Arka Evren

FILM · 1980 · INDIA

Karz

72 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

58 Interesting Facts About Karz

  1. #001

    The film's classic melody was inspired by George Benson's piece We As Love. A cover version of We As Love by Ronnie Foster also appeared on the Delight album.

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  2. #002

    "Om Shanti Om" sampled Lord Shorty's song "Shanti Om".

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  3. #003

    Director Subhash Ghai revealed that Rishi Kapoor was hospitalized due to depression after the film failed at the box office.

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  4. #004

    Karz had great music, and this was not only because of Subhash Ghai's well-known taste in music, but also because someone had mocked him by saying that the films of that time did not have good music. So although the story is a thriller, it was written by Ghai as a musical. The hero is a guitarist, and there is an unforgettable melody that connects him to his previous birth and leads him to his killer.

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  5. #005

    Mohan Agashe's character "Kooka Singh" in Trimurti was inspired by Pran's character "Kabira" in Subhash Ghai's film Karz.

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  6. #006

    Dard E Dil… one of Mohammed Rafi's best songs.

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  7. #009

    Subash Ghai thought the only choice to play Monty was Rishi Kapoor, and that his films also performed well and he had star status.

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  8. #010

    It was officially remade as YUGA PURUSHA (1989) in Kannada, ENAKKUL ORUVAN (1984) in Tamil and AATMA BALAM (1985) in Telugu, and its most recent adaptation was the Hindi film KARZZZZ (2008).

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  9. #011

    The film was remade in 2008 as Karzz with Himesh Reshammiya and Urmila, and it was a disaster.

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  10. #012

    It is currently regarded as one of the best masterpieces.

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  11. #013

    Subash Ghai launched his production company Mukta Arts on 24 October 1978 and released Karz as its first film.

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  12. #015

    For the song Paisa Yeh Paisa, Subash Ghai had called a fat person for a day's shoot; the person did not show up that day, and Subash Ghai decided to play the role himself, after which he began to be seen acting in the films he directed.

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  13. #016

    During the making of the film, many people told Subash Ghai that the film was not a profitable proposition because it had only one star, Rishi Kapoor. Tina Munim's Des Pardes had not yet been released at that time. Raj Kiran was not a star. Simi Garewal had no commercial value. By contrast, most of the big films made in those days featured Amitabh Bachchan and/or had multiple actors.

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  14. #017

    Pran's son Sunil Sikand was remaking the film Peter Proud's Reincarnation. This was in 1979. The film was titled Karishma. It starred Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Praveen Babi and Danny Denzongpa. When Sunil learned that Subhash Ghai was going to remake the same film as Karz, he shelved his film. They had shot for the film for 3 months. Shashi Kapoor was to die and be reborn as Amitabh Bachchan.

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  15. #018

    Durga Khote's stand-in, Reshma Pathan, was seriously injured on the spot when a truck hit her.

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  16. #019

    Randhir Kapoor persuaded Rishi Kapoor to do the film at Subash Ghai's request.

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  17. #021

    Subhash Ghai wanted actors such as Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna to play both roles, but he wanted a young man between the ages of 22 and 23 to play them, and they were far more senior. He therefore chose Rishi Kapoor and Raj Kiran, who were older than that age but suited the characters.

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  18. #022

    According to Subash Ghai, Simi Grewal's casting was the hardest part of the film.

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  19. #023

    When Subhash Ghai explained Premnath's character, he said he would be a fool in the film. Premnath said that all the films he had done with him contained a great deal of dialogue. He then explained that he wanted a change in his character.

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  20. #024

    Pran's character was named Kabir because the character had no religion in the film.

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  21. #025

    Tina Munim belonged to Subash Ghai's circle of friends, and he found her very innocent. He decided to bring that same innocence to the screen.

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  22. #026

    Simi Garewal did not want to play the villain's role. Subhash Ghai stated that he would pay her market price. She was still not ready because she thought it would damage her career. Ghai insisted that she do the film, saying that he had written the role himself. In the end she agreed only on the condition that Ghai not make the character entirely negative. Ghai agreed to add some sympathetic scenes to justify why her character was evil. As the shoot progressed, none of the scenes Ghai had promised to shoot remained. Ghai was also going to finish the film and not let Simi see the final cut. What she finally saw was very ugly. Tina Munium was seen saying abusive words to Simi's stunt artist. When confronted, Ghai stated that the role was told exactly as it was shot. If one had seen The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, one could see that you cannot show the character sympathetically. Ghai also added that he used only a stand-in artist for Durga Khote's accident scene.

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  23. #027

    During the making of the film, Simi Garewal had several stories involving Raj Kiran. Simi was just finishing her marriage and Raj Kiran was a rising star. However, problems arose when Raj Kiran began telling the press that he was seeing Simi. This angered Simi and she ended her relationship with Raj Kiran.

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  24. #028

    Karz and Mukta Arts were Subhash Ghai's productions.

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  25. #029

    Prem Nat did not speak a single line of dialogue throughout the entire film. He did not need to dub for this film.

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  26. #030

    Karz was the first time Rishi Kapoor and Tina Munium worked together. They became a popular pair and were matched in groups such as Bade Dil Wala, Yeh Vaada Raha, Katilon Ke Kaatil and others.

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  27. #031

    Raj Kiran hums the Karz melody "Ek Haseena Thi" in Kaun Hain Woh.

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  28. #033

    Rishi Kapoor was also hesitant to take on the film because Subash Ghai was known for directing action films such as Kaalicharan (1976) and Vishwanath (1978), and he wanted to make a romantic revenge film in the age of action.

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  29. #034

    The film was inspired by the Hollywood film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975).

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  30. #035

    Because the classical melody was played many times in the film, Subash Ghai and Laxmikanth Pyarelal decided to compose a song based on it and gave the situation to lyricist Anand Bakshi, who provided the song he composed, Ek Haseena Thi.

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  31. #036

    Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om had some elements of the film and paid tribute to it at the beginning of the film.

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  32. #038

    The song "Paisa Yeh Paisa" was sampled in the song "Operation Kumar" on Ratbath's internationally released album UFOs in Bollywood.

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  33. #039

    Simi Garewal and Rishi Kapoor reunited in Karz about 10 years after Mera Naam Joker (Rishi Kapoor was a child in that film). Karz was Tina Munium's first film after Des Pardes. Rishi Kapoor and Tina Munium made a very good pair. They became a successful pair and were cast together in several films.

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  34. #040

    The Kali Mata Temple became quite famous, and many tourists visiting Ooty asked to see it, but the temple never actually existed because it was a set built in one of the studios in Bombay.

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  35. #041

    The film's record-breaking song, Om Shanti Om, sung by Kishore Kumar, rose to number 2 on Binaca Geetmala's 1980 annual list, while another duet between Lata and Kishore, Tu Kitne Baras Ki, reached number 13.

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  36. #042

    Subhash Ghai admitted that Karz was partly inspired by the 1975 American film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud and was mixed with India's beliefs about reincarnation.

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  37. #043

    Although the theme of reincarnation had been tackled earlier in Madhumati (1958), Kudrat (1981) and Mehbooba (1976), its modern transformation through the angle of murder and revenge came with Karz in 1980.

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  38. #044

    Sachin Bahumick and Subash Ghai worked together for the first time.

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  39. #045

    Initially, Simi Garewal kept asking Subash Ghai to make many changes to the scenes because she thought that after this role she would be known only as a vamp. As the film progressed, she began to like the way her role was taking shape.

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  40. #046

    Boney M.'s song Let It All Be Music was used in the film, in the party scene where Rishi Kapoor meets Simi for the first time.

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  41. #047

    Boney M.'s song "Gotta Go Home" was played in Karz when Rishi Kapoor tries to enter Simi Garewal's room. The song "Woh Mera Hi Hain" from Sharon Prabhakar's Disco Mastana album was the Hindi version of the same song. At 0:56, Do Ustaad's song "Pyar Mein Jeena Pyar Mein Marna" sampled Boney M.'s "Gotta Go Home." Usha Uthup did a Hindi cover version titled "Mujko Kisis Se Ab" from the 24 Carrats album.

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  42. #048

    The internationally released video for Funky Bijou's song Funky Bijou Anthem used the video of Om Shanti Om.

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  43. #049

    Sohanlal Kanwar, who had worked with Simi Garewal, had suggested to Subash Ghai that he cast her in a key role.

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  44. #051

    Amar Haldipur played the violin in Dard E Dil.

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  45. #053

    The film's premiere was held 37 years later, on 23 April 2017, at the New Excelsior Mukta A2 cinema owned by Subash Ghai in Fort Mumbai, with Rishi Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Subash Ghai and Amar Haldipur in attendance.

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  46. #054

    Sunil Sikand was to make his directorial debut with Karishmaa, which had one of the biggest multi-star casts of the 70s, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Pran, Parveen Babi, Sharmila Tagore, Nirupa Roy, Danny Denzongpa, Ranjeet, Iftekar, Jalal Agha, Roopesh Kumar, Jeevan and Romesh Sharma. Tina Munium was also approached for a role. The film was shelved after 3 reels because its story resembled Subash Ghai's 1980 film Karz.

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  47. #055

    In 1980, Simi Garewal was also to appear in Kurban, but she could not do it and Aruna Irani took the role.

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  48. #056

    Subhash Ghai produced this film together with his sister-in-law Jagjit Khurana.

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  49. #057

    This was the first film Rishi Kapoor and Tina Munium appeared in together.

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  50. #059

    The coffee plantation in Ooty that Navin Nischol showed Yogita Bali in Parwana was used once again in Karz.

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  51. #061

    Braz Gonsalves plays the saxophone in the song Om Shanti Om.

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  52. #062

    DJ Aqeel remixed Ek Haseena Thi on the album Ek Haseena Thi.

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  53. #063

    Subhash Ghai wrote the dialogues himself because he wanted them to be simple. Rahi Masoom Raza was hired and deserved the praise.

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  54. #064

    Subhash Ghai was considering signing R. D. Burman for the film. The film needed modern music. When Laxmikant Pyarelal heard this, they wanted to sign on for the film and accepted it as a challenge to make modern music for Subhash Ghai.

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  55. #066

    It was Sachin Bhowmick who suggested Rishi Kapoor for the film. His image in Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi helped him get selected.

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  56. #069

    Clips from the song Ek Haseena Thi were used in Aboywithabag's Club Chennai video.

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  57. #070

    Paisa Yeh Paisa was sampled by Coldcut in the song What's That Noise.

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  58. #072

    Subash Ghai completed the screenplay and then decided on the casting for who would play Kamini and Monty.

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