50 Years of Dharmatma: Released in 1975, Dharmatma is a Bollywood classic that is still remembered

Released in 1975, Dharmatma is a Bollywood classic that completes 50 years this year. It was produced, directed and acted by Feroz Khan, who was well known in those days for his style and bold storytelling.

By Sulena Majumdar Arora 10 May 2025 in Entertainment

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50 Years of Dharmatma: Released in 1975, Dharmatma is a Bollywood classic that completes 50 years this year. It was produced, directed, and acted by Feroz Khan, who was well known in those days for his style and bold storytelling. The film is famous for being an Indian film shot entirely in Afghanistan, showing breathtaking scenes.

The film also includes scenes of Buzkashi, a dangerous traditional sport of Afghanistan. Kamal Bose's cinematography was so impressive that he received the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer for this film.

Dharmatma: India’s Godfather With a Twist

The story of Dharmatma is inspired by the Hollywood film The Godfather, but it has a special Indian twist. The lead character, Seth Dharamdas, played by Prem Nath, is a powerful and wealthy man who is revered for helping people in need, earning him the nickname "Dharmatma". But beneath his outer facade, he has a dark side as a gangster and a Matka (gambling) king. His only son Ranbir, (Feroz Khan) does not agree with his father's illegal and dark activities. This leads to a huge fight between the two. Ranbir leaves home and goes to Afghanistan, where he falls in love with a girl from the nomad tribe , Reshma (Hema Malini). But Ranbir's world turns upside down when, Reshma is killed in a bomb blast planted by Ranbir's enemies to kill Ranbir.

Meanwhile, Ranbir's father Dharamdas receives threats from his enemies and even his own family members. His son-in-law Kundan (Imtiaz Khan) gets involved in a conspiracy to murder Dharamdas. And finally one day, they all together kill Dharamdas. Ranbir returns to India and starts his quest to find out the killers of his father and get justice. Ranbir's childhood friend Anu (Rekha), who secretly loves Ranbir, helps him in this task. Ranbir has to face betrayal, violence and heartbreak many times in his search for the real enemies. The film is full of twists where Ranbir finds out that the real enemy is someone who is very close to him and then he finds out that his sister's husband is the one who got all this done. Finally, Ranbir eliminates the enemies.

The other actors in the film include popular actors like Danny Denzongpa, Farida Jalal, Ranjit, Dara Singh, Helen, Madan Puri, Nadira, Jeevan and others.

The most loved aspect of Dharmatma is its music, which is composed by the famous duo Kalyanji-Anandji. Songs like "Kya Khoob Lagti Ho", "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyar Kiya Hai", "Meri Gaaliyon Se Logon Ki Yaari Badh Gayi", and "Tere Chehre Mein Wo Jadoo Hai" became superhits and are remembered even today. The music had a unique blend of Afghan and Western styles, which was refreshing and exciting for audiences at the time.

Here are some more unknown facts about Dharmatma:-

Shooting the film in Afghanistan was a huge challenge, as it was not common for Indian films to be shot abroad, especially in such a rugged and unfamiliar place. The crew had to deal with bad weather, language barriers, and even the dangerous sport of Buzkashi, in which horsemen fight for control over a goat's carcass. These scenes gave the film a thrilling adventure feel and set it apart from other films of the era. Feroz Khan's decision to shoot there showed his daring vision as a filmmaker.

Another fun fact is that the film featured a dwarf bartender, wild nightclub scenes and Helen's amazing dance numbers, the costumes, set design and action sequences were all very stylish for the 1970s.

Dharmatma was a huge box office hit and helped make Feroz Khan a superstar. It was released the same year as other biggies like Sholay and Deewar, yet it managed to stand out because of its unique story, international setting and strong performances. The character of Dharmadas was said to be inspired by the real-life matka gambling king Ratan Khatri.

The climax song that Helen dances to was released in the international dance album Bombay the Hardway; Guns Cars and Sitars.

Dharmatma and Khuda Gawah, both were shot in Afghanistan and Danny Denzonga acted in both the films.

The song, 'Aap Jaisa Koi...' was originally written by Indeevar for Dharmatma, it was to be filmed on Faryal in the climax scene, then Feroz Khan decided to put cabaret music there instead, and 'Aap Jaisa Koi' was never recorded, a few years later it was recorded for Qurbani.

The film was sold for 12 lakhs per territory and fetched 75-80 lakhs in return.

The film 'The Godfather' is also inspired by the 1972 film, which translates to Dharmatma in Hindi.

Feroze Khan once claimed in an interview that Hema Malini looked the most beautiful in his film Dharmatma.

When the film was released in theatres in 1975, it was given an "adults only" rating.

The piano-version of El Condor Pasa is the tune sampled for the Dharmatma title music.

In the song "Tere Chunni Pe Sitare" from the film Yalgaar, Vicky Arora and Manisha Koirala wore the same clothes as Firoz Khan and Hema Malini wore in the song "Tune Kisi Se Pyar Kiya Hai" from Dharmatma.

Many people associated with the film wanted Hema Malini's character not to die. They all even suggested killing off Rekha's character. The distributors of the film kept insisting Feroz to keep Hema Malini alive. But Hema Malini herself asked Feroz Khan to keep the script and character as he had written it and indeed the film became a super hit because of this.

During the scripting of the film, Feroz Khan wanted to cast Rajesh Khanna for the hero's role and play Danny's role himself but when Rajesh Khanna refused, he himself became the hero.

It is said that Feroz Khan first wanted Zeenat Aman for Rekha's role. But Zeenat refused saying that she didn't want any supporting role. This angered Feroz. One night when Feroz was drunk, he called Zeenat and scolded her. A few years later when he wanted to cast Zeenat for the film 'Qurbani', he requested one of a common friend to convince Zeenat and he succeeded.

If rumours are to be believed, after kissing Mumtaz on the nose in the film 'Apraadh', Feroz wanted to kiss Hema on the lips in the film 'Dharamatma' but Hema Malini's mother refused.

Danny Denzongpa was offered the role of Gabbar Singh in 1974 but he declined the offer as his dates were blocked for Dharmatma's schedule in Afghanistan.

Feroze Khan always loved poetry. Before making Dharmatma, Indeevar once recited a poem to Feroz Khan which started like this 'Tere chehreh mein woh jaadu hai...' Feroz Khan thought that this poem could be turned into a beautiful song. He worked on it and composed the song which was used in Dharmatma.

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