Dharam Veer

I remember as a kid when promotion of movies use to happen on radio and how I enjoyed this movie promotion listening it on radio. The songs " Bund ho muthi to lakh.. " Hum banajaroo ki... " O meri mehbooba.. " Are still fresh in my mind, how this songs made me as a kid of seven wanting to see this movie. This movie is full entertainment the costumes, story, action of 70's, the drama, acting, songs everything is so Bollywood. Dharmendra, zeenat, jeetendra, Jeevan and all others did wonderful job. Yes even the eagle was so much fun for us kids to later discuss among ourselves. This is a must watch for BOLLYWOOD FANS.

Dharam Veer is a period costume drama set in the midieval periods shot in grand colourful palaces and forts. While the storyline and screenplay are contemporary, its the special effects and poorly edited action sequences that make the film look a bit dated.

The film is based on the "lost and found" formula, a specialty of its director, Mr. Manmohan Desai. When the family astrologer predicts to the brother of the queen of a kingdom that his eldest nephew (sisters son) will be responsible for his untimely death, the uncle tries to eliminate him on the day he is born. While the scheming uncle believes that his nephew is dead, all that he has unknowingly managed to do is that he has separated the child from his family. The prince is brought up at a poor blacksmith's house in an environment of contrast with the life of a palace.

However, as luck would have it, the poor prince emerges to be the best friend of his younger brother from the palaces in a kingdom which believes that rich and poor are all alike. They eventually reunite as brothers to get rid of their scheming uncle who had designs for his son to be the crowned king. Various parallel well knit side tracks enhance the pace of the film.

All in all, thoroughly entertaining fare with nice music, beautiful backdrops, gorgeous stars (zeenat aman and dharmendra are just fab!), grand festivities, moderate emotions and hilarious comedy scenes make it a must watch!

Upon learning of a prophecy that states he will be killed by his eldest nephew, Satpal separates his sister's twin sons. However, the boys become best friends after growing up, and fight against tyranny.

In the 1970's, where daku, romantic and lost and found action fare were the leading force, period-Talwar (sword fighting) pics were rare, but Dharm Veer is a first class example of period-action replete sword fights, ship battles and feisty princesses, yet it still retains its lost and found masala sheen, and the villainy is high-end with bad buy maestros Jeevan and Sujit Kumar giving the heroes, Dharm Veer played by Garam Dharam and Jeetendra (no brainier who plays Dharm!) a lot to fight for, and there's plenty of derringer-do, high-end dramatics, romance and epic theatrics - all these elements Manhoman Desai executes in his inimitable fashion.

Dharmendra is at the top of his game, flexing his muscles and singing with MOHd Rafi's voice to Zeenat Aman - the songs are melodious, and the cinematography is splendid - Dharm veer is wondrous entertainment for the one who want to escape in the world of palaces, forts, maharajas, queens, lost princes, talwar flashing and moustache twirling villainy.

Dharam Veer (1977) : Brief Review -

A royal swashbuckling blockbuster from Manomohan Desai in his peak year. The two-hero film was gaining pace in the post-Sholay era, and Desai knew it. In 1977, he delivered two of the biggest blockbusters of his career, Amar Akbar Anthony (3 hero film) and Dharam Veer (2 hero film). DV is more into the swashbuckling zone, which didn't inspire Indian filmmakers much from the beginning, but proper masala packaging would always work. Desai's DV adds multiple masala ingredients to it, and every single thing hits the right chord. You don't expect a princess to marry a swordsman living in a hut and then have them part ways the same night. You give a proper prelude to the entries of two heroes for almost half an hour. The lost and found formula peaked here yet again (of course, AAA was some next-level stuff). Two brothers, one prince and one poor, and the latter had to be the elder one. You can't have anyone else but Super Hero Dharam Ji for the role because that mass appeal, machoism, and attitude to show off muscles and thighs weren't available in anybody else. You get Pran to play a swordsman who is hit by bad luck. Ditto for Indrani. Jeetendra was becoming a rage among girls at that time (my mother was a huge fan), and you have him play the prince, a man of principles and royalty. In usual masala flicks, you might see two brothers fighting over a girl, but here, they both fall in love with opposite category girls. Dharam is bound to marry a princess, whereas Veer is bound to a nomad dancer. The practical value of this masala equation may probably rank higher than other masala film cliches as Desai attempts to defy usual norms and stand away with his own conviction. You don't have a moment to lose on the screen, and then you get 4 superhit songs, each with a different melody and taste. I mean, give me a moment, man. It's all so freaking fascinating to come together like a dream. How can a bird (Baaz) play such a big role! Try it, you other fellas (Coolie did it).

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

If you are looking for entertainment but aren't sure if you want to settle on a comedy, a musical, a period film, a mystery, some romance, some action, something the kids would like, or a nature documentary, look no further than Dharam-Veer. In this forest of interesting costumes, characters, plot twists, stunts and dialog, anyone hunting for a dull moment will come back to town empty handed! This isn't the film you go into taking seriously, however, it is entirely possible to do so granted the sincerity with which it was made.

The setting is all at once an Ancient Roman/Medieval/Rococo period containing knights in armor, stage coaches, ships with cannons, zippers, laz-y-boy living room sets, and huge, jeweled clip-on earrings adorning the ears of the men. The surrounding events include everything from fencing to baby-carrying falcons to tiger wrestling to seafaring gypsies. But in spite of such a diverse and higher than average array of elements, it does not have LITERALLY everything. Due to the "historical" nature there aren't any motorized vehicles to be found, none of the English-mixed-in Bollyspeak, and in the opinion of one viewer "it could have used a disco ball."

Our songs include an anthem of bromance and friendship between the heroes Dharam and Veer as they ride their horses across field and stream, make breakfast by the creek, and tease a passing princess. Next is a colorful arena-filling gypsy spectacular rife with sweeping leaping moves by a Veer in disguise, as one of our heroines kicks in the sand and some midgets poke a caged captive to the beat. Dharam interrupts a vain princess' bath to carry her out to the woods and we get what was probably the world's first bondage-fetish bollywood number. Later, the Gypsies are at it again, this time in a camp while the heroines disguise themselves to dance and jingle amongst the flickering torches and sparkling rainbow tambourines while clueless villains look on.

With all this wacky stuff to look at, some things would be needed to keep the film from being just an empty, hyper spectacle. Dharam-Veer has those things. The first is the compelling dialog written by Khader Khan. For example, when Dharam is offered a set of armor during a jousting competition he says "an iron body like mine has no need for such jewelry!" and when Prince Veer dramatically enters a room by crashing through a glass window, he gives a little speech to the villain about why he just did so! Also preventing emptiness is the distinctness of all the characters, and even the most minor of them are lovable in a way that would inspire you to collect action figures and wear catchphrase t-shirts if such things had ever been made.

Only after viewing Dharam-Veer multiple times and with various people have I developed a few criticisms to display in the course of this description. The first is Dharam's short tunic outfits that make no rare item of Dharmendra Deol's manly thighs. Constantly exposed by variations of a short, skirt-like garb, his legs have an unrelenting screen presence which could unnerve certain members of the audience. The second would be the matter of some rather crude special effects in the form of animations, dummies and showing things happening in the reverse. These moments are seemingly unnecessary and elevates the kitch factor of the entire venture to a point of mild embarrassment. There is also the matter of deficiency of songs and situations for the second pair of this feature's remarkable "double romance". However, it seems as if these required scenes may have been cut for the sake of duration and it presents a stellar opportunity for you to spend some time writing fan fiction afterward.

This is a great movie to watch alongside friends and family and a must own for any Bollywood fan or collector of unusual films. In regard to DVDs I'd recommend the Shemaroo release as some people have reported sound quality problems with others.