Ek Duuje Ke Liye


Ek Duuje Ke Liye is a 1981 Hindi romantic tragedy film directed by K. Balachander, starring Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri. It was a remake of the director's own Telugu film Maro Charitra, which had Kamal Haasan playing the lead role. The film was labelled a "blockbuster" at the box office in 1981, earning a total of in receipts. The film featured lyrics penned by Anand Bakshi and music by Laxmikant–Pyarelal. It received critical acclaim upon release, winning a National Film Award and 13 Filmfare nominations, eventually winning three. Got No. 6 on Box-Office collection list.

Plot

The movie is about the love between a Tamil man, Vasu, and a North Indian woman, Sapna, who are neighbours in Goa. They come from totally different backgrounds and can hardly speak the other's language. When Vasu and Sapna admit their love, there is chaos in their homes they face an unexpected test of their love.
The movie begins with an old, ruined building near the beautiful beach of Goa. The dilapidated walls of the building are covered with many names, but two names stand apart from the rest---Vasu and Sapna.
Vasu is a happy, carefree young lad who belongs to a Tamil family. He resigns his job after his boss scolds him and he returns to home in Goa. His orthodox Tamilian father is always at loggerheads with the Hindi-speaking neighbour family. The family has a beautiful daughter named Sapna, a college student.
While being stalked by a perverted librarian on a lonely road, Sapna finds Vasu jogging and starts a conversation with him. Seeing this, the librarian goes away. Sapna thanks Vasu for pretending to be her friend, but he reveals that he doesn't understand Hindi. Vasu wants to make friends with her, but he unfortunately meets an accident and is admitted at the hospital. A shocked and sad Sapna sends him a gift- a mask with her name behind it.
Despite the nasty fights between their families, Vasu and Sapna fall madly in love with each other. They get to know each other, experiencing the joy and innocence of first love. One day however, Sapna misunderstands Vasu that he too is just lustful and does not love her truly, and she breaks up with him. Despite Vasu's efforts to make her understand his love, Sapna ignores him and is still angry. A week later, Sapna finds Vasu awake all night looking at her window hoping that she would forgive him. Heartbroken at seeing him like that, Sapna forgives him and signals him by turning her room light off and on repeatedly.
They meet the next day and Sapna expresses her love for Vasu by kissing his hand. The lovers unite and they go around the beaches, forts, waterfalls and scenic places of Goa. While returning back home late night, Vasu's bike runs out of petrol. So they pose as a newly married couple and ask for a lift in a cab. But to their shock, Sapna's father is in the car and he takes her home immediately! Vasu and Sapna keep meeting each other and fall in love even more.
One day when Sapna returns from college after meeting Vasu, she finds the perverted librarian at her home. The man has secretly clicked pictures of her and Vasu together and shows it to her parents. Burning with rage, Sapna's mother forbids her from seeing Vasu and acoompanies her everywhere she goes. Heartbroken, Vasu makes a plan and stealthily meets Sapna during her college lunch break. They go to a hotel for lunch and Vasu stops the lift halfway to spend sometime with Sapna. He sings a song for her using the broken Hindi he knows and they get carried away. This leads to a huge crowding at the hotel lift and someone calls the police!
Vasu and Sapna's families are informed about this and they are mad with rage! Sapna is locked at home and Vasu's father scolds him very badly. Despite the opposition, Vasu boldly goes and meets Sapna in her home in the presence of her parents and expresses his love for her. Sapna's mother screams and calls everyone claiming that Vasu is ruining their family honor.
Finally, both the families meet and Vasu and Sapna clearly affirm their love for each other. Their families agree to get them married on one condition-- that they should separate from each other for one year without any kind of contact.After such a period, if they still want to be together, they can get married. During the year there should be no contact between them whatsoever. Vasu and Sapna reluctantly agree to the contract hoping that they can finally get married after one year.
Vasu goes to Hyderabad for a job,while Sapna stays back in Goa. During their year of separation, Vasu writes a letter every day to Sapna, in which he expressed his pain and feelings, but doesn't send it to her because of the contract. He learns to speak Hindi fluently from a young widow named Sandhya, to make Sapna's parents happy. And to drown his pain of separation, he also learns dance from Sandhya.
On the other hand, Sapna visits all the places where she and Vasu used to go. Each time she walks past those places, all their memories come alive. She also visits a rocky hill by the beach, where their names 'Vasu' and 'Sapna' are painted on the highest rock. In order to make Sapna forget Vasu, her mother destroys the audio tape that he had given her. She also burns Vasu's only photo that Sapna. In response, Sapna writes Vasu's name all over her bedroom wall, making her family even more angry.
Sapna goes on a college trip to Mangalore, where her mother sends her relative Chakram to spy on her. Chakram wants to marry Sapna, but she doesn't like him. Coincidentally, Vasu also comes to Mangalore due to a job assignment. He spots Sapna and follows her to her hotel room, but bumps into Chakram, who lies that he and Sapna are married! A shocked Vasu meets Sapna's college friends and asks about her, but they also tell that Chakram and Sapna are soon to be married.
Vasu is heartbroken and proposes to Sandhya. She readily accepts and their wedding is fixed. When coming to meet him, she finds all the letters he wrote to Sapna, and discovers the truth. Sandhya goes to Goa and meets Sapna and finds that she is not married and is waiting for Vasu. Seeing their true love, Sandhya sacrifices her love and decides to unite Vasu and Sapna.
She tells the truth to Vasu and cancels their wedding, urging him to go and meet his beloved Sapna as their one year contract was getting over. Sandhya's older brother hears that the wedding is cancelled and thinks that Vasu cheated his sister. In a drunken state, he phones his criminal friend in Goa and asks him to 'completely get rid' of Vasu!
Despite the obstacles against them, will the two lovers ever unite is what forms the heart-breaking climax of the movie.

Cast

The production team had earlier thought of titling it Ek Aur Itihas, but it went on to become Ek Duuje Ke Liye.
Ek Duuje Ke Liye marked the debut of three actors from South India in Hindi films: leading lad Kamal Haasan, leading lady Rati Agnihotri and supporting heroine Madhavi. Three of them received Filmfare nominations. The only person who was missing in the Hindi remake who was in the original Telugu film Maro Charitra was leading lady Sarita, as her role was now played by Rati Agnihotri. Director K. Balachander, Kamal Haasan, Madhavi, and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam all repeated their artistry in the Hindi version.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. It was the first Hindi film for South Indian singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam; the music directors were initially against including him, feeling that the "Madrasi" would not do justice to a Hindi composition, but Balachander cited that if the lead character played by Haasan could not speak Hindi well, then even if Balasubrahmanyam blemished the song, it would "capture the character."
Two portions of "Tere Mere Beech Mein" were later sampled in the hit 2004 Britney Spears song "Toxic" as part of its hook.

Awards and nominations

National Film Awards
Filmfare Awards
;Wins
;Nominations