About the Movie Sadhu Aur Shaitaan (1968)

The story centres on Bajrang, played by Mehmood, a cheerful and generous taxi driver who is always ready to help others.

Bajrang is particularly close to Sadhuram, played by Om Prakash, an honest and long-serving bank employee.

Bajrang is also attracted to Vidya, played by Bharathi, a schoolteacher. Vidya's brother Dinanath Shastri, played by Kishore Kumar, is an eccentric artist whose comic personality adds to the film's humour.

One day, a man named Sher Khan, played by Pran, arrives claiming to be Sadhuram's childhood friend.

Sadhuram trusts Sher Khan and allows him to stay with him.

However, Sher Khan has a hidden motive. He is actually a criminal named Dilawar Khan and plans to rob the bank where Sadhuram works.

Sher Khan cleverly manipulates Sadhuram and manages to obtain a duplicate key to the bank safe.

He then steals a large amount of money from the bank.

When the bank manager reports the robbery to the police, suspicion immediately falls on Sadhuram.

Sadhuram is shocked because he has committed no crime.

Unfortunately, he comes into possession of the stolen money and panics, making the situation look even worse.

He flees from the police.

Meanwhile, Sher Khan is killed.

His dead body is somehow placed in the back seat of Bajrang's taxi.

Bajrang is horrified when he discovers the body and immediately realizes that the police will suspect him of murder.

He too goes on the run.

The situation becomes increasingly complicated because both Sadhuram and Bajrang are innocent, but circumstances make them appear guilty.

The only person who could prove the truth is Sher Khan himself—but he is dead.

Bajrang and Sadhuram therefore have to avoid the police while trying to uncover what actually happened.

Their attempts to escape create numerous comic situations, particularly because Bajrang is an innocent and somewhat naive man who is completely unprepared for life as a fugitive.

At the same time, the police continue investigating the bank robbery and murder.

Eventually, the truth about Sher Khan's identity and his plan to frame Sadhuram begins to emerge.

The stolen money, the bank robbery and the murder are ultimately connected, allowing the police to understand that Sadhuram and Bajrang were victims of circumstances rather than criminals.

The real criminals are exposed and the two innocent friends are finally cleared of suspicion.

Main Cast

• Mehmood — Bajrang (Birju)
• Bharathi — Vidya Shastri
• Kishore Kumar — Pandit Dinanath Shastri
• Om Prakash — Babu Sadhuram
• Pran — Sardar Junail Singh / Dilawar Singh
• Anwar Hussain — Police Inspector
• Nasir Hussain — Bank Manager
• Mukri — Krishnamurthy
• Tun Tun — Sundari
• Keshto Mukherjee
• Jankidas
• Jeevan — Narad (in a play, uncredited)
• Sunil Dutt — Catholic Priest D'Souza (uncredited)
• Dilip Kumar — passenger (uncredited)
• Ashok Kumar — passenger/hairdresser (uncredited)

IMDb's full credits identify Mehmood, Bharathi, Kishore Kumar, Om Prakash and Pran among the principal cast, along with several notable uncredited appearances.

Director & Production

Director: A. Bhimsingh
Producers: A. Bhimsingh, N. C. Sippy
Story: Usilai Somanathan
Screenplay: A. Bhimsingh
Dialogues: Rajendra Krishan
Music: Laxmikant–Pyarelal
Cinematography: G. Vittal Rao
Editing: A. Paul Durai Singham
Language: Hindi
Genre: Comedy, Thriller, Action
Runtime: Approximately 155 minutes
Production Company: Mehmood Productions / associated production by A. Bhimsingh and N. C. Sippy.

The film is a Hindi remake of the 1966 Tamil suspense-comedy Sadhu Mirandal.

Music

The music of Sadhu Aur Shaitaan was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, with lyrics by Rajendra Krishan.

The soundtrack complements the film's comic and suspenseful storyline, with songs and musical sequences involving the principal characters.

One of the soundtrack pieces listed for the film is “Kabhi Aage Kabhi Peeche.�

Themes

Sadhu Aur Shaitaan explores:

• Honesty and innocence
• Crime and deception
• Friendship
• Mistaken identity
• False accusation
• Justice
• Police investigation
• Comedy and suspense
• Courage
• Good versus evil

The main theme is how innocent people can become victims of circumstances and criminal deception, while friendship and determination help them uncover the truth.

Legacy

Sadhu Aur Shaitaan is remembered as a popular 1960s Hindi comedy-thriller, particularly for the comic performances of Mehmood, Kishore Kumar and Om Prakash, combined with Pran's criminal character.

The film is also notable for its unusual combination of bank robbery, murder mystery, police pursuit and comedy. The mistaken-identity situations give the film much of its entertainment value.

Its cast also includes several notable appearances by major Hindi film personalities, including Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar in uncredited roles.