Ram Teri Ganga Maili () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor in lead roles. Music director Ravindra Jain received a Filmfare Award for this film.
The film generated controversy because of Mandakini's bold scenes of breastfeeding and bathing in a transparent saree, which wasn't something the conservative Indian Film Certification Board allowed then. Yet, it had a U (Universal) age rating, which was later amended to U/A. It was the last film directed by Raj Kapoor.
Ram Teri Ganga Maili is included in the 'All-Time Blockbusters' list of Indian Cinema. It was certified Diamond Jubilee in Mumbai and Golden Jubilee in other major cities. The film was the year's highest-grossing film. It was also one of the highest-grossing films of the 1980s, alongside Kranti (1981) and Maine Pyar Kiya (1989).
Plot
Narendra Sahay a.k.a. "Naren" is the son of Jeeva Sahay. He is a rich politician in Calcutta. Naren visits Gangotri to study the source of the holy river Ganga, and to get some holy water for his wheelchair-using paternal grandmother. There he meets a very pretty girl named Ganga Singh. Ganga lives near Gangotri with her brother, Karam. Soon, they fall in love and decide to marry. They are happily married but suddenly Naren has to return to Calcutta as he wanted to convince his parents about Ganga. While leaving for Calcutta, he promised that he will soon return to her. But he is prevented from doing so.
Ganga became pregnant at the time of his leaving and soon, she becomes mother of a child. She faces many problems at her place because of her child and her beauty. Ganga was alone and no one was there to look after her; finally she decides to go to her husband, Naren. Ganga travels from her place, Gangotri to Calcutta to find her husband. At Rishikesh, she was exploited by two women and a man. Then at Benaras, she was molested by a Pandit, rescued by the police and given a ticket to Calcutta. She fell into the clutches of Manilal who lured her to a brothel near Benaras. Bhagwat Choudhary, a rich politician, buys Ganga and brings her to his "bagan bari" (house near a garden) as a personal concubine. Bhagwat has fixed his daughter, Radha's marriage with Naren. Naren was being informed that Ganga is dead. So, he decided to marry according to his father's wish. On the other hand, Ganga is invited to dance on her husband's marriage. But lastly, love wins and Naren recognizes his wife Ganga. They try to go away from there with their son but Bhagwat Choudhary shoots Ganga in a fit of rage. Ganga gets shot by him on her hand and Naren starts beating Bhagwat Choudhary, believing that he killed Ganga. But then Radha informs him that Ganga isn't dead yet. Naren stops beating Bhagwat and leaves with Ganga and their son.
Cast
Rajiv Kapoor as Narendra "Naren" Sahay
Mandakini as Ganga Sahay
Divya Rana as Radha B. Choudhary
Sushma Seth as Dadi Maa
Saeed Jaffrey as Kunj Bihari
Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Jeeva Sahay
Raza Murad as Bhagwat Choudhary
Geeta Siddharth as Mrs. Sahay
Trilok Kapoor as Professor
Krishan Dhawan as Manilal
Vishwa Mehra as Postbabu
Urmila Bhatt as Tajeshwari Bai
A.K. Hangal as Brij Kishore
Gautam Sarin as Naren's fellow classmate
Monty Nath as Naren's fellow classmate who lost his watch
Kamaldeep as Chamanlal
Tom Alter as Karam Singh (Ganga's elder brother) Javed Khan Amrohi as Manglu (Ganga's fiancé)
Production
According to Padmini Kolhapure, she was the initial choice for the female lead role but declined because the script had a kissing scene. Mandakini, who ultimately played the role, disputed Kolhapure's claims. She said Raj Kapoor wanted only a new face, rather than an established actress, as he believed he could not "make someone pure Ganga if they have an established image". Mandakini also stated that she did not breastfeed despite popular belief, but the scene was shot in a way to suggest that.
Cultural allusions
According to Philip Lutgendorf, the movie is an allegory that "synthesizes classical and mythic narrative, soft-core political and social commentary (here condemning the corruption of politicians and capitalists and championing the nascent environmental initiatives of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi). The narrative recapitulates the Abhijñānaśākuntalam story that first appeared in the epic Mahabharata and then was reworked, some six hundred years later, by the poet Kalidasa."