Leave Saiyaara, this film, which was released 44 years ago, left audience heartbroken, earned 100 times more than its budget, movie is…, lead actors were…

Ahaan Panday and Anit Padda's 'Saiyaara' is making waves at box office. But 44 years ago, a film was released that not only made couples cry, but also led to suicide.

Ahaan Pandey and Anit Padda’s Saiyaara is ruling the box office, after crossing Rs 200 crore in 9 days. But decades ago, one romantic film created even more frenzy. Its climax was so intense that distributors initially backed off, fearing backlash. Yet, when released, it drew massive crowds, overflowing emotions, and made the makers rich. Love stories like Aashiqui, Aashiqui 2, Rockstar, Saiyaara, and this 44-year-old classic have always deeply moved audiences, so much that one real-life couple took a tragic step after watching it.

Which film is this?

Here we are talking about ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’ which was released in the year 1981. Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri played the lead roles and it was helmed by legendary director Late K Balachander. This film is a love story of two neighbours, which was set in the backdrop of Goa. In the film, Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri are seen in the roles of Vasu and Sapna, who are neighbours of each other in Goa. Both of them live next to each other, but are unable to understand each other’s language. Sapna i.e., Rati Agnihotri, is seen in the role of a girl from North India in the film, while Vasu is a boy from South.

The tragedy and controversy related to Ek Duuje Ke Liye

After watching the climax of this film, the couples sitting in the cinema halls cried a lot and a couple committed suicide after watching the film in Mumbai. Meanwhile, before the release of the film, there was a lot of controversy over the climax of Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri’s film ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’ in which both the hero and heroine die. No distributor was ready to buy the film for this reason.

How was the box office reception?

When director K Balachander released the film himself, ‘Ek Duje Ke Liye’ turned out to be a smashing blockbuster at the box office. According to media reports, ‘Ek Duje Ke Liye’ was made at a cost of approximately Rs 10 lakhs and it earned a whopping Rs 10 crore in that era. The film garnered acclaim from critics, who lauded its score—especially the track “Tere Mere Beech Mein” performed by Late S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and written by legendary Anand Bakshi and the cast’s performances. It also took home the award for Best Male Playback Singer (S. P. Balasubrahmanyam) at the 28th National Film Awards.