indian cinema heritage foundation

Khote Sikkay (1974)

  • Release Date29/03/1974
  • GenreWestern, Action
  • FormatColour
  • LanguageHindi
  • Run Time139 min
  • Length3787.13 meters
  • Gauge35mm
  • Censor RatingA
  • Censor Certificate Number3216-Mumbai
  • Certificate Date20/02/1974
  • Shooting LocationR.K. Studios, Shree Sound Studios, Filmistan Studios, Filmalaya Studios, Thur village, Udaipur
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The feared dacoit Janga kills a man in Thur village for informing on him to the police. A mysterious man in a black poncho arrives, covers the man’s face, spits at the villagers’ cowardice and leaves. The man’s son Ramu decides to go live with his cousin Jaggu who lives in the city. Jaggu and his friends are petty criminals in the city. Ramu convinces Jaggu to come back to the village with him. Jaggu also wants to leave the life of crime behind and earn an honest living. He convinces his four friends Danny, Bhaggu, Salim and Bahadur to join in this quest for reformation. It does not take them long to meet one of Janga’s men – his brother Dilawar who is holding court in a brothel. After a tussle Dilawar is captured and turned over to the police. The mysterious man appears and asks the tawaif Rani to leave and take shelter in the village as Janga will surely suspect her. When asked about his intentions, the man reveals that his own father had been brutally murdered by Janga in front of his eyes when he was young. His father was a judge who had dared to sentence Janga to prison. Now he has become a lone warrior seeking vengeance against Janga. 
The villagers welcome Jaggu and his friends for ridding them of Dilawar. They also help bring a doctor from the city to help a pregnant woman. Although they use force to compel the doctor to come, the villagers request the police officer to forgive them. The mysterious man warns them that Janga will soon look for retribution. Janga wastes no time freeing his brother Dilawar and together they attack the village. The five along with the man with no name manage to drive them off. Meanwhile Jaggu feels a connection with a widow in the village called Madhu. Danny’s girlfriend form the city, Reeta, also arrives to be with him. Salim is the only one who truly empathises with Rani, as the others judge her for being a tawaif. Together they start making preparations for Janga’s assault, building barricades and training the villagers in self-defence. The mysterious man decides to assist them under one condition- only he can kill Janga.
One day Janga’s men arrive in the guise of policemen and kidnap Rani and Ramu. Rani manages to escape with help of the man with no name, but Ramu is not so lucky. Janga murders Ramu and drops his corpse near the village to break their will. Jaggu initially suspects Rani of being involved with Janga, but the mysterious man appears to squash his allegations. Very soon the final fight is upon them. The preparations pay off and Janga’s men are taken out one by one. When Janga is the only one left, the man with no name challenges him to a duel. Janga dies by the very knife he used to commit innumerable atrocities. Unfortunately Salim perishes during the fight with the bandits. The others decide to stay on in the village to begin a new life. 
The film takes inspiration from a number of westerns such as The Magnificent Seven, Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy. 
 

Cast

Crew

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