8
Context in Chatterjee's career
Basu Chatterjee (1930–2020) was a leading figure of Hindi "middle cinema", blending mainstream entertainment conventions with slices of urban middle-class life, alongside Hrishikesh Mukherjee.11 • 16 Most of his films were Hindi adaptations of Bengali literary works; Manzil is credited to writer Ashish Burman, and the film remakes Mrinal Sen's Akash Kusum.17 • 3 Even when he cast superstars such as Bachchan (Manzil) and Dharmendra (Dillagi), the stars shed their starry mannerisms to play everyday characters.16 Prime Video's listing notes that the film won critical acclaim for its story, and that Bachchan was praised for his performance.18
References
- Manzil (1979), JustWatch
- Watch Manzil (1979), Tubi
- Anustup Roy, Basu Chatterjee, E-CineIndia (2020)
- Filmfare, December 2020 (Soumitra Chatterjee nostalgia feature)
- Manzil Movie (1979), Digit Binge
- Manzil, BookMyShow
- Manzil (1979), DigiGuide
- Basu Chatterjee obituary, Telegraph India (2020)
- Film Review: Manzil (1979), RTOAC1
- The Star and the Everyman in Basu Chatterjee's Films, Cinemaazi
- Struggling young man of the 70s: The legacy of Basu Chatterjee, Newslaundry (2020)
- Aparajita Pujari, Basu Chatterjee, E-CineIndia (2023)
- Filmfare, July 2020
- NDTV India, on the rain song shoot
- With Basu Chatterji's passing, Mumbai has lost one of its most affectionate chroniclers, Scroll.in (2020)
- Yugmarg, June 8, 2023 edition
- How did West Bengal impact Basu Chatterjee's filmmaking?, Times of India (2020)
- Manzil, Prime Video
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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