1993 's film Parampara: A Saga of Revenge and Tradition

The much talked about 1993 film Parampara, directed by the legendary Yash Chopra, is one Bollywood film that didn't do well in the 90s but is still considered a cult film. The film has gone down in cinematic history as it is the last film Yash Chopra directed outside his Yash Raj Films banner, making it a special entry in his career. The film has a star cast of several top stars-- Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan (this was his first film ), Neelam Kothari, Raveena Tandon, Ashwini Bhave, Ramya Krishna (this was her first film in Bollywood) and Anupam Kher. The ensemble cast is enough to excite any movie lover and it is clear that the makers wanted to make something grand and memorable.

The story of 'Parampara' is about family feuds, tradition and the price of honour. The story is set in a remote Indian region where a strange and old tradition decides the fate of people who have become enemies of each other for some reason. If two parties have a quarrel, they settle it with a pistol duel on a hilltop. Thakur Bhavani Singh, played by Sunil Dutt, is a powerful man who once killed his rival in such a duel. Years later, his son Prithvi (Vinod Khanna) returns from London after finishing his education and meets Gora Shankar (Anupam Kher) and the two become friends. Gora Shankar is the son of the man killed by Prithvi's father Bhavani Singh. Prithvi falls in love with Gora's sister Tara (Ramya Krishna), but Prithvi's father wants him to marry Rajeshwari (Ashwini Bhave), a girl of his own social standing. Torn between love and duty, Prithvi marries both, Tara and Rajeshwari. This decision leads the film's story to heartbreak and violence for many characters. When Prithvi's Bhawani father learns that Tara has given birth to his son's  child , an enraged Bhavani Singh orders an attack on the entire gypsy community. The attack results in Tara's death but her son Ranveer survives. Gora Shankar is imprisoned by Bhawani and Prithvi's life falls apart. His second wife, Rajeshwari, rescues Ranveer and raises him with her son Pratap (Saif Ali Khan). The two boys grow up together, but the old hatred between their families never ends. When Gora Shankar gets himself released from prison, the cycle of revenge begins again, leading to more tragedy. Then there's the final confrontation that tries to break the endless chain of violence. The entire cast of the film gave their best. Sunil Dutt displayed his deep seriousness in acting as usual, the handsome Vinod Khanna performed brilliantly and Aamir Khan, though he was heavily criticised at the time, gave early signs of his future talent with this film. Saif Ali Khan, despite being his first film, was well-liked. Raveena Tandon and Neelam Kothari added glamour to the film. Ashwini Bhave's role stood out as a kind sensible woman. Anupam Kher played the role of a wild, rebellious gypsy king brilliantly, which was quite different from his usual roles.

Behind the scenes, the film is interesting for several reasons. First, it was written by Honey Irani, and Aditya Chopra (Yash Chopra's son Aditya contributed to the screenplay, years before he became a director himself). The music was scored by the classical duo Shiv-Hari, who are known for their soulful tunes. Although the songs of this film 'Parampara' were not very hit, some songs remained on the lips of the people for years such as, 'Phoolon Ke Iss Sheher Mein', 'Tu Sawan Main Pyas Piya', 'Hum Banjare Dil Nahi Dete', 'Mujhe Ishq Ho Gaya', 'Naujawanon Ka Zamana Hai', 'Mere Saathiya', 'Maangti Hai Pyasi Dharti', 'Aadhi Raat Ko'. The film was shot by Manmohan Singh, who later became a successful director in Punjabi cinema.

Some lesser known facts about 'Parampara' are as follows.
The film was a big debut for Saif Ali Khan and Ramya Krishna, but its failure at the box office made both their debuts less famous than expected.

The film had a budget of around ₹30.7 million, but it only earned ₹40 million, making it a commercial flop. Critics were harsh, especially about the story and dialogues, although some praised Yash Chopra's direction.

Many believe that the biggest problem with the film was its screenplay The film was a two-parter, with an attempt to give equal importance to all the stars, resulting in a structure that is more of an idea than a living experience. The first half focuses on Vinod Khanna's character, while the second half moves on to the next generation, making it feel like two films in one.

Some say the failure of this film was a turning point in Yash Chopra's career.

Watching 'Parampara' today, you see a film with huge ambitions that were not fulfilled.

In 1982, Shashi Kapoor had said that his dream direction would be a film based on Indian heritage called "Parampara". But he needed a big producer for it.

This was the first film of Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan pairing. After this film, Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan worked together in Dil Chahta Hai (2001).

Neelam was paired romantically with Saif Ali Khan in this film, but 6 years later she played Saif Ali Khan's elder sister in 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' After 'Parampara', Yash Chopra was ready to make film 'Darr' and Aamir Khan and Raveena Tandon were to be in the film. But both of them refused for some reason, then Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla played the roles.

Sunil Dutt also played a character named Bhavani Singh in the film 'Kshatriya' released in the same year, and Sunil Dutt and Vinod Khanna also played the role of brothers in the same year's film 'Kshatriya'.

'Parampara' is the only film in which Sunil Dutt and Vinod Khanna played the role of father and son. In previous films, they worked together and played the role of brothers or friends.

Manisha Koirala was the producer's first choice for Raveena Tandon's role.

In the scene where Aamir Khan is drinking a soft drink with his back towards Raveena, Errol Er's "Yame Helv" is playing as background music.

This film was played in Richmond Famous Players Theatre due to non-availability of Robson Square Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

Indian film premieres have always been held at the Robson Square Theatre.
Until May 1993, films were regularly screened there every weekend.

But after May 1993, Indian films were screened at a newly renovated theatre at 3215 Kingsway Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, known as the Regal Theatre since May 1997.

The controversial Pamela Bordes visited the sets of the film 'Parampara' and interacted with the cast and crew.

This Aamir Khan starrer was the first film to be released in Canadian theatres. In fact, since 1982, Indian films had stopped being released in Canadian theatres. In July 1992, films started being released there again.
Aamir Khan's film "Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin" was also shown in theatres there in 1992.

However, Aamir and Saif did not share any scenes with Vinod in this film.

Yash Chopra was hesitant to sign Saif Ali Khan because of stories of Saif's alleged unprofessional behaviour on the sets of 'Bekhudi'. But Saif told Yash Chopra that all these are false rumours.

Ashwini Bhave, who plays Saif Ali Khan's mother and Aamir Khan's step mother in this film, is younger than Saif by 2 years and younger than Aamir Khan by 7 years.

The college scenes in the first part of the film were shot at the famous boarding school Mayo College in Ajmer, Rajasthan. The month-long shoot took place during the summer holidays when the premises were empty. But the teaching and sports staff of the school had stories to remember about the shoot that became history.

This was the last film of Sunil Dutt and Vinod Khanna.

At first Yash Chopra wanted Ayub Khan for Saif Ali Khan's role. But he was contractually bound to a film with the Mirza Brothers and had to refuse.

Rishi Kapoor was offered Vinod Khanna's role but Rishi felt it was too small a role.

Kimi Katkar was preferred for the role of Ramya. But she declined the role as she was retiring from the film industry.

Karisma Kapoor was offered Raveena Tandon's role but she did not sign it.

Both Sridevi and Dimple Kapadia were offered the role of Ramya. Both refused to play the role of Aamir Khan's mother.

The song 'Aadhi Raat Ko' was taken from Surinder Kaur's traditional Punjabi song Kala Doriya. The same song was taken in Jeena Marna Tere Sang with the name "Kala Doriya".

Initially Meenakshi Sheshadri was also selected for the role of Ashwini Bhave. She also refused. Rekha was also offered the role of Ashwini Bhave. But the payment issue did not work out.

Ashwini Bhave signed the film because she thought Anil Kapoor was in the film but when Anil did not sign  and Vinod Khanna replaced him , Ashwini Bhave too thought of quitting as she found Vinod Khanna to be an actor of the previous generation. Yash Chopra and producer of the film Firoz Nadiadwala promised her that they would present her well and told her that she will be signed for one of their  future films but After 'Parampara' was completed, Firoz Nadiadwala did not cast Ashwini again in his next film.

According to reports, Anupam Kher's voice was dubbed by Chetan Shashital because Anupam had a sore throat those days.

Anil Kapoor was initially supposed to play Prithvi in ​​the film. But after Anil declined, Jackie Shroff was approached. But rumours have it that Subhash Ghai advised Jackie to not take the role. And finally Vinod Khanna was signed.

Shahrukh Khan and Vivek Mushran were also reportedly being considered for the role of Prithvi.

Divya Bharti was reportedly signed for the film but was later replaced by Neelam.

It was also reported that Aamir Khan had called it a mistake to sign the film as his role was too small and not to his liking.

The film reminds us that even the greatest filmmakers can falter, and warns that, sometimes, breaking away from convention is the hardest thing to do.

Read Also:

• Anil Kapoor Joins King: To Share Screen with Shah Rukh Khan in Key Role
• Operation Sindoor: Amitabh Bachchan Salutes Indian Army’s Bravery in Statement
• Actor Bharat Ahlawwat: Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile Star Embraces His Inner Rockstar On Set
• Snake Venom Case: Elvish Yadav’s Plea Rejected by Allahabad High Court