Saagar

Saagar poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving original Bollywood poster of the 1985 blockbuster Hindi film directed by Ramesh Sippy (of Sholay fame) starring Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Hassan and Dimple Kapadia in lead roles.

Produced by G.P. Sippy and written by Javed Akhtar, Saagar (1985) also starred Nadira, Saeed Jaffrey, Satish Kaushik, A.K. Hangal, Sharat Saxena, Shafi Inamdar, Goga Kapoor, Madhur Jaffrey, Kiran Vairale, Sudhir Pandey, Shubha Khote and Lilliput in supporting roles.

Saagar (1985) was India’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985, making this old Bollywood poster, highly collectible!

Saagar (1985) marked the second instance in the history of Filmfare Awards where an actor has received simultaneous nominations for both Best Actor as well as Best Actor in a supporting role. Kamal Hassan ultimately won the Best Actor award, his first and only Best Actor award for a Hindi film.

The film was a love triangle, transcending class barriers. Mona (Dimple Kapadia) is a middle class girl who runs a small restaurant bar on a Goan beachfront. Her best friend, Raja (Kamal Haasan) is a poor fisherman who lives a simple and honest living. Raja is in love with Mona but is unable to confess his feelings for her. Everything changes when Ravi (Rishi Kapoor), the son of a highly influential industrialist, moves to Goa from USA. Mona and Ravi fall in love despite their class differences, angering Ravi’s grandmother Kamladevi (Madhur Jaffrey). She is opposed to their union tooth and nail, believing a poor girl like Mona will bring shame to their family in high society. When Raja comes to know of Mona and Ravi’s undying love for each other, he decides to sacrifice his love and help the two unite.

Printed and circulated during the initial release of the film (somewhere in the late 1980s), this Saagar poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This beautiful Kamal Hassan movie poster features a large close up of the Tamil superstar on the left. Dimple Kapadia is seen in a sizzling avatar wearing a red saree along with Rishi Kapoor on the right. The sensuous pose features Rishi Kapoor on his knees embracing Dimple Kapadia, with his hands wrapped around her backside. The iconic image is taken from the blockbuster hit song, “Jaane Do Naa.”

Typography used in this original Saagar poster is entirely in English, with the film’s title appearing in red with hand drawn waves sketched around it, giving away the meaning of the title.

The soundtrack album of Saagar (1985) was composed by music maestro R.D. Burman, while lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar. It became a rage throughout the nation upon it’s release. Tracks like “Jaane Do Naa” sung by Asha Bhosle & Shailendra Singh, “O Maria” sung by Asha Bhosle & S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, “Chehra Hai Ya Chand Khila Hai (Saagar Jaisi Aankhonwali)” sung by Kishore Kumar and “Saagar Kinare” sung by Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar are fondly remembered and played till date.