Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye

Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1974 Hindi action film written and directed by S. Ali Raza that featured Sunil Dutt, Rekha and Premnath in key roles.

Produced by Ratan Mohan and presented under his RM Art Productions banner, Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974) also starred Jeevan, Bindu, Madan Puri, Ranjeet, Jayshree T., Rajan Haksar, Birbal, M.B. Shetty and Polson in supporting roles.

Shot extensively in Jabalpur, Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974) told the story of a fearless outlaw called Raja Thakur (Sunil Dutt) who becomes a voice for the downtrodden in his village. As a young boy, Raja Thakur was an excellent student with aspirations to study and earn an honest living. However, everything changed when a cunning landlord in his village who had been collecting money from his family for generations as mortgage payments, beat up his father and took away their oxen. The incident scarred Raja Thakur’s childhood, pushing him to the path of an outlaw. Raja Thakur grows up to fight against injustice on behalf of those oppressed in his village, becoming a Robin Hood like figure, both revered as well as feared by villagers. Upon hearing the news that a rich landlord has sexually exploited a lower caste woman in the village, Raja Thakur arrives at his mansion to get him forcibly married to the poor woman at gunpoint. During the marriage celebration, Raja Thakur is thoroughly impressed with the dance performance of a courtesan called Janiya (Rekha). He tells Janiya to ask him for a reward, addressing her as a whore. With her self respect challenged, Janiya is enraged and replies that a dacoit who steals from others does not even have self earned alms to give to a beggar, let alone give her anything. Taken aback by her unabashed response, Raja Thakur orders Janiya’s madam Chandabai to relieve her from her duties as a courtesan and get her married instead. Wealthy upper caste men who love to see Janiya dance are shocked at the news and Chandabai is worried about losing her source of income. Soon rumors begin to spread that Raja Thakur is in love with Janiya and the two are having an affair. The police, who have been unsuccessful in trying to arrest Raja Thakur, lay a trap to capture the outlaw on hearing the news that he will be present at Janiya’s performance during the annual festival of the goddess. He outsmarts them yet again but the police are now sure that the rumors are true and arrest Janiya to get her to reveal Raja Thakur’s hideouts. Janiya claims her innocence and recounts how she was abducted as a little girl and sold to her madam Chandabai. Her real name is Sheetal and she is the daughter of Seth Dhanraj (Iftekhar). The police investigate her claim and find her father, asking him to visit the station in order to identify her. Raja Thakur in the meantime, furious to know that the police have arrested an innocent woman to find him, frees Janiya in a daring night time raid with the help of his gang. When Seth Dhanraj arrives at the police station, he is told that his daughter has been kidnapped by Raja Thakur and his gang. In his hideout, Raja Thakur is anxious to get Janiya married off so that he can clear his name from being involved with a prostitute and save his mother from embarrassment in the village. He presents her with three suitors and asks her to choose. However, before the wedding ceremony can take place, the police launch a raid on the hideout, forcing Raja Thakur and Janiya to escape. The police believe Raja Thakur and Janiya have gotten married and gone into hiding. Seth Dhanraj meets Raja Thakur’s mother and pleads with her to convince her son to return his daughter. Raja Thakur bows down to his mother’s request and returns Janiya back to her father. However, members of the same gang that had kidnapped Janiya as a young girl arrive and kidnap her again before she can be reunited with her father. Raja Thakur tries to rescue her but in the ensuing gunfight, his mother is killed. Before dying, Raja Thakur’s mother gets her son to promise to find Janiya and hand her back to her father. He vows to keep the promise, even if he loses his life (Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye).

The film featured a highly controversial scene depicting glamor queen Rekha semi-naked, which created widespread publicity and scandal.

Printed and circulated during the first release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 1974), this old Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This vintage Bollywood poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by noted Bollywood poster painter G.R. Kareker from Bombay. The printed signature of the artist is seen on the bottom right of this Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye poster.

The poster features a spectacular hand drawn portrait of Rekha in a scantily clad avatar – very bold and risque for the period. The illustration is taken from a scene in Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974) where actress Rekha appears bathing in a river in a semi-nude avatar.

A large close up of actor Sunil Dutt holding a rifle in his hand is seen alongside. Bollywood poster painter G.R. Kareker captures the intensity in Sunil Dutt’s eyes with incredible accuracy using expert brush strokes. A smaller illustration of villain Premnath holding a whip in his hand is seen on the left of this Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye poster.

Typography used in this old Bollywood poster is primarily in English, with a translation of the title seen in both Hindi as well as Urdu. The title appears in an italic font in red with a yellow border.

The soundtrack album of Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974) was composed by legendary music composer O.P. Nayyar. It featured hit Asha Bhosle songs such as “Chain Se Humko Kabhi Aapne Jeene Na Diya” and “Bikaner Ki Chunri Odhi.”