Upkar

Upkar movie poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the 1967 blockbuster Hindi nationalist film written and directed by Manoj Kumar that starred him the lead role as “Bharath Kumar,” while actress Asha Parekh played his love interest.

Produced by Harkishen R. Mirchandani & R.N. Goswami and presented by Vishal Pictures, Upkar (1967) also featured Prem Chopra, Kanhaiyalal, David, Manmohan Krishna, Madan Puri, Aruna Irani, Asit Sen, Pran, Kamini Kaushal, Sunder, Mohan Choti, Shammi, Laxmi Chhaya, Master Mahesh, Krishan Dhawan, Ram Mohan, Miss Carolene King, Tun Tun and Gulshan Bawra in supporting roles.

The story of Upkar (1967) was written by Manoj Kumar at the request of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, highlighting his unforgettable nationalist slogan, “Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan” (Victory to the Soldier Victory to the Farmer). The actor played the role of both farmer and soldier in this unforgettable classic. Lal Bahadur Shastri was described as “One of the Greatest Sons of India” in the opening credits of the film.

Set amidst the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, Upkar (1967) highlighted the selfless service and contribution of farmers and soldiers towards their country. The film also touched upon common issues in rural areas such as land ownership and crop trading disputes, the struggle for expensive education in the city as well as challenges faced by soldiers returning back to civilian life.

Manoj Kumar’s debut directorial venture, Upkar (1967) was a blockbuster hit, becoming the highest grossing movie of the year. It won Best Film besides bagging Manoj Kumar three Filmfare Awards – Best Actor, Best Story and Best Dialogues, making this old Bollywood poster, highly collectible!

Printed and circulated during a subsequent release of the film (somewhere in the 1970s), this Upkar movie poster was designed for publicity of the film in north Indian theaters but never ended up being used.

This vintage Manoj Kumar poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by an art studio in Delhi and features quirky illustrated artwork.

Manoj Kumar is seen in a large hand drawn portrait on the top carrying a wooden plough on his shoulder. The artwork is taken from a key scene in the film where the actor leads a direct go-to-market revolution for farmers, refusing to sell grains to middlemen and brokers. A green field is seen depicted behind him in a yellow background. Two hand drawn illustrations of Pran and Asha Parekh are seen on the bottom left and right of this Upkar movie poster respectively.

Typography used in this original patriotic Bollywood movies poster is primarily in Devanagari Hindi, with the title translated into English as well. The film’s Devanagari Hindi title appears in a striking red 3D typeface highlighted by a yellow and black border.

Lyrics of an all time blockbuster song from the film is seen written on the top: “Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugale Ugale Hire Moti Mere Desh Ki Dharti” (English translation: My Country’s Earth Spews/Produces Gold, Diamonds, Pearls.”

The soundtrack album of Upkar (1967) was composed by duo Kalyanji-Anandji, while lyrics were penned by Qamar Jalalabadi, Indeevar, Gulshan Bawra and Sitaram Dhawan. It featured the cult patriotic song, “Mere Desh Ki Dharti” sung by Mahendra Kapoor which is played religiously on every Independence Day and Republic Day across the nation.