Sarfarosh

Jitendra poster for sale: Sarfarosh (1985).

Featured here is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the 1985 Hindi action drama directed by Dasari Narayana Rao that starred Jeetendra in a double role along with Sridevi and Leena Chandavarkar. The film was a remake of the old Telugu movie Sardar Papa Rayudu (1980).

Produced by Jeetendra’s brother Prasan Kapoor and released under Jeetendra’s Tirupati Pictures banner, dialogues of Sarfarosh (1985) were written by Kader Khan. Prem Chopra, Ranjeet, Kader Khan, Asrani, Nirupa Roy, Pran, Bharat Bhushan, Bindu and Satyendra Kapoor played supporting roles in the film.

Sarfarosh (1985) told the story of an honest police inspector called Suraj Kapoor (Jeetendra) who lives with his mother Seeta (Leena Chandavarkar). He looks exactly like his father Jwala Singh (also played by Jeetendra), who has wrongfully been imprisoned for murder. Suraj meets a rich brat called Vijaya (Sridevi) and the two fall in love. Vijaya is the daughter of Dharmadhikari (Kader Khan). A wealthy businessman, Dharmadhikari masquerades as a patriotic philanthropist but is actually the head of a counterfeiting empire that profits by selling adulterated products for high gains. When three school children die after consuming adulterated milk sold by Dharmadhikari’s company, circle inspector Suraj Kapoor goes hot on his trail. The laboratory report of the adulterated milk sample is manipulated and Dharmadhikari is exonerated for his crime. For the wrongful investigation, inspector Suraj is transferred to Pune, which is where Dharmadhikari lives. Vijaya brings Suraj and his mother home to introduce them to her father Dharmadhikari, who is shocked to see how closely he resembles his father, Jwala Singh. Unknown to Suraj, Dharmadhikari is the man responsible for falsely implicating his father Jwala Singh for murder. A brave and revolutionary freedom fighter, Jwala Singh’s reputation has been maligned due to his incarceration, to the point that his son doesn’t even want to take his name. Dharmadhikari has two partners in crime, Swami Satyadev (Ranjeet), who is a criminal masquerading as a Hindu priest and Sharma (Pran). The three were once locked up in prison, awaiting capital punishment. However, they were freed by the British when they betrayed their nation and offered to help arrest freedom fighter Jwala Singh. Years later, Jwala Singh is released from prison and seeks revenge from Dharmadhikari, Swami Satyadev and Sharma. In parallel, Suraj is also working to take down Dharmadhikari’s cartel and bring the trio to justice.

Printed and circulated during the first release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 1985), this Sarfarosh movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

Originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by a Bollywood poster design studio in Bombay, this vintage Jitendra poster features a stunning design.

Lead couple Jeetendra and Sridevi are seen in a small full figure illustration at the bottom of this Sarfarosh poster. They appear on their knees, embracing each other. The image has been taken from the hit song, “Raat Meri Saiyan Se Anban Ho Gayi” sung by Asha Bhosle. Actor Jeetendra is seen again on the top in a large striking hand painted illustration wielding an axe, with broken shackles dangling from his wrists. He is seen with long grey hair and a thick beard, suggesting the double role plot of the film.

The background of this Jitendra poster is a fiery mix of yellow, orange and red, giving away the action-packed genre of the film. Typography used in this vintage Bollywood poster is entirely in Devanagari Hindi, with the title seen in sky blue in a diagonal font.

The soundtrack album of Sarfarosh (1985) was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. One of the dance numbers from the film, “Chor Chor Chor, Chori Ho Gayi” sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle became popular at the time of the film’s release.