Dharam Karam is a 1975 Hindi drama film produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by Randhir Kapoor, who also stars as father and son in the film, respectively. The film also stars Rekha, Premnath and Dara Singh. The music is by R.D. Burman and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, who received a Filmfare nomination as Best Lyricist for the hit song "Ek Din Bik Jayega." The song is played 4 times during the film, with playback singing by Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Sushma Shrestha. Of the three of them, only Mukesh received a Filmfare nomination as Best Male Playback Singer for the song.[1] According to one source, the film performed "Below Average" at the box office.[2]
Plot
Shankar is a hoodlum who lives in a shanty hut with his pregnant wife Kanta, and makes a living as a criminal. He prays to Lord Shiva that if he is blessed with a male child, he will ensure that the child does not take to his path but instead grow up to be a decent and honest human being. His wife does give birth to a baby boy named Ranjit. Meanwhile, Shankar loots the ill-gotten gains of another hoodlum named JK. A furious JK hunts down Shankar in an attempt to abduct his son, but Shankar takes his child and switches him with one belonging to renowned stage artist, Ashok Kumar. However, Kanta passes away. Shankar vows to make Ashok's son Dharam an exact criminal like him. He gets into a scuffle with a man, kills him and gets arrested. He is tried in Court and sentenced to 14 years in jail. Dharam is left in the care of a wrestler, Bhim Singh, and a midwife, Ganga. Dharam is taught to be a hoodlum but wants to become a singer under the tutelage of Ashok, while Ranjit has taken to alcohol, gambling and a life of crime under JK himself. After his release, Shankar finds to his horror that his plan has worked in the opposite way. Angered at Dharam, he beats him up and asks him to be a hoodlum like himself. He also beats up Ranjit and asks him to obey Ashok and follow in his footsteps. However, Ashok finds out about Ranjit's crimes. JK and Ranjit hold Shankar hostage and order Dharam to kill Ashok. Dharam is unable to do so. A fight ensues, wherein Ranjit kills JK on learning Shankar is his real father. Shankar initially tries to save his son and frame Dharam for the murder. However, he admits the entire truth when Ashok becomes mortally wounded while trying to save him from Ranjit's gunshot. In the end, Shankar happily watches as Ashok, Dharam and his girlfriend Basanti successfully perform a stage show, while Ranjit is tried for his crimes.
