Dharmputra

Dharmputra is a 1961 Hindi film directed by Yash Chopra based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen. This is Yash's second directorial venture. It was the first Hindi film to depict the partition of India, and Hindu fundamentalism. Produced by his elder brother B.R. Chopra who was himself uprooted from Lahore, during the partition of India and established B.R. Films in Mumbai in 1956. The film dealt with issues of issue of religious bigotry, fanaticism and communalism amidst the backdrop of the partition. Two years earlier, Yash Chopra had made his debut with Dhool Ka Phool (1959), steeped in Nehruvian secularism, wherein a Muslim brings up an 'illegitimate' Hindu child and featured classic song, Tu Hindu banega na Musalman banega, insaan ki aulaad hai, insaan banega. The theme was reversed in this film as herein a Hindu family brings an illegitimate Muslim child.

This was Shashi Kapoor's first film as an adult actor playing the pivotal role of a Hindu fundamentalist. Noted actor Rajendra Kumar made a special appearance for a song as did Shashikala. At the 9th National Film Awards it was awarded the Best Feature Film in Hindi.

The film opens in 1925, during the British rule in India & at the height of Indian independence movement is the tale of two Delhi families, that of Nawab Badruddin and Gulshan Rai. The two families are so close that they virtually share the same house. The Nawab's daughter, Husn Bano, has an affair with a young man named javed & gets pregnant. When the Nawab attempts to arrange her marriage with javed, he finds that javed has disappeared. Amrit Rai and his wife Savitri assist Husn with the birth of a baby boy, Dilip, and even adopt him and give him their family name. Young Dilip is the apple of the Badruddin and the Rai households. Husn then gets married to another young man, Javed and moves to another location. In the meantime, while participating in a protest to force the British to leave India the Nawab is killed. Years later, Husn Bano and Javed return to a warm welcome by the Rai family. Then she meets Dilip - not the Dilip she had left behind - this Dilip is fascist, a Muslim-hater, who has joined forces with other extremists, in order to force Muslims to leave India and even go to the extent of burning buildings and killing them. How can Husn and Dilip adapt to each other with so much hate and distrust between them?