Bandhe Haath

Poster of Amitabh Bachchan for sale: Bandhe Haath (1973).

Featured here is an actual surviving original 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 old poster of Amitabh Bachchan, 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 the initial release run of the film (somewhere in the early 1970s), this Bandhe Haath movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film in theaters but never ended up being used.

This old poster of Amitabh Bachchan was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by one of the leading Bollywood poster artists in Bombay called V.G. Parchure of Pamart Studio and features striking artwork.

A stunning close up portrait of the “Angry Young Man of Bollywood,” Amitabh Bachchan is seen illustrated at the center. He is depicted covering his face, with only his piercing gaze visible.

Actress Mumtaz is seen in a smaller hand drawn pencil portrait on the left dancing to the popular song, “Yeh Kaun Aaj Aaya Mera Dil Churane.” Kumud Chuggani is depicted in a similar styled drawing on the right. Close up black and white still photos tinted in blue are seen on the bottom left of key members of the supporting cast comprising Madan Puri, Ajit and Kumud Chuggani respectively.

Typography used in this Bandhe Haath movie poster is entirely in English, with the title appearing in red accentuated with a white border. The letter H is creatively illustrated as two handcuffed hands. An announcement on the top declares, “The Stirring Saga of an Anguished Soul.”

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.