User reviews

have always been a JP Datta fan! especially his early cinema. one of the few 'orignal' film makers from India. yateem probably has been his best work. strangely neither the media or the box-office saw much in it.

see the film for the brilliant characterisations, for the scene constructions, for the cinematography, for the use of a beautiful location (datta always picks stunning locations, has a keen eye for using India well, specially rajasthan. though yateem was shot mostly in Madhya Pradesh and UP.

Danny and kulbhushan kharbanda in their best performance ever!(i do tend to be generous, but you have to see the film for yourself!) so is the rest of the cast.

the film is a bit long, the revenge could have been 'non-filmi' but then i am nit picking. overall a truly nice film! see it if you like Hindi cinema

There has been only three Hindi movies till date which can be categorized as pure Western and Yateem is one of them with Sholay and Dacait being the other two. Released in 1988, Yateem was much ahead of its time and narrated a story which would find few takers in even 2008 i.e. a son and a step-mother relation. Like JP Dutta's other films, cinematography is top notch and could be adjudged as his finest in terms of shot takings. Sunny has given a performance of his life time, which's as good as Ghayal. The Salim Chisti Dargah at Fatehpur Sikri is shot so beautifully, it stays in your mind much after the movie and the Qawalli is brilliant. On the acting front, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Danny, Amrish Puri, Sujata Mehta light up the movie screen when ever they come. For me Yateem is one of the best movies I've ever seen and still watch the re-runs on television when ever I get a chance. Sad, JP Dutta doesn't make these kind of movies now a days but Yateem rocks!!

Yateem review :

"Sonar ka beta Sonar Lohar ka beta Lohar Aur Daku ka beta.....Daku!!"

This line is repeated twice in JP Dutta's dacoit drama Yateem, a film which was a commercial failure on its release but still remains my personal fave JP film. Yup, I prefer Yateem more than his two super hits Ghulami (1985) and Border (1997) as well. This film is much more layered and bold in its approach and deserves its due which it sadly, never got.

Sunny Deol plays the titular character of an orphan who is brought up by a cop (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) after killing his bandit parents in a skirmish. He trains to be a police officer himself and returns home to find foster pappa cop married to a much younger female (Sujata Mehta) who takes an instant liking for him.

After rejecting her sexual advances, the orphan is charged of rape and put behind bars. When he learns of his childhood sweetheart's forced marriage to a baddie cop (Danny), our hero breaks free and elopes with his lady love (Farha) leaving behind a bloodthirsty trail of cops. There is also a dreaded dacoit (Amrish Puri) who turns antagonist in our yateem hero's life.

As aforementioned, the plot is multi-layered and explores bold relationships bordering on incest - something unimaginable in Bollywood before. Like a foster mother seducing her son or a man in love with daughter of his guardian whom he calls Babuji. Yateem was too bold for the '80s and this is the prime reason for its outright rejection at the box office. Laxmikant Pyarelal's underwhelming music score was another sore point.

Having said that, the film has many positive factors like Ishwar Bidri's outstanding cinematography. JP Dutta always had a flair for mesmerizing locales and breathtaking landscapes and Yateem is arguably, his best work on this front. Shot in valleys of MP and parts of UP, the landscape shots are simply awesome here. A long shot horse chase looks like a painting on celluloid. No exaggeration!!

Of the cast, Sunny Deol is perfectly cast in the lead role and he speaks through his smouldering eyes in many scenes. Danny and Kulbhushan Kharbanda are outstanding here specially Kharbanda's "Bhagwan Tumhara Bhala Kare" is still memorable. Sujata Mehta is absolutely brilliant as the amorous step mother who is the root cause of all conflicts in the film. After Pratighaat (1987), this is her best performance ever in Hindi cinema. Unfortunately, her career dwindled after this act. Amrish Puri was menacing as the dacoit whose catchphrase was "Main Boluun"!! Farha's performance was just about okay.

Yateem is highly underrated piece of cinema and one of the best dacoit dramas made in Hindi cinema. I strongly recommend it to all Bollywood buffs.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Sunny deol's natural acting made this film awesom.

Farha, kulbhushan kharbanda and Danny given thier best.

Film shooting locations are also awesome.