Desh Premee

Desh Premee
Desh Premee poster
Directed by	Manmohan Desai
Produced by	Subhash Desai
Written by	Kader Khan K.B. Pathak Prayag Raj
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan Sharmila Tagore Hema Malini Parveen Babi Shammi Kapoor Amjad Khan Premnath Navin Nischol
Music by	Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Cinematography	Peter Pereira
Edited by	Mukhtar Ahmed
Release date	April 23, 1982
Running time	165 mins
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Desh Premee (English translation The Patriot) is a 1982 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai. The film is dedicated to the memory of Mohammed Rafi who sang the film's title song and actor Uttam Kumar, both of whom died two years before the film was released. This was the only film for which music director Laxmikant was also a playback singer for one song. The film became an "Average" at the box office because Amitabh Bachchan was the most popular actor of the time, however both critically and commercially, it failed to re-create the magic of previous Amitabh-Manmohan Desai films.

Master Dinanath (Amitabh Bachchan) is a freedom fighter and participated in the war against the British in 1942 and independence was eventually won in 1947. But after independence, the people's love for their country seems to be diminishing and they are too busy betraying it like ex British landlord Thakur Pratab Singh (Amjad Khan). Master Dinanth finds out about Thakur Pratab Singh's illegal activities such as smuggling of weapons and ammunition and gets him arrested. In revenge for putting him in prison, Pratab Singh gets Master Dinnanth's wife Bharati (Sharmila Tagore) and daughter Priti (Parveen Babi) kidnapped by Thakur's partner in crime Sher Singh (Kader Khan) to try to change his ways but to no avail. Thakur also provokes an attack on Masterji's home by the local villagers who accuse Dinanath of betraying his country and he is forced to flee his home with his young son Raju. His wife becomes a victim of leprosy and escapes from Sher Singh, leaving her daughter Priti in a friend's care. Masterji is informed that his wife and daughter could be dead as they find a necklace of hers near the train tracks. Masterji is devastated by his wife and daughter's loss and he and his son move on with their life.