Dus Numbri

Vintage movie posters India for sale: Dus Numbri (1976).

Featured here is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1976 Hindi film produced and directed by Madan Mohla that starred Manoj Kumar in the titular role along with Hema Malini in a double role.

Released under the Seven Arts Pictures banner, Dus Numbri (1976) also starred Pran, Bindu, Prem Nath, Kamini Kaushal, Om Shivpuri, David Abraham, Abhi Bhattacharya, Kumud Tripathi, Rajan Haksar, Hercules, Azad, C.S. Dubey, Kamaldeep, Ram Mohan, Rajni Bala and Raju Shrestha in supporting roles.

Printed and circulated during the first release of the film (somewhere in 1976), this vintage movie poster from India was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

Dus Numbri (1976) featured one of the finest performances of actor Manoj Kumar, who is known popularly by the moniker “Bharat Kumar.” Dus Numbri was the biggest hit of the year 1976 and is counted among the top films of the 1970s, making this old Bollywood poster, highly collectible!

Dus Numbri (1976) told the story of honest police inspector Shivnath (Abhi Bhattacharya) who discovers that his close friend Karamchand (Om Shivpuri) is running a counterfeit currency racket. However, before he can arrest him, Karamchand plants counterfeit currency in inspector Shivnath’s home, leading to his wrongful arrest instead. Karamchand’s wife Sundari (Hema Malini) learns of her husband’s sinister plot and decides to testify in court against him but is killed by his gang members. Their young daughter Anupama is kidnapped and handed over to a criminal called Fernandes. Meanwhile, Shivnath escapes, leaving behind wife Radha (Kamini Kaushal) and a young son Arjun (Manoj Kumar). Unable to bear the shock, Radha loses her mind and has to be institutionalized. Left to fend for himself on the streets, Arjun takes to a life of petty crime and quickly climbs the ranks becoming the Don of his area, earning him the notorious moniker, “Dus Numbri.” Arjun falls in love with petty criminal Rosemary Fernandes (Hema Malini), who is none other than Anupama, the daughter of the very man who destroyed his father’s life.

This old original Bollywood movie poster features stunning hand painted artwork created by one of the highest paid and most sought after Bollywood poster designers of his time, Diwakar Karkare of Studio Diwakar fame. A stunning hand painted portrait of actor Manoj Kumar (who plays a local vigilante in the film) is seen at the bottom of the poster. He is seen bound with ropes, wearing dark coloured glasses and a shirt with the number 10 written on it. Actress Hema Malini is seen holding a whip in her hand alongside.

Two large hand painted portraits appear on the top: Pran on the left drawn in blue and Prem Nath in green. The entire typography used in this original Bollywood movie poster is in Devanagari Hindi, except for the number 10. The title of the film is seen hand painted in red and pink. A signature of poster artist Diwakar Karkare is printed on the bottom left of this vintage movie poster.

Dus Numbri’s soundtrack album was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal and lyrics were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Songs from the film such as “Yeh Duniya Ek Numbri” sung by Mukesh are fondly remembered till date.

The film was later remade in Telugu as “KD No. 1” (1978) starring N.T. Rama Rao and Jayasudha.