Souten (transl. Co-Wife [or] Husband's other wife) is a 1983 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Saawan Kumar Tak, starring Rajesh Khanna, Tina Munim, Padmini Kolhapure, Prem Chopra and Pran. It was written by Kamleshwar, with music by Usha Khanna. The song "Shayad Meri Shaadi" sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar became especially memorable. Khanna's chemistry with Munim also proved popular. The film was remade in Kannada as Krishna Nee Begane Baro and in Telugu as Tene Manasulu.[1] Souten was a silver jubilee hit on its release.
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Souten | |
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Directed by | Saawan Kumar Tak |
Produced by | Saawan Kumar Tak |
Starring | Rajesh Khanna Tina Munim Padmini Kolhapure |
Edited by | David Dhawan |
Music by | Usha Khanna |
Release date | 3 June 1983 |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Shyam is an ambitious man who meets Rukmini, the daughter of a millionaire, and falls in love with her. They get married despite opposition from Rukmini's family. While Shyam wants to become a father, Rukmini is not interested in becoming a mother yet. Consequently, their relationship sours and eventually ends. Radha, daughter of Shyam's employee, brings a ray of hope into Shyam's life. What happens next forms the climax of the story.
According to the director, Souten was the first Hindi film ever to be shot in Mauritius. Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi were offered the role of Rukmini, but they both turned it down, leading to Tina Munim being signed.[2]
Prior to Souten, Rajesh Khanna was not having a good run at the box office, as many of his previous films were failures. Although films like Thodisi Bewafaii (1980) did provide some respite, he could not achieve the same level of popularity he enjoyed in the early 1970s. Souten and Avtaar (1983) are believed to be the two movies which temporarily restored some of his lost stardom.
Nominated
The music of this movie was composed by Usha Khanna (one of the two female music composer to have ever worked in Bollywood). Saawan Kumar Tak himself penned the lyrics to the famous songs.The song 'Zindagi Pyar Ka Geet Hai' of this movie is a popular one.
The song, 'Main Teri Chhoti Behna Hoon' is sampled on the Four Tet track 'Morning' on the album Morning/Evening.
The song, 'Meri Pehle Hi Tang Thi Choli' was supposed to be a duet between Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar. However, Mangeshkar refused to sing this song due to the explicit lyrics. This led to Anuradha Paudwal singing it with Kumar.
# | Title | Singer(s) |
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1 | "Shayad Meri Shaadi" | Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar |
2 | "Jab Apne Ho Jayen" | Asha Bhosle |
3 | "Main Teri Chhoti Behna Hoon" | Lata Mangeshkar |
4 | "Meri Pehle Hi Tang Thi Choli" | Kishore Kumar, Anuradha Paudwal |
5 | "Sasu Tirath Sasura Tirath" | Kishore Kumar |
6 | "Zindagi Pyar Ka Geet Hai" (I) | Lata Mangeshkar |
7 | "Zindagi Pyar Ka Geet Hai" (II) | Kishore Kumar |
This film was a huge success of the year 1983. It was one of Rajesh Khanna's favourites.[3][4]