Pukar (transl. Call) is a 1983 Indian Hindi-language action film, directed by Ramesh Behl, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Randhir Kapoor, Zeenat Aman and Tina Munim. It is a film about freedom fighters trying to liberate Goa from the Portuguese.
Purandare (Shreeram Lagoo), Narvekar (P. Jairaj), and Dinanath (Sudhir Dalvi) are part of a separatist group fighting to liberate Goa from Portuguese rule. During a shootout with Portuguese police, Purandare and Dinanath are gravely injured. Rather than be captured, Dinanath begs Purandare to end his life. Purandare reluctantly obliges, but their act is witnessed by DinanathâÂÂs young son, Ramdas, who misinterprets the scene and believes Purandare murdered his father.
Frightened and alone, Ramdas flees to the home of Mr. Dayanand (Om Shivpuri), who offers him shelter. However, when the Portuguese police raid the house demanding Ramdasâ whereabouts, Dayanand and his wife are seemingly killed. In the next scene, Purandare arrives searching for Ramdas, but the boy, still traumatized, runs away at the mere sight of him. (ThereâÂÂs some confusion here as Dayanand appears to have been killed but later only has minor bruisesâÂÂperhaps an editing inconsistency.)
To escape his past, Ramdas changes his name to Ronnie and distances himself from the revolutionary cause. After an altercation with local kids, the story fast-forwards two decades, revealing Ronnie as a lean, street-smart career criminal, played by Amitabh Bachchan. He has a glamorous girlfriend, Julie (Zeenat Aman), and works for Hasmok (Sujit Kumar), a fellow outlaw. Ronnie earns the favor of Inspector Monteiro (Prem Chopra) by helping Hasmok evade capture.
RonnieâÂÂs past catches up with him when he crosses paths with Purandare once more. The aging revolutionary and his comrades are in desperate need of ammunition for their fight against the Portuguese. Ronnie, having long abandoned any patriotic cause, betrays them to the policeâÂÂnot once, but twice. In the second betrayal, Purandare is killed.
Enter Shekhar (Randhir Kapoor), a young rebel who quickly becomes a thorn in RonnieâÂÂs side. Shekhar steals RonnieâÂÂs gold, orchestrates the escape of a captured rebel (Viju Khote), assassinates the Portuguese police chief, and is ultimately sentenced to death. His heroism earns him widespread admiration, fueling RonnieâÂÂs resentment. Seeking revenge, Ronnie impulsively decides to kill ShekharâÂÂs parentsâÂÂonly to discover that they were the same people who once sheltered him as a child. This revelation shakes him to his core, forcing him to reconsider his past and understand PurandareâÂÂs actions all those years ago.
Determined to make amends, Ronnie vows to save Shekhar from the gallows. In a climactic final battle, Ronnie and Shekhar join forces, leading the charge against the Portuguese. Their fight culminates in victory, bringing an end to the colonial rule they once sought to escape in very different ways.
Scenes of the film were shot in Daman and Diu.
Music Direction: R. D. Burman, Lyrics: Gulshan Bawra, Audio: Polydor now Universal Music Group
The music for all the songs were composed by Rahul Dev Burman and penned by Gulshan Bawra.