Haré Rama Haré Krishna

Dev Anand (or Prashant) and Zeenat Aman ( Jasbir/Janice) are siblings brought up in single parent families. Jasbir (the sister) grows up in an affluent environment but this is not enough to lead her to reject her life and ultimately join a hippie movement that eventually leads her to drugs. Prashant (the brother) on the other hand grows up in a less affluent environment but grows up to be a matured gentleman. The story marks Prashant making efforts to save his little sister (who is perpetually in a trance) from a hostile hippie environment. This movie stands the test of time, commenting that cults and hippie groups are a place for those who give up on their lives when they should instead stand up and be counted in the face of adversity. Great music compositions in this movie that mean different things in different situations and to different people, and the director brings forth an eerie feeling to it.

Dev Anand (or Prashant) and Zeenat Aman ( Jasbir/Janice) are siblings brought up in different countries. Because of poor parenting (crudely shown), Zeenat joins the hippie movement and also does drugs. Dev Anand after getting a letter from his father to locate Jasbir in Kathmandu visits that place, falls in love with Mumtaz( Shanti) and is also accused of stealing antiques.

Jasbir has blocked her painful childhood memories and Dev Anand sings the song which he used to sing when he was a kid to jog her memory.

Other than the great R.D.Burman music and Anand Bakshi lyrics and the footage shown about the ISKON movement and the beautiful stars and the Kathmandu location, the movie sucks big time. The story is extremely weak.

Hare Rama Hare Krishna review:

At the film's premiere, the guests went to congratulate the legendary Dev Saahab at interval point itself to which he laughed and said "Abhi toh aadhi picture hi dekhi hai. Watch the entire film guys..!!". Indeed, Hare Rama Hare Krishna (HRHK) was an instant connect for the '70s audience who were mesmerized by its three main factors:

First and foremost, the boldly depicted hippie culture of that era which thrived on drugs and sex. Dev Saahab loved Nepal and he based his plot in that beautiful country which enticed the audience for repeat viewings. Infact, Nepal came on my wishlist in the '80s itself when I watched HRHK on video. I went there much later with my family in 2019 and visited the same locations shown in the film. Surprisingly, it hasn't changed at all..

Secondly, for Zeenat Aman who played Dev Anand's sister in the movie but ended up overshadowing his heroine Mumtaz in it. The screenplay was centered on a brother travelling to Nepal to search for his estranged sister and discovering her high on dope amongst a bunch of vagabond hippies. Zaheeda was Dev's first choice but she refused the sister's role and Zeenat got lucky.

Last but not the least, for Pancham da's awesome music particularly 'Dum maro dum' which became an anthem of sorts. The song was remixed for Rohan Sippy's 2011 movie titled Dum Maaro Dum which also dealt with drugs and sex. Imagine how ahead of the times Dev Saahab was!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

You see the way people in the early seventies blamed ISKON for their radical nature which eventually was the supposed conclusion of being turned into hippies is not at all true and that is why this film is so damn important.

I am surprised that Dev Anand actually thought that a guy in mid forties would look like a guy in mid twenties. Zeenat Aman was stupendous. Mumtaz was good but the real highlighter of this film is the music of the legendary Rahul Dev Burman.........I mean WOW!! Funny thing I read about other reviews is that no one mentioned the song "phoolon ka taaron ka sabka kehna hain" I understand "Dumm Maaro Dumm" was phenomenal, why was it still is even today but the other songs were very good too.

Acting was above average, certain aspects are too melodramatic but then again keeping in mind the 1970s of India it was good, great job by cinematographer and rest of the support staffs.

I give my ratings out of 10:

Acting - 6 Story - 8.5 Screenplay - 8.5 Direction - 8 Music Dept. - 10 (since 100 out of 10 was not possible) Other Aspects - 6

Overall - 7.83 out of 10 so I round it of to 8 out of 10

Evergreen Actor Dev Anand has acted a lots of movies.But Hare Rama Hare Krishna is one of the best of Dev Anand.Zeenat Aman also doing her excellent performance as a Nepali Girl.It was one of the biggest hits of all time.Evergreen Anand's direction is quite faulty(like in most of his directorial ventures).I never understood the purpose of the film apart from its innovative theme.Anand's willingness to break new ground.Specially i like the O Re Ghungroo Ka Bole Sung By Voice Of Asia Lata Mangeskar For Mumtaz & Dev Anand in Hare Rama Hare Krishna.This super hit movie was released in 1971 and the highest grosser of the year.It was starring Kishore Sahu,Achla Sachdev,Mumtaz,Dev Anand,Zeenat Aman,Prem Chopra and Rajendranath and all were doing their best.