User Reviews

Amitabh Bachan is a mega star who had a string of memorable movies during his heydays of the mid 70's. That said some of his movies aren't that well known. Imaan Dharam is one of those rare movies of his that I had never seen. Now that I have seen it I know the reason behind it's obscurity and that is that it is a very poorly conceived movie.

What was even more shocking was that it was written was Salim Javed, who in the previous year had written the Yash Chopra classic Dewaar and the record breaking Sholay.

The main problem is that there are two many distractions and characters that deviate from the main plot, such as Helen hiring Amitabh's character to pose as the father to her daughter amongst others.

The writers made some bad decisions with the writing, like when Shetty reveals Sanjeev Kumar;s innocence two hours into the movie and as a result he is subsequently released from jail and Prem Chopra and company are exposed. If I were the writer I would have kept him in jail until the last scene adding to the dramatic impact.

Salim's Javed's scripts are known for their great emotional moments, who can forget Jai's death at the end of Sholay. Sadly Helen's death doesn't have any impact whatsoever. The reason being that we saw too little of her considering she was the female lead opposite Amitabh.

Amitabh and Shashi didn't make much of an impact, Rekha was grossly underused as the movie gave more precedence to the stunning Aparna Sen. Sanjeev Kumar on the other hand shines as the do gooder who sets the two leads on the path of righteousness.

The songs aren't that particularly memorable either.

What Imaan Dharam does have is a wide assortment of villain actors like Prem Chopra, Amrish Puri, Sudhir, Shetty (father of Rohit Shetty no less) and Mac Mohan.

Overall I expected much more from the talent involved

Movie is good. It justifies the title. It revolves around the issues of diverse religious faiths in India and how these people lived in harmony once, irrespective of their differences. All religions are to be respected and adored. Sanjeev Kumar's character, Kabeer, is living Gandhi-way, trying to set an example of higher thinking and simple living. He is knowledgeable and knows the essence of all religions. He tries to practice the messages of Gita, Bible, and Quran. People of different religions are so integrated that one can't differentiate who belongs to which religion. They speak same language, they have similar life styles and do good for each other irrespective of their faiths. Its the one and universal religion of Insaniyat that keeps them together. Few glitches do appear where Gita and Quran happen to do miracles of saving lives but they still seem logical as can be considered as matter of faith, rather than true miracles as shown in some movies of that time. The movie spreads the message of true india where all kinds of people live together, specially of different religions and how they establish harmony. Few examples are: 1) Two best friends - one muslim and another hindu, they perform same type of work. Their work and socio-economic conditions bind them together. They are poor and apparently not much educated but literate enough to read Gita or Quran.

2) The muslim guy agrees to act as the father of a fatherless christian girl when insisted by her christian mother. She will pay him Rs 400 per month for this job.

3) A hindu rich actor, son of a wealthy businessman, denounces his family work and wants to study about all religions, including works of literature. He is educated and is in love with a poor hindu girl. He has high ideals of seeing India as a developed nation, but on principles of Universal love and harmony, where people would stop doing bad deeds if inspired by people like him. He seems to practice non-violence and through his words and acts, inspires others and help them in following the path of humanity. He wants people to read whichever religious book they like but want them to be honest and truthful. He can sacrifice his life for his ideals as he believes that his sacrifice can bring others on a good path. He is an ideal Gandhian, though Gandhi is not referred in the film. He is dreaming for a better, harmonious India.

The movie is all about showing how religious harmony can unite india and how honesty and simple lifestyle can cultivate high ideals. As usual, wealthy people are criticized for their exploitation of poor.