Saagar (film)

Saagar is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film directed by Ramesh Sippy. The film stars Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Haasan and Dimple Kapadia (in her comeback feature) in lead roles. The film featured lyrics, story and screenplay written by Javed Akhtar and music by R. D. Burman.

Released on 9 August 1985, Saagar emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, ranking as one of the highest-grossing films of the year. The film received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with major praise directed towards the soundtrack and performances of the cast. It gained recognition over the years through re-runs on television channels and is now regarded as a cult classic film.

At the 33rd Filmfare Awards, Saagar received a leading 10 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Sippy), Best Supporting Actor (Hassan), Best Supporting Actress (Madhur Jaffrey), and won 4 awards, including Best Actor (Hassan), Best Actress (Kapadia) and Best Male Playback Singer (Kishore Kumar for "Saagar Kinare"). At the ceremony, Hassan was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, eventually winning the former, his first and only win in the category.

Plot
Mona (Dimple Kapadia) runs a small restaurant in Goa. Raja (Kamal Haasan), who lives close by, is a good friend. He is in love with her but is unable to profess his feelings. Ravi (Rishi Kapoor) is from a rich industrialist family who moves to Goa from the US. Mona and Ravi fall in love of which Raja knows nothing. Ravi's grandmother, Kamladevi (Madhur Jaffrey) is opposed to their love because of class differences. In the end, Raja sacrifices his love for Mona and Ravi.

Cast

 * Rishi Kapoor as Ravi
 * Kamal Haasan as Raja
 * Dimple Kapadia as Mona D'Silva
 * Nadira as Miss Joseph
 * Saeed Jaffrey as Mr. D'Silva
 * Madhur Jaffrey as Kamladevi, Ravi's grandmother
 * A. K. Hangal as Baba (in the lighthouse)
 * Sharat Saxena as Tatya, fisherman
 * Shafi Inamdar as Vikram
 * Satish Kaushik as Batuk Laal
 * Kiran Vairale as Maria
 * Lilliput as Cheena
 * Goga Kapoor as Thekedaar
 * Balu Gaikwad as Bhikari

Soundtrack
The music was composed by R. D. Burman and the lyrics were by Javed Akhtar. Kishore Kumar bagged his 8th Filmfare Award for the song "Sagar Kinare", Other singers include Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam & Shailendra Singh.

R. D. Burman for song "Saagar Kinare" used one of his old song tune "Hume Raaston Ki Zaroorat Nahin Hai" from film Naram Garam released in 1981.

The song Jaane Do Na was recreated by composer Arko Pravo Mukherjee for the 2015 film Kuch Kuch Locha Hai.

The song Sach Mere Yaar Hai was reused in the 2021 TV Series The Family Man Season 2, as a tribute to the singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and to the fictional NIA agent character Millind in the series.

Release
Saagar was released on 9 August 1985. Apart from receiving critical acclaim, the movie was a major box office success. It gained recognition over the years through re-runs on television channels and is now regarded as a classic and a cult film. In 2015, Saagar was screened at the Habitat Film Festival.

Critical reception
According to Asiaweek, "Saagar offers a skimpy eternal-triangle plot, but it is remarkable for its polished narration and masterly technique. The romance is subdued, symbolised by waves gently caressing the shore." It further praised the performances, calling Kapadia "a delight" and claiming that Hassan "steals the show with his subtle performance," and the direction by Sippy, who "has succeeded in injecting vitality, beauty and deep insight into a gossamer-thin story." India Today wrote, "Like Sholay, and only like Sholay, Saagar is purely a director's film."

Awards
The film was chosen by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the 58th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.