Aradhana (1969 film)

Aradhana
Directed by	Shakti Samanta
Produced by	Shakti Samanta
Written by	Sachin Bhowmick
Starring	Sharmila Tagore Rajesh Khanna Sujit Kumar Farida Jalal
Music by	S. D. Burman
Cinematography	Alok Dasgupta
Edited by	Sahil Budhiraja
Distributed by	Shakti Films
Release date	7th November 1969
Running time	169 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Aradhana
Original LP Cover
Soundtrack album to Aradhana by S.D. Burman
Released	1969
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Language	Hindi
Label	EMI Records

Aradhana (English: Worship) is a 1969 Indian romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta, starring Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna. It was voted as the best film of the year by the Filmfare Awards. Sharmila Tagore would win her first Filmfare Best Actress Award for playing the lead role in this film. Originally released in Hindi and dubbed in Bengali, Aradhana's huge success led to two remakes, both starring Vanisri in Tagore's role: the Tamil film Sivakamiyin Selvan (1974) and the Telugu film Kannavari Kalalu (1974).This film is counted among the 17 consecutive hit films of Rajesh Khanna between 1969 and 1971, by adding the two hero films Marayada and Andaz to the 15 consecutive solo hits he gave from 1969 to 1971.

In an idyllic hilly terrain, Indian Air Force officer Arun Varma (Rajesh Khanna) sings "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" atop an open jeep along with his co-pilot Madan (Sujit Kumar), while Vandana (Sharmila Tagore), the daughter of a doctor Gopal Tripathi (Pahadi Sanyal) demurely sneaks glances at him from a mini train. After a brief romance, they have a secret wedding.

Soon afterwards, Arun dies in an air crash leaving behind a heartbroken and pregnant Vandana. His family refuses to accept the unwed mother-to-be since her marriage with Arun is never formalised. Meanwhile, her father also dies, leaving her destitute. Vandana's son is finally born, but she is forced to let a childless couple adopt him. Determined to be a part of his life, she accepts the responsibility of becoming his nanny. The boy is named Suraj. Her employer's brother Shyam (Manmohan) arrives and lusts for Vandana. He tries to rape her when no-one is around, but Suraj arrives and stabs him to death to save his nanny. When the police arrive, Vandana takes the blame for the murder and is arrested while Suraj runs away and forgets this mishap as he grows up.