Upkar

Awards

Song Awards:
• 1967 - Filmfare Awards - Best Lyricist - Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle (Sad) - Gulshan Bawra
• 1967 - National Film Awards - Best Male Playback Singer - Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle (Happy) - Mahendra Kapoor
• 1967 - Filmfare Awards - Best Male Playback Singer - Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle (Happy) - Mahendra Kapoor

Trivia

Album

• This was Manoj Kumar's directorial debut. He turned to film direction after the success of the film "Shaheed" (1965) which he is said to have ghost directed. The film was dedicated to the memory of Lal Bahadur Shastri who had commended Kumar for "Shaheed" (1965) and exhorted him to make a film based on his slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan". According to Kumar, he wrote the film's script in 24 hours in the train journey from Delhi to Bombay following the screening of "Shaheed" (1965) for Shastri. The film opened with an excerpt of Shastri's famous speech in Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, in which he introduced his slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" to the public.[1][2]
• This film marked a shift in Pran's career. It was the beginning of his transformation from a villain to a character actor.
• Manoj Kumar had initially named his character in the film Ram. He later changed it to a name that would go on to become his nickname - Bharat.[3]

Song

• Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle (Happy) - Three versions of this song were recorded for the film but only this version was issued on records. The other, shorter versions were used in the film but not included in its music release.
• Kasme Waade Pyar Wafa Sab - Kalyanji - Anandji weren't happy that this song would be performed onscreen by Pran who was known primarily for his roles as a villain. They even attempted to influence a change in the film's script to prevent this from happening. When Manoj Kumar didn't budge, they first approached Kishore Kumar to sing this song to ensure that the audience accepted Pran's positive role. According to Ashok Da Ranade's book "Hindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries", Kishore Kumar told the music directors that only Manna Dey could do justice to the song and requested them to approach him instead. However, according to composer Anandji, Kishore refused to sing the song saying "he was an actor, not a singer". On seeing Pran's enactment of the song, the composers complimented the actor for singing with his throat, as opposed to singing with his lips as actors usually did.[4][5][MR6]
• Kasme Waade Pyar Wafa Sab - Ilaiyaraaja used the tune of this Kalyanji - Anandji song for the Tamil film song "Kanavu Kaanum" ("Neengal Kettavai", 1984). This was his way of getting back at Kalyanji - Anandji for using the tune of his song "Ilaiya Nila" ("Payanangal Mudivathillai", 1982) for "Neele Neele Ambar Par" ("Kalakaar", 1983) without his permission.[6][7][8]
• Kasme Waade Pyar Wafa Sab - The lyrics of this song were apparently inspired by the real-life story of the unrequited love of an associate of Kalyanji - Anandji. A banker in Tanzania at the time, this associate, Chandra Barot, went on to become Manoj Kumar's assistant director and is best remembered for directing the blockbuster Amitabh Bachchan hit "Don" (1977).[9][MR10]

1. ^ Shaheed (1965)
2. ^ Upkar: The making of the biggest patriotic film
3. ^ Upkar: The making of the biggest patriotic film
4. ^ The counterpoint is no more
5. ^ Upkar: The making of the biggest patriotic film
6. ^ Neele Neele Ambar Par (Kalaakaar, 1983)
7. ^ Ilaiya Nila (Payanangal Mudivathillai, 1982)
8. ^ Kanavu Kaanum (Neengal Kettavai, 1984)
9. ^ Don (1977)