Utsav

Utsav
	Movie poster
Directed by	Girish Karnad
Produced by	Shashi Kapoor
Written by	Krishna Basrur, Girish Karnad (Screenplay); Sharad Joshi (Dialogue)
Based on	Mrichakatika; by ??draka
Starring	Shankar Nag; Rekha; Amjad Khan; Shashi Kapoor; Shekhar Suman
Narrated by	Amjad Khan
Music by	Laxmikant Pyarelal; Vasant Dev (lyrics)
Cinematography	Ashok Mehta
Edited by	Bhaudas Divakar
Release date	21 December 1984; ; ; ; ;
Running time	145 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Utsav (Hindi: ?????; English: The Festival) is a 1984 Hindi drama film, produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Girish Karnad. The film is based on the 2nd-century BC Sanskrit play, Mrichakatika (The Little Clay Cart) by Shudraka.

The film stars Shankar Nag, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Amjad Khan, Anuradha Patel, Shekhar Suman, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Annu Kapoor, Sanjana Kapoor and Kunal Kapoor.

The role of Samsthanak played by Shashi Kapoor, who is also the producer of this movie, was originally to be played by Amitabh Bachchan. However, in July 1982 Bachchan met with a major accident in Bangalore, therefore the producer himself decided to step in. The film's music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal and is still noted for its songs like, 'Mann Kyun Behka', a rare duet by Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar, and Anuradha Paudwal's 'Mere Man Baje Mridang' for which she won the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award in 1985. Suresh Wadkar also has a song, 'Saanj Dhale Gagan Tale'. The Central Board of Film Certification of India gave this movie "A" certificate which means "Restricted to adults" on 23 August 1984.

Overview

The film is an adaptation of M?cchaka?ika (The Little Clay Cart), a ten-act Sanskrit drama attributed to ??draka an ancient playwright generally thought to have lived sometime between the second century BC and the fifth century AD whom the prologue identifies as a Kshatriya king and a devotee of Siva who lived for 100 years. The play is set in the ancient city of Ujjayini during the reign of the King P?laka, near the end of the Pradyota dynasty that made up the first quarter of the fifth century BC..

Plot

The story is about a courtesan, Vasantasena (Rekha), and her chance meeting with a poor Brahmin man, Charudatta (Shekhar Suman), in Ujjain.

Cast

Shashi Kapoor as Samsthanak
Rekha as Vasantsena
Amjad Khan as Vatsayana, author of Kamasutra; narrator
Shankar Nag as Sajjal, the thief
Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Teacher of Aryak
Shekhar Suman as Charudutt
Neena Gupta as Madanika, courtesan slave in Vasantsena's house
Anuradha Patel as Aditi, Charudutt's Wife
Anupam Kher as Samsthanak's friend
Annu Kapoor as Masseur who is trying to be an ascetic
Sanjana Kapoor as A courtesan slave in Vasantsena's house
Kunal Kapoor as Aryak, the revolutionary.
Harish Patel as Maitreya, Charudutt's friend.
Yunus Parvez as One of the gamblers, who later becomes the owner of the masseur
Satish Kaushik as Cart driver
Utsav Kapadia as Civic driver

Production

The film was shot in Bangalore in 1982-83. Eventually producer Shashi Kapoor, incurred a loss of Rs 1.5 crore after the film's release in 1984, as it was a commercial failure. Thus he couldn't produce another film until Ajooba (1991).^[1]

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack^[5] was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal and the lyrics were penned by Vasant Dev.

#	Title	Singer(s)	Duration
1	“Mera Man Baaja Mirdang Manjira”	Anuradha Paudwal, Suresh Wadkar, Aarti Mukherji	07:03
2	“Mann Kyun Behaka Re Behaka”	Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle	05:41
3	“Saanj Dhale Gagan Tale”	Suresh Wadkar	04:13
4	“Neelam Pe Nabh Chhayee”	Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle	03:45

Awards

1985 National Film Award for Best Art Direction: Nachiket Patwardhan, Jayoo Patwardhan
1985 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award: Vasant Dev - "Mann Kyun Behka" ^[6]
1985 Filmfare Best Female Playback Award: Anuradha Paudwal - "Mere Man Baje Mridang"