The Burning Train
The Burning Train is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language action thriller disaster film, produced by B. R. Chopra under the B. R. Films banner and directed by Ravi Chopra. The film featured a huge all-star cast, featuring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna, Parveen Babi, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Vinod Mehra, Navin Nischol and Danny Denzogpa in the pivotal roles and music composed by R. D. Burman.
| The Burning Train | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ravi Chopra |
| Produced by | B. R. Chopra |
| Written by | Kamleshwar (dialogues) Sahir (lyrics) |
| Screenplay by | Kamleshwar |
| Story by | Ravi Chopra |
| Starring | Dharmendra Vinod Khanna Jeetendra Hema Malini Parveen Babi Neetu Singh |
| Music by | R. D. Burman |
| Cinematography | Dharam Chopra |
| Edited by | R. P. Bapat S. B. Mane Pran Mehra |
Production company | R. K. Studios Film City Natraj Studios |
| Distributed by | B. R. Films United Producers Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd. Yash Raj Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 182 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | ₹65 million[1] |
The plot revolves around a train named the Super Express, that catches fire on its inaugural run from New Delhi to Mumbai. This movie was inspired by an earlier Japanese disaster movie, The Bullet Train (1975).[2][3][4][5] The Burning Train grossed ₹65 million , becoming the seventh highest-grossing Indian film of 1980.[1]
Plot
Ashok Singh (Dharmendra), Vinod Verma (Vinod Khanna) and Randhir (Danny Denzongpa) are childhood friends. Ashok is a son of multi-millionaire Seth Dharmdas (Madan Puri) and likes fast cars, whereas Vinod and Randhir are engineers at the Indian Railway Board along with Rakesh (Vinod Mehra) and dream to build the fastest moving train in India. Since boyhood, Randhir is a tetchy and wild and envies Vinod. Meanwhile, Ashok and Vinod fall for Seema (Hema Malini) and Sheetal (Parveen Babi). Randhir also aspires to possess Sheetal, but she pairs with Vinod and they are blessed with a son, Raju (Master Bittoo), provoking the hostility of Randhir. Suddenly, destiny plays with Ashok, his father faces bankruptcy following his death, Seema deceives him and forlorn Ashok turns wanderer. At this juncture, the Indian Railway Board approves the fastest-moving train the Super Express. Here, Vinod, Randhir and Rakesh's designs are finalized and Vinod prevails whereby malice of Randhir summits. After six years, Vinod triumphs in building the Super Express from Delhi to Bombay in 14 hours. But Vinod's obsession with the train ruins his marriage, so, Sheeatal shoves Raju to her mother in the Super Express and banishes Vinod.
Then, the train begins signing-on many passengers namely: Raja Ram Mohan (Om Shivpuri) with his wife Padmini (Indrani Mukherjee). A smuggler Chander (Ranjeet) with diamonds and fiancée Razia (Komilla Virk). An undercover cop Ranveer (Sujeet Kumar) disguised as a church father is behind them. Major P.K. Bhandari (Asrani), a school teacher (Simi Garewal) with students, a Pandit Shambhunath (Rajendra Nath), a Muslim Abdul Rahim (Yunus Parvez), ticketless passengers (Keshto Mukherjee and Paintal) along with Rakesh's pregnant wife. Besides, Seema with her Doctor cousin (Navin Nischol) in addition, Ashok joins in his friend's success and he is startled to see Seema. Above all, Ravi (Jeetendra) a prowler following Madhu (Neetu Singh) absconding with the jewelry and on the ride they fall in love. Randhir removes the vacuum brakes, plants a bomb in the engine and quits the train. Meanwhile, Ashok accompanies him by the presence of Seema and on chat, Randhir reveals his evil plan. Immediately, Ashok rushes and manages to catch the train. But it is too late, halfway, the bomb explodes killing the drivers and the train proceeds without breaks. Panic-stricken, Vinod and the railway board desperately try to save the passengers. Thereof, Vinod converses with the passengers through All India Radio, and outlines the method of applying emergency brakes. At present, Ashok, Ravi, and the guard Usman Ali (Dinesh Thakur) make a plucky endeavor towards the engine.
In that chaos, the petrified train cooks fail to switch off the gas. At the same time, Rakesh's wife is under labor, the doctor asks for hot water when a cook lights and the gas explodes killing Usman Ali and several passengers. However, Ashok and Ravi barely make it back by erecting some gaps between the burning compartments and the passengers. At the same time, Vinod proposes sending a helicopter to land a person on the engine which voluntarily led by Randhir for sabotage. Anyway, he succeeds but falsifies by announcing his death as the helicopter explodes. Meanwhile, Ashok identifies the reason behind Seema's betrayal is her disability and they reconcile. Ravi divulges his identity to Madhu, yet, she accepts his love, as well as, Sheetal returns to Vinod and boasts his courage. At Bombay, Rakesh plans to build a steep incline to reduce the speed. Beyond, as an end-run, dauntless Vinod jeopardizes by arriving into the Super Express from one car to another with fireproof suits and dynamite. Soon, Vinod, Ashok, and Ravi cross the fire. Thereafter, Vinod detects that all systems of the engine have failed when Ashok thinks of blasting the couplings of the compartments to the engine. Vinod disagrees as it leads to derailing at such a speed then he favours the incline built by Rakesh. Currently, Ravi backs and instructs passengers to tie themselves to their seats to avoid injury. Vinod and Ashok set up the dynamite towards blast while the train is climbing towards the incline and then jump off the slowing engine. Nevertheless, the engine blasts at Bombay Railway Station but the compartments slow down and halt. Finally, the passengers rejoin their relatives tribute to the soul of India.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dharmendra | Ashok Singh | ||
| Vinod Khanna | Vinod Verma | Railway Mechanical Engineer | Employees of Railways |
| Vinod Mehra | Rakesh | ||
| Danny Denzongpa | Randhir | ||
| Jeetendra | Ravi | Train Passenger | |
| Navin Nischol | Doctor | ||
| Hema Malini | Seema | Ashok's Love Interest | |
| Parveen Babi | Sheetal | Vinod's Love Interest | After marriage she becomes Sheetal Vinod Verma |
| Neetu Singh | Madhu | Train passenger and Ravi's Love Interest | |
| Madan Puri | Seth Dharamdas Singh | Ashok's Father | |
| Nazir Hussain | Verma | Vinod's Father | |
| Nana Palshikar | Seema's paternal Uncle | Special Appearance and Guest Appearance | |
| Urmila Bhatt | Randhir's Mother | ||
| Iftekhar | Railway Board Chairman | Employees of Railways | |
| Chandrashekhar | Railway divisional manager,Mumbai Zone | ||
| Jagdish Raj | Dango | Motorman of super Express | |
| M.Rajan | Jeevanlal | ||
| Dinesh Thakur | Usman Ali | Train Guard | |
| Jankidas | Ticket Checker in Super Express | ||
| Mac Mohan | Mac | Assitant supervisior under Rakesh | |
| Sujit Kumar | Ranveer | Police Inspector | Train Passengers (Special Appearances and Guest Appearances) |
| Ranjeet | Chander | Smuggler | |
| Komila Virk | Razia | Chander's Associate | |
| Asrani | P.K.Bhandari | Army Colnel | |
| Romesh Sharma | Mukesh | ||
| Pramila Kapila | Rituu | Mukesh's wife | |
| Om Shivpuri | Raja Rammohan | ||
| Indrani Mukherjee | Rani Padmini | Raja Rammohan's Wife | |
| Mukri | Kanhaiya | Marwadi Seth | |
| Shammi | Marwadi Seth Wife | ||
| Sudha Shivpuri | Rakesh Mother-in-Law | ||
| Ravindra Kapoor | Sardarji Sikh Passenger | ||
| Renu Joshi | Sardarji Sikh Passenger's Wife | ||
| Yunus Parvez | Abdul Rehmann | Maulana | |
| Rajendra Nath | Shambhunath | Pandit | |
| T.P Jain | Pathan | ||
| Anand Balraj | Guy with Guitar who does hooglinism | ||
| Asha Sachdev | Ramkali | Qawwal Singer | |
| Simi Garewal | School Teacher | ||
| Kushboo | School student who travels in group with other students | ||
| Paintal | Both Ticketless Travellers | ||
| Keshto Mukherjee | |||
Soundtrack
| Title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|
| "Kisi Ke Vaade Pe" | Asha Bhosle |
| "Meri Nazar Hai Tujh Pe, Teri Nazar Hai Mujh Pe" | Asha Bhosle |
| "Pehli Nazar Mein Humne To Apna Dil De Diya Tha" | Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Usha Mangeshkar |
| "Waada, Haan Waada" | Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle |
| "Pal Do Pal Ka Saath Hamara" | Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle |
| "Teri Hai Zameen Tera Aasman" | Padmini Kolhapure, Sushma Shrestha |
| "The Burning Train" | Reprise & Theme |
Legacy
The song “Bang Bang” by Pete Cannon which was used for the advert of 2018 Apple iPhone X, samples the music from "Meri Nazar Hai Tujh Pe".[6][7][8]
References
- "Box Office 1980". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- Samuel, Patrick. "The Burning Train". staticmass.net. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- "The Burning Train (1979)". filmigeek.com. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- "The Burning Train". brns.com. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- "The Burning Train". ibosnetwork.com. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/music/iphone-ad-track-inspired-by-rd-burman-the-burning-train
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pF5bV6bFOU
- https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2018/mar/19/11850/pete-cannons-new-composition-for-iphone-x-is-a-throwback-to-rd-burman