Aaj Ki Awaaz

1984 film by Ravi Chopra

7 September 1984 (1984-09-07)

Running time

137 minutesCountryIndiaLanguageHindi

Aaj Ki Awaaz (transl. Voice of the day) is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language vigilante action film directed by Ravi Chopra^[1] and produced by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Raj Babbar, Smita Patil, Nana Patekar, and Vijay Arora. The film's music is by Ravi. The film is based on 1982 Hollywood movie Death Wish II. It tells the story of a professor who becomes a vigilante after his sister is raped and his mother is killed. This film was remade in Telugu in 1985 as Nyayam Meere Cheppali, in Tamil in 1985 as Naan Sigappu Manithan and in Kannada in 2000 as Mahatma.

The censor-board certificate of the movie shows 'Re-revised', implying that censor board objected to certain scenes of the movie, and cleared the movie when it was re-edited. The producers of the movie have been subsequently criticized by many for filming sexual assault scenes in a gratuitous way.^[2]^[3]

Plot

Professor Prabhat Kumar Varma (Raj Babbar) lives in Andheri, Mumbai with his widowed mother and sister, Madhu (Raksha Chauhan). Concerned about the rising crime rates in the city, he meets with Police Commissioner Sathe (Chandrashekhar) to voice his concerns. Meanwhile, his friend Professor Lalwani's sister-in-law, Sudha (Sonika Gill), is kidnapped, raped, and killed by Suresh Thakur (Dalip Tahil). However, Suresh's lawyers prove in court that he was not in Mumbai at the time of the incident, and he is acquitted. Frustrated by Prabhat's persistence in seeking justice for Sudha, Suresh and his gang break into Prabhat's apartment. They tie him up and sexually assault his sister in front of him before murdering his mother when she attempts to call the police. His sister subsequently commits suicide. Devastated by these events, Prabhat loses faith in the criminal justice system and becomes a vigilante, taking it upon himself to roam the city at night and kill rapists and murderers.

Inspector Shafi (Shafi Inamdar) begins to investigate these crimes, and Prabhat soon comes under the police's radar. The inspector eventually captures Prabhat, and his girlfriend Rajni (Smita Patil), who is a lawyer, takes it upon herself to free him and seek justice for his family once and for all.

Cast

Raj Babbar as Prof. Prabhat Kumar Verma
Smita Patil as Public Prosecutor Rajni V. Deshmukh
Nana Patekar as Jagmohandas
Om Shivpuri as Judge
Dheeraj Kumar as Prof. Lalwani
Shafi Inamdar as Inspector Shafi
Vijay Arora as Srivastava
Arun Bakshi as Inspector Veerkar
Ashalata as Mrs. V.V. Deshmukh
Chandrashekhar as Police Commissioner Sathe
Iftekhar as Judge V.V. Deshmukh
Alok Nath as Hotel (bar owner)
Gufi Paintal as Orderly in Mental Hospital
Dalip Tahil as Suresh Thakur
Dinesh Thakur as Advocate Dayal
Chandni as Sudha's friend
Deepak Qazir as Kishan Khanna
Sonika Gill as Sudha Advani
Urmila Bhatt as Mrs. Verma
Raksha Chauhan as Madhu, Prof. Prabhat's sister who gets raped and killed.
Om Katare as Villain

Crew

Director: Ravi Chopra
Producer: B. R. Chopra
Banner: B R Films

Music

Song	Singer (s)
"Aaj Ki Awaj"	Mahendra Kapoor
"Dil Hi Dil Main"	Mahendra Kapoor
"Mera Chhota Sa Ghar"	Mahendra Kapoor
"Bharat To Hai Azad"	Mahendra Kapoor
"Mera Chhotasa Ghar" (sad)	Mahendra Kapoor
"Shloka"	Hemant Kumar
"Saare Jahan Se Achcha"^[a]	Vijaya Majumdar

Awards

32nd Filmfare Awards:

Won

Best Lyricist – Hasan Kamal for "Aaj Ki Awaaz"

Nominated

Notes

^ Written by Muhammad Iqbal.

References

^ Saibal Chatterjee; Gulzar; Govind Nihalani (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema. Popular Prakashan, Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt. Ltd. p. 541. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5.
^ Trehan, Madhu (17 December 1980). "Insaaf Ka Tarazu: B.R. Chopra uses all the stale Bombay filmi cliches and symbolisms". India Today. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
^ Singh, Deepali (5 August 2017). "Evolution of the rape scene". DNA India. Retrieved 10 February 2021.