# Mard (मर्द) (1985 film)
**Mard** (मर्द; "He-Man" or "Real Man") is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed and produced by [Manmohan Desai](https://www.edgepedia.org/manmohan-desai), starring [Amitabh Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amitabh-bachchan) as Raju Tangewala, the son of a dispossessed rajah who grows up to fight British colonial rule and rescue his imprisoned father.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/cast/) • [2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) It was released on 8 November 1985 as the big Diwali release of that year.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/cast/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 8 November 1985 (India), Hindi language[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/cast/) |
| Director / producer | Manmohan Desai, who also produced under MKD Films with Aasia Films[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) |
| Runtime | 177 minutes[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard) |
| Lead cast | Amitabh Bachchan (Raju/Mard), Amrita Singh (Ruby), Dara Singh (Raja Azad Singh), Nirupa Roy (Rani Durga), Prem Chopra (Dr. Harry)[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/cast/) |
| Music | Anu Malik; lyrics by Rajinder Krishan, Prayag Raaj, and Indivar[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) |
| Box office | Second highest-grossing film of 1985 and eighth highest-grossing of the 1980s; about ₹80 million (₹8 crore) net in India, rated a super-hit[4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=56F614C7FCA9C8CEMV) • [5](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/box-office/) |
| Remake | Remade in Tamil as *Maaveeran*[4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=56F614C7FCA9C8CEMV) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story follows a characteristic Desai structure of a lost heir raised among ordinary people. Raja Azad Singh ([Dara Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/dara-singh)), a king who resists the British, is betrayed and imprisoned in a dungeon by General Dyer, who takes over his kingdom.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/mard) The queen escapes with the infant, whose chest has been scarred with the word "mard", Hindi's most forceful noun for a male, by his father as a mark of virility; she loses the child during a chase.[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard) The boy, Raju Tangewala, is raised by foster parents who, dying, reveal his real ancestry, a recurring plot device in Desai's films.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) As an adult he fights the colonial regime and rescues his father.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/mard)
The heroine Ruby ([Amrita Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/amrita-singh)), the leather-clad daughter of a doctor in British service, first whips the hero and then falls in love with him, a relationship the *Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema* describes as structured like a female fan's fantasy of her favorite star.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) [Nirupa Roy](https://www.edgepedia.org/nirupa-roy) plays the traumatized mother, who has lost the power to speak.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/cast/) • [3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard)
## Colonial references and satire
The British villains are named Dyer and Simon, names still associated with the general responsible for the [Jallianwala Bagh massacre](https://www.edgepedia.org/jallianwala-bagh-massacre) of 1919, which the film refers to, and with the leader of the [Simon Commission](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-commission).[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) Desai juxtaposes these references with arbitrary additions such as Roman gladiators and Mexican bandits.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) The University of Iowa's Indian Cinema notes a "Windsor Club" with a signboard reading "Dogs and Indians Not Allowed", and points out that, apart from a few white extras, the villains are played by Indian actors, so the colonial oppressors can also be read as stand-ins for the post-independence Indian elite associated with corruption and oppression.[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard) Raju mocks [Indira Gandhi](https://www.edgepedia.org/indira-gandhi)'s election slogan "Garibi hatao" ("Remove poverty") by asking Sir Harry, apropos of his slum demolition program, "Do you want to remove poverty or just the poor?"[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard)
## Production and style
Desai made *Mard* immediately after *[Coolie](https://www.edgepedia.org/coolie-1983-hindi-film)* (1983), which had been marked by Bachchan's near-fatal accident on set; the film went to unusual lengths to demonstrate the hero's invincibility, invoking colonialism and feudal oppression to affirm that he whom the gods protect cannot be destroyed.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) The University of Iowa notes that Desai worked on a limited budget, much of it spent on tanks, explosives, and Bachchan's salary, and made inventive use of everyday Indian objects; the film also features a white horse named Badal ("cloud") and a Labrador retriever named Moti ("pearl"), both smarter than the film's many villains.[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard) It belongs to the masala genre of madcap action adventures aimed primarily at working-class audiences, and parodies Desai's own *Amar Akbar Anthony* (1977) in a party sequence.[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard)
The credited crew includes Prayag Raj and Pushpa Raj Sharma for story, K. K. Shukla for screenplay, Inder Raj Anand for dialogue, and Peter Pereira as director of photography.[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard) Playback singers included [Asha Bhosle](https://www.edgepedia.org/asha-bhosle), Mohammad Aziz, Shabbir Kumar, S. Janaki, and [Anu Malik](https://www.edgepedia.org/anu-malik) himself.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/cast/)
## Reception and box office
*Mard* was the second highest-grossing film of 1985 and the eighth highest-grossing film of the 1980s decade; adjusted for inflation, [Google Play](https://www.edgepedia.org/google-play)'s listing describes it as one of the highest-grossing Diwali releases, at more than ₹4.5 billion (₹450 crore) net in today's terms.[4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=56F614C7FCA9C8CEMV) Bollywood Hungama records a lifetime India net collection of ₹80 million (₹8 crore) and classifies the film's performance as a super-hit.[5](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/box-office/) Bachchan received a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor.[4](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=56F614C7FCA9C8CEMV)
The film has drawn sharply divided critical readings. The travel writer Pico Iyer used it prominently in *Video Night in Kathmandu* (1989) to dismiss Bombay cinema as a tawdry simulacrum of "Hollywood in the Fifties", while the [University of Iowa](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-iowa)'s notes call it a little gem of Desai's masala style.[3](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an audience score of 77 percent from more than 250 ratings, with user reviews describing it as a nearly three-hour epic of cowboys, British colonial baddies, gladiators, tanks, and song-and-dance numbers.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mard) IMDb lists a rating of 6.3 from about 2,500 users.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/mard)
## References
1. [Mard Cast & Crew, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/cast/)
2. [Mard entry, Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (pp. 1–38 PDF)](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf)
3. [Mard, Indian Cinema, The University of Iowa](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/mard)
4. [Mard, Google Play Movies](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=56F614C7FCA9C8CEMV)
5. [Mard Box Office Collection, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mard-2/box-office/)
6. [Mard (1985), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/mard)
7. [Mard, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mard)
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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 1980s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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