Kalyug (1980 film)
Encyclopedia
Kalyug is a Hindi
film made in 1981, and was directed by Shyam Benegal
.
The film is known as a modern day version of an Indian mythological epic Mahabharat depicted as an archetypal-conflict between rival business houses.
, Rekha, Raj Babbar
, Supriya Pathak
, Anant Nag
, Kulbhushan Kharbanda
, Sushma Seth
, Akash Khurana, Victor Bannerjee, Reema Lagoo
, A.K. Hangal played major roles,while Urmila Matondkar
appeared as a child artist.
Ramchand and Bhishamchand were two pioneering brothers in business. Bhishamchand, a life-long bachelor brought up the two sons of Ramchand on his demise. He also gave the family business a firm foundation. Khubchand (Vinod Doshi) the elder son of Ramchand begets two sons, Dhanraj (Victor Banerjee
) and Sandeepraj (Akash Khurana). Puranchand, Khubchand's younger brother had died a few years ago. His three sons are Dharamraj (Raj Babbar
), Balraj (Kulbhushan Kharbanda
) and Bharatraj (Anant Nag
). Another player in the game is Karan (Shashi Kapoor
) an orphan brought up by Bhishamchand.A series of events take place that bring the long hidden feud between the two families to light and despite Bhishamchand's efforts to mediate between the two, the situation gets out of hand and events take a tragic turn. Dhanraj's men accidentally kill the young son of Balraj and to take revenge Bharatraj murders Karan. Quite a few skeletons from the family cupboard are brought out in the open that only adds to the tensions and hatred, finally culminating in the destruction of the two families making us ponder on the brittleness of our moral fabric.
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film made in 1981, and was directed by Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal is a prolific Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur , Nishant Manthan and Bhumika he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India although he himself has expressed dislike in the term preferring his work to...
.
The film is known as a modern day version of an Indian mythological epic Mahabharat depicted as an archetypal-conflict between rival business houses.
Overview
The screenplay and plot was quite different from Mahabharat. However, the characterization and the critical events had a striking similarity with the epic. Shashi KapoorShashi Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor , born Balbir-Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on 18 March 1938 in Calcutta , is an award-winning Indian film actor and film producer. He has also been film director and assistant director in Hindi Films. He is a member of the Kapoor family, a film dynasty in India's Bollywood cinema...
, Rekha, Raj Babbar
Raj Babbar
Raj Babbar is a Hindi & Punjabi film actor since 1977 and the current Member of Parliament from Firozabad which he won by defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav & daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav. This is his fourth term as MP, in previous terms he was the part of Samajwadi...
, Supriya Pathak
Supriya Pathak
Supriya Pathak Kapur is an Indian actress hailing from a long line of performers. She is famous for her role in the Indian sitcoms Khichdi and Idhar Udhar.-Family:...
, Anant Nag
Anant Nag
Anant Nagarkatte popularly known as Anant Nag is an actor and politician from Karnataka, India. He is considered to be one of the all time greatest actors in the Kannada film industry with a vast number of commercially successful movies. As a result, he is popularly known as an actor with...
, Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Kulbhushan Kharbanda is an Indian actor, who worked in Hindi and Punjabi films, and is known as character Shakaal in Shaan inspired by the character of Blofeld from James Bond movies...
, Sushma Seth
Sushma Seth
Sushma Seth is an Indian film, television, and stage actress. She started her career in the late 1970s, and has been known for playing the mother and the grandmother in movies and television. She is most known as the role of Dadi in pioneering TV soap Hum Log . She is also a theatre actor and...
, Akash Khurana, Victor Bannerjee, Reema Lagoo
Reema Lagoo
Reema Lagoo is an Indian actress who has appeared in numerous Marathi as well as Hindi films and television shows. She also has had a presence on Marathi stage for nearly four decades.- Career :...
, A.K. Hangal played major roles,while Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar is an Indian film actress.Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha...
appeared as a child artist.
Plot
The film is tale of intrigue, plots and the inevitable war between the two families.Ramchand and Bhishamchand were two pioneering brothers in business. Bhishamchand, a life-long bachelor brought up the two sons of Ramchand on his demise. He also gave the family business a firm foundation. Khubchand (Vinod Doshi) the elder son of Ramchand begets two sons, Dhanraj (Victor Banerjee
Victor Banerjee
Victor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi, Bengali and English language films. He has also appeared on a number of TV series on Indian television...
) and Sandeepraj (Akash Khurana). Puranchand, Khubchand's younger brother had died a few years ago. His three sons are Dharamraj (Raj Babbar
Raj Babbar
Raj Babbar is a Hindi & Punjabi film actor since 1977 and the current Member of Parliament from Firozabad which he won by defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav & daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav. This is his fourth term as MP, in previous terms he was the part of Samajwadi...
), Balraj (Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Kulbhushan Kharbanda is an Indian actor, who worked in Hindi and Punjabi films, and is known as character Shakaal in Shaan inspired by the character of Blofeld from James Bond movies...
) and Bharatraj (Anant Nag
Anant Nag
Anant Nagarkatte popularly known as Anant Nag is an actor and politician from Karnataka, India. He is considered to be one of the all time greatest actors in the Kannada film industry with a vast number of commercially successful movies. As a result, he is popularly known as an actor with...
). Another player in the game is Karan (Shashi Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor
Shashi Kapoor , born Balbir-Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on 18 March 1938 in Calcutta , is an award-winning Indian film actor and film producer. He has also been film director and assistant director in Hindi Films. He is a member of the Kapoor family, a film dynasty in India's Bollywood cinema...
) an orphan brought up by Bhishamchand.A series of events take place that bring the long hidden feud between the two families to light and despite Bhishamchand's efforts to mediate between the two, the situation gets out of hand and events take a tragic turn. Dhanraj's men accidentally kill the young son of Balraj and to take revenge Bharatraj murders Karan. Quite a few skeletons from the family cupboard are brought out in the open that only adds to the tensions and hatred, finally culminating in the destruction of the two families making us ponder on the brittleness of our moral fabric.