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» » Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981)

Short summary

Hindi-speaking collegian Sapna lives a wealthy lifestyle in Dona Paula, near Panaji, Goa, India, along with her Professor dad, Kundanlal, and mom. Their immediate neighbors are Tamil-speaking vegetarian tenants, V. Sivaramakrishan, his wife, Vandana and son, Vasudevan, and detest the Kundanlals' meat-eating habits. Both families are aghast with surprise and anger when they find out that Sapna and Vasudevan are in love with each other. Strong opposition only strengthens their romance, forcing the families to compel the couple to stay away for a year, and not to communicate to each other in any manner. Both agree, and Vasudevan leaves for Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to work for G. Haribabu, a Chartered Accountant. Vasudevan befriends a widow, Sandhya, and learns how to dance as well as read and write Hindi, while his dad arranges his marriage with Tamil-speaking Tulsi. While on a trip to Mangalore he finds out that Sapna has got married to Chakravarty, and instantly decides to propose to...

Britanney Spears song Toxic sampled a part of the song Tere Mere Beech Mein.

Hip Hop artiste Tony Yayo's song " Love My Style " sampled the song " Tere Mere Beech Mein".

Tere Mere Beech Mein " and dialogs from the movie were sampled by DJ Signify for the song " Bollywood Babies".

Hip Hop artiste Childish Gambino sampled the song " Tere Mere Beech Mein" for his song "Toxic".

Tusshar's film " Yeh Dil" was titled " Ek Dujhe Ke Liye" when it was launched on 2002.

The film was titled "Ek Aur Itihaas" while it was being made.

Miss Asia Quest 1979, Maureen Mary Lestourgeon (Nisha), (1st Runner-up) was approached for Rati Agnihotri's role. The producer wanted to launch her in the film . But at the time she did not want a career as a actress. She is now a nun in Mumbai. Her shelved films include Asoon ,Jigar Ke Tukade, Dil Ka Nasha.

The movie started a trend for sad and depressed couples who copied the film's climax and committed suicide together.

Padmini Kohlapure was offered the film but could not accept it due to her contract with Nasir Hussain.

K. Balachander had shown a preview of the film to legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor before it's release. Kapoor liked the film but not the ending, which he found to be overly sad. He suggested to Balachander to change it to a happy ending, but the latter refused and stuck with the sad ending.

The lyrics of the song "Mere Jeevan Saathi" are made up entirely of the names of various Bollywood films.

In the scene in which Rati Agnihotri mixes the burnt remains of a photograph into her tea and drinks it, she really did do that. She did not realize at that time that the photos back then had toxic chemicals like silver in them. Fortunately she did not suffer any ill effects.

Kamal Haasan and Rati Aghnihotri were not speaking to each other during the making of this movie due to some personal dispute.

This was the first Hindi film for South Indian singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. The music directors were initially against including him, feeling that the "Madrasi" would not do justice to a Hindi composition, but Balachander cited that if the lead character played by Haasan could not speak Hindi well, then even if Balasubrahmanyam blemished the song, it would "capture the character."

Rati Agnihothri and Kamal Haasan were not on talking terms while shooting for the film.

Rati was upset with the producers for shooting a rape scene with her consent. They used a body double for the scene. She upset because she was not told about the scene when she signed the film.

There were several stories doing the industry rounds that Kamal Hassan asked the director to not sign Jeetendra . The director had already promised the role to Jeetendra only to go back on his word. Kamal denied this story and stated he had given 3 flops at the box office when the director signed him.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Voodoosida
    The scene is a small town in India before liberalisation and globalisation. In fact, I don't think America or any foreign country is mentioned in the script or any picturisation done there. contrast this with Bollywood of 2000s where the only Indian part is language and actors.

    The people are simple and the life of young ones are sans complications. If today's Indian youth were not panting after career, America etc., then they would fall in love exactly like this.

    The story is well executed on screen. There are no contemporary obsessions like morality, or Indian versus American values or saas-bahu conspiracies. Even the numerous plots by girl's mother (Shubha Khote) to separate the lover duo are almost poetic and are received by the lovers as tests of the path of love.

    The songs and the ending are the highpoint of the film. Rakesh Bedi adds comic relief. This is one of the few films where no villain / negative characters is trying to marry either lover.
  • comment
    • Author: Kegal
    A movie in which love knows no color, status or origin. The director does a fantastic job retaining the nuances of both Tamil and Hindi and the movie comes out so well. The locales and the beaches are simply amazing. Set in the coastal town of Visakhapatnam, this remake of a Telugu film with almost the same cast has an unconventional ending leaves the viewers in shock. The songs are gr8 and acting superb. This is definitely a movie that transcends time and the problems that are faced by the protagonists are the same faced by many couples in love today. Watching this movie in 2006, I feel that the screenplay could have been better, the scenes change abruptly and the color combinations are not always correct. But, all said and done, its an wonderful movie all should watch.
  • comment
    • Author: Bukelv
    I saw it in PAK circa 1982, probably 5 or 6 times, the songs are top notch...the heroine is as fine as all outdoors , the hero is a likable tool. It is nice story with a non-mundane ending, which is usually typical of "Bollywood" nonsense...Just watch it, you will like it - I think. If you don't dig the story, you will not deny the songs =) I was a youngster in 82, but I still liked it then, not even knowing what it meant to be in that state. Now, I know what its all about and will preach it to anyone that listens, hahaha...don't hate on love , that is all I have to say about that, ala Forest Gump - And why do I need 10 lines to be approved for commenting, I was done after 5 lines, the last few lines are plain jibberish!
  • comment
    • Author: Skilkancar
    What really sets 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye' apart from other love stories, is its disturbing ending. Otherwise the film itself is no different than other love stories regarding star-crossed lovers that have been made several. Some of the songs are nice (but not great) and mostly forgettable. The use of the language barrier between the two characters was something different and new. Also there are some nice sequences that prevent it from being just another romantic film. The director deserves credit for executing them. Performances are quite decent. Rati Agnihotri does well for a newcomer. Madhavi is very good. Kamal Hassan is quite alright in a few scenes and very bad in some. He seems to just not get the right expressions particularly in the crying scenes (which are unintentionally funny). However, the guy can surely dance! Shobha Khote is extremely annoying and almost want to press the mute button. 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye' is certainly one of the better films of the 80s. A different love story it is and I'd recommend it to viewers who enjoy romantic films but beware of its disturbing conclusion.
  • comment
    • Author: Agagamand
    Ek Dujje Ke Liye is a remake of Telugu Film Maro Charitra which also starred Kamal Hassan,Madhavi who reprise their roles here. The film is directed by same director K Balachandar

    The film is a good love story like a Romeo and Juliet and also has culture war thrown in. The film was a blockbuster and gave a good start for talented Kamal Hassan and Rati Agnihotri. The film is set in Goa(though people speak more in Hindi) and has a war between North Indians and South Indians. The clash is well handled and so is the love story though the idea of keeping them separate may not make sense today but for it's time its good, scenes in Hyderabad too are funny with Asrani thrown in a film obsessed Accountant. The film ends though a bit too tragically which is surprising, the rape part could be avoided though

    Direction is good though some parts look like plain translated from A South film Music by LP is great, Solah Baras Ki is the best song by Lata, while Hum Banne, Mere Jeevan Saathi and other songs became famous and are superb

    Kamal Hassan though a bit off in Hindi does a good job, Rati Agnihotri though tends to overact a bit too much yet it suits her part Shobha Khote is great, Satyen Kapoo is funny, Rakesh Bedi is funny as the sneezing second lead, Madhavi is good in her debut Raza Murad has an effective cameo,Asrani is hilarious

    rest are okay
  • comment
    • Author: Brannylv
    Given the high popular status of this film, I really wanted to see Ek Duuje Ke Liye. And well, I finally did. The movie was quite a nice watch although I can't say it was fascinating. It is a rather ordinary yet watchable picture about star-crossed lovers and the trials they have to go through, although it is filled with several moments which make it special and quite different. I liked the concept of young lovers whose main obstacle is their cultural differences. While many films portray star-crossed lovers focusing on religious grounds, here it's actually their ethnicity which plays a major role. He is from the south, she is from the north, he speaks Tamil and she speaks Hindi. Despite the many languages spoken in India, very few films have portrayed romantic stories where a language is a barrier, so it was a very interesting idea. The film is quite well directed and shot, and it captures the beauty of Goa exceedingly well. The romantic sequences were extremely well handled and are of the film's most entertaining. But then the movie has its turn when the youngsters' love has to withstand a test. This was a rather unconvincing phase and from then on the film became quite melodramatic and occasionally boring. Some scenes in which the heroine's mother tries hard to morally deter her were particularly peculiar, although I personally was curious about the film's next proceedings.

    Ek Duuje Ke Liye has several songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Some of them were okay, like "Tere Mere Beech Mein" but none was really great. At times the songs came across as totally unnecessary (and I'm actually not one of those who are against song numbers in Hindi movies). The film's acting is generally good. Kamal Hassan does very well as the main lead. Towards the second half he even manages to bring a new dimension to his character. Also, his classical dance numbers were fantastic. Rati Agnihotri suits her part and is extremely pretty. At times she stared angry eyes at her mother and it was a bit repetitive but overall it was a good debut and I liked her in a number of her subsequent films so let it be. Madhavi was very good in whatever little she was given. But the film's biggest flaw is obviously its ending. It is unexpected and surprising, and I don't mean to say it as a compliment. I was totally disappointed and could not figure why the writer in his own mind would think of such a melodramatic twist, which was not necessary and did not really conclude the story well. I mean, the film was not a fairytale saga, so why end it like this? I would not go on to say Ek Duuje Ke Liye was not worth the time, I actually enjoyed watching it. I do recommend it, but remember that the first half is stronger than the second, and the ending may disappoint you.
  • Complete credited cast:
    Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan - S. Vasudevan 'Vasu'
    Rati Agnihotri Rati Agnihotri - Sapna
    Madhavi Madhavi - Sandhya
    Sunil Thapa Sunil Thapa - Librarian
    Raza Murad Raza Murad - Danny
    Poornam Vishwanathan Poornam Vishwanathan - V. Sivaramakrishan (as Poornam Viswanathan)
    Arvind Deshpande Arvind Deshpande - Dr. Kundanlal
    Rakesh Bedi Rakesh Bedi - Chakravarty 'Chakram'
    Shubha Khote Shubha Khote - Mrs. Kundanlal
    Madhu Malini Madhu Malini - Devi
    Athili Lakshmi Athili Lakshmi - S. Vandana (as Atili Lakshmi)
    Geeta Geeta - Tulsi (as Geetha)
    Asrani Asrani - G. Haribabu
    Satyendra Kapoor Satyendra Kapoor - Jagannath (as Satyen Kapoo)
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