Bandhe Haath

Amitabh film poster for sale: Bandhe Haath (1973).

Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the 1973 Hindi drama directed by O.P. Goyle that starred the greatest superstar of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan in a double role along with Mumtaz.

Written & produced by O.P. Ralhan and released under his Ralhan Productions banner, Bandhe Haath (1973) also starred Ajit, Ranjeet, Madan Puri, Gajanan Jagirdar, Asit Sen, Tun Tun, Pinchoo Kapoor, Baldev Mehta, Kamaldeep, Kumud Chuggani, Anjana Mumtaz, Sardar Akhtar, Rammohan Sharma, Moolchand, Usha Amershi and O.P. Ralhan himself in supporting roles.

Bandhe Haath (1973) was the first film in which Amitabh Bachchan appeared in a double role. Also, it was his last commercial failure at the box office before his career took off to superstardom with Zanjeer (1973), making this Amitabh film poster, highly collectible!

A remake of the old black and white film Mujrim (1958) which was directed by O.P. Ralhan and featured Shammi Kapoor in the lead role, Bandhe Haath (1973) told the story of a reluctant criminal on the run called Shyamu (Amitabh Bachchan) seeking reform. His life of crime is owed largely to his father and mentor (Madan Puri) who rescued him from the streets as a child. When he passes away, Shyamu is free from his debt and desires to start an honest life. An opportunity presents itself as he lands up being mistaken for a lookalike poet called Deepak (Amitabh Bachchan) who has been tasked with writing the screenplay of an upcoming film starring beautiful actress Mala (Mumtaz). Being smitten by her, Shyamu decides to commit one last crime and eliminate his lookalike Deepak so that he can assume his identity. However, Deepak is terminally ill and dies shortly after giving Shyamu an easy opportunity to take his place. Wanting to put an end to his old identity forever, he declares dead Deepak as wanted criminal Shyamu in front of the police. Inspector Kumar (Ajit) however is not convinced and decides to investigate further.

Printed and circulated during a subsequent release of the film (somewhere in the 1980s), this Amitabh film poster was originally designed for publicity of the film in north Indian theaters but never ended up being used.

This old Bandhe Haath poster features quirky hand painted artwork designed by a Bollywood poster art studio in Delhi.

A stunning hand painted illustration of the “Angry Young Man of Bollywood,” Amitabh Bachchan is seen at the center. He appears with his hands outstretched, restrained in chains. The scene is inspired from the film’s climax. A fiery background is seen behind him, giving away the action theme of the film.

Villain Ranjeet is seen on the right in a close up hand drawn portrait. Actor Ajit is seen on the bottom right of this Bandhe Haath movie poster wearing a hat and smoking a cigarette. Actress Mumtaz is seen on the bottom left holding a wine glass in her hand.

Typography used in this old Bollywood poster is entirely in Devanagari Hindi, with the title appearing in yellow accentuated with a red border. An announcement on the top declares, “Shackled in the Chains of Crime.”

The soundtrack album of Bandhe Haath (1973) was composed by ace music director R.D. Burman, while lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. It featured the hit song, “Yeh Kaun Aaj Aaya Mera Dil Churane” sung by Lata Mangeshkar.