Mere Hamdam Mere Dost

Mere Hamdam Mere Dost poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1968 Hindi film directed by Amar Kumar that starred Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore in lead roles.

Produced by Kewal Kumar and presented under the Kewaljit Productions banner, Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968) also starred Rehman, Mumtaz, Om Prakash, Achala Sachdev, Nigar Sultana, Snehlata, Sulochana (Ruby Myers), Santosh Kumar and Brahm Bhardwaj in supporting roles.

Edited by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968) told the story of a young, hardworking middle class man called Sunil (Dharmendra), who lives in Delhi with his mother and sister. Sunil is employed at a chartered accountancy firm called Chopra & Company and is a straightforward person. One day, Sunil’s boss asks him to commission a painting for his cabin from his friend who is an artist. At his friend Bharti’s art studio, Sunil is captivated by a beautiful woman called Anita (Sharmila Tagore), who is posing for a portrait. Bharti tells Sunil that he found Anita outside a temple and convinced her to pose for a portrait for a mere 4 or 5 rupees, while he plans to sell her painting for up to 5,000 rupees. Saddened by her poverty and need, Sunil gives 5 rupees to Anita behind Bharti’s back. In reality, Anita is a millionaire and decides to play along with her assumed identity of a poor woman as she is touched by Sunil’s compassionate gesture. It is the first time that Anita has met someone who has gifted her something for who she is and not just because of her millionaire status. Seeing her clad in an old rustic outfit, Sunil who is under the assumption that Anita is poor, gifts her a saree. A playful prankster, Anita decides to meet Sunil again and continue to prank him. The two fall in love and intend to marry. However, everything changes when Sunil attends a party where he meets his boss who reveals the truth to him. He learns that Anita is actually a millionaire who owns a chain of retail stores and his boss is her chartered accountant. Sunil is shocked to know that Anita was pretending to be poor all the while she was with him. Heartbroken on being misled, Sunil vows to never meet Anita again. Just when things cool down between the couple and they mend things, two shocking revelations come to light: Anita’s father is none other than the man serving time for killing Sunil’s father and that Anita’s mother, an erstwhile prostitute, is still alive.

Printed and circulated during the first release of the film (somewhere in 1968), this Mere Hamdam Mere Dost poster was designed and printed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This Dharmendra poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by master Bollywood poster designer and the king of minimalism, D.R. Bhosle.

Typical of Bollywood poster painter D.R. Bhosle’s minimalist style, this vintage Bollywood poster features a simple white background. The original He-Man of Bollywood, Dharmendra is seen in a romantic pose with actress Sharmila Tagore in a close up illustration at the bottom. The couple seem to be entering into a kiss in this vintage Bollywood poster. The artwork stands out in sharp contrast against the minimal white background.

Typography used in this Mere Hamdam Mere Dost poster is primarily in English, with the title translated to both Devanagari Hindi as well as Urdu. The main English title appears in red in 3D style.

The soundtrack album of Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968) was composed by duo Laxmikant Pyarelal, while lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. It was a blockbuster hit and is credited with giving Indian cinema two unforgettable tracks, “Chhalka Yeh Jaam” and “Na Ja Kahin Ab Na Ja” sung by one of the greatest playback singers, Mohammad Rafi.