Director: Manmohan Desai; Producer: Manmohan Desai; Cinematographer: Peter Pereira; Editor: Raju Kapadia, Mangal Mistry; Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh, Nirupa Roy, Dara Singh, Prem Chopra, Goga Kapoor, Kamal Kapoor, Bob Christo, Manik Irani, Satyendra Kapoor, Seema Deo, Helena, Moti, Dan Dhanoa, Joginder Shelly, Kirti Kumar, C.S. Dubey, Helena Luke, Noel Olken, Shivraj
Duration: 00:53:53; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 64.121; Saturation: 0.021; Lightness: 0.389; Volume: 0.293; Cuts per Minute: 25.330
Summary: The son, Raju Tangewala (Bachchan), of a
dispossessed rajah is given the name ‘Mard’, i.e.
Man, and has it tattooed on his chest as a sign
of virility. Mard rebels against the British who
are presented as robbers and property
developers, the favourite Hindi film villains of
this period. In keeping with a characteristic
Desai plot device, Raju is raised by fosterparents
who, just before dying, inform their
adopted son of his ‘real’ ancestry. The leatherclad
daughter (Amrita Singh) of a doctor in the
service of the British first whips the hero and
then falls in love with him. The British villains
are called Dyer and Simon, names still
associated with the general responsible for the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre (referred to in the
film) and the leader of the Simon Commission.
Desai juxtaposes these references with the
more arbitrary introduction of Roman
gladiators and Mexican bandits. Made
immediately after Coolie (1983), marked by
Bachchan’s near fatal accident, Mard went to
unusual lengths to demonstrate the invincibility
of the hero, invoking colonialism and feudal
oppression to affirm that he whom the gods
protect cannot be destroyed.
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