Vishwatma

Rajiv Rai’s 1992 Indian Hindi-language thriller Vishwatma stars an ensemble cast that includes Sunny Deol, Naseeruddin Shah, Chunky Pandey, and Divya Bharti making her major Hindi debut, alongside Sonam and Jyostna Singh. The story follows Prabhat, an honest cop who is tasked by the Government to go to Kenya and take down Ajgar Jurrat and put an end to his illegal ventures. Viju Shah composed the music for the film, of which the song “Saat Samundar” became a massive hit that year.

The plot

Prabhat Singh is an honest and devoted police officer, though this often leaves him with little time for his family. His father holds a strong belief in peace and wishes to avoid bloodshed or disruption in India. Prabhat’s mission which is to detain the notorious “Ajgar Jurrat” (who holds residence in Kenya but manages illegal activities in India) becomes even more complicated. The unfortunate slaying of Ajgar’s brother at Prabhat’s hands sparks the abduction and murder of his little brother – a tragedy that devastates the entire family, leaving Prabhat deeply disowned by his father. He then moves to a remote village where he befriends an orphan known as Babu, becoming his sole companion.

Meanwhile, one of Ajgar’s men – Madan Bhardwaj – turns against him and threatens to turn him over to the police as soon as possible. As a result of fearing an arrest warrant, Ajgar kills Madan. After that, Ajgar’s son rapes Madan’s wife, leaving her traumatized. Thus, Madan’s brother Akash Bhardwaj vows revenge on him.

In light of Madan’s untimely demise, Ajgar flees to Kenya, leaving the police commissioner in a bind. Knowing that Prabhat is their only hope of bringing justice, his father apologizes for his prior disownment and encourages him to accept the mission. Despite some hesitation, Prabhat agrees—with the clause that Akash must accompany him. And with that, the two friends set off to recapture Ajgar. In their absence, Babu moves in with Prabhat’s family as their servant.

In Kenya, they are welcomed by their host, Inspector Pratap, a widower with a young daughter, Surya. Ajgar is aware of the mission Prabhat and Akash are there for, so he gets the Commissioner, whom he has bribed, to make Surya their guide – Surya is an honest man and keen on protecting Kenyan citizens like Ajgar from foreign harm. On their way to his place, Surya warns that he is keeping a close eye on them and won’t hesitate to apprehend them should they cause any trouble during their stay.

Prabhat and Akash come across Madan’s sister-in-law Renuka, who is also on her own mission. She provides them with additional information about Ajgar and his whereabouts. Apparently, he is held in high regard in Kenya, making it more complicated for the duo to take him into custody. However, they put forth many efforts to apprehend Ajgar and his gang. Unfortunately, Surya negates their attempts each time. With this, Prabhat and Akash try to talk Surya into arresting Ajgar but to no avail since he is reluctant of doing so. As a result, the enigma around their mission causes Surya of getting frustrated with the two of them.

After a few days of hard work, Renuka’s help enabled Prabhat and Akash to come up with a plan to apprehend Ajgar without Surya knowing. But, unfortunately, Surya found out and had them deported back to India. It was then that Renuka revealed the truth – his wife had ended her own life due to Ajgar’s son who had tried to molest her. With no other option left, a raging Surya then found himself in a situation where he was actually captured along with his daughter by Ajgar after trying to confront him. Nonetheless, Prabhat and Akash managed to escape the flight back home and set out to save Surya and help him take down Ajgar once and for all.

All in all, the mission was a success and romance bloomed; Akash fell for Sonia, Ajgar’s daughter, while Surya developed feelings for Renuka and was grateful for her support and advice. Prabhat also found love with an Indian girl from his homeland who had followed him to Kenya – Kusum. All couples reunited justly in India as Prabhat travelled back home with his two friends and criminal Ajgar. The happy union of Prabhat-Kusum, Surya-Renuka, and Akash-Sonia brought joy to the whole group.

On release, the film was highly regarded by critics both contemporary and modern, for its screenplay and action sequences. With a total theatrical run of over $95 million, it was the sixth highest-grossing Indian film of 1992. The soundtrack created a lot of interest and was hugely successful. The film served as a launchpad for Chunky Pandey and Divya Bharti, who achieved fame in Bollywood.

Cast

Sunny Deol as Prabhat Singh; Anurag’s son; Kusum’s love interest and fiance

Naseeruddin Shah as Surya Pratap; Sunaina’s father; Renuka’s fiance

Chunky Pandey as Akash Bharadwaj: Sonia’s love interest and fiance

Divya Bharti as Kusum Berma: Prabhat’s love interest and fiancee

Sonam as Renuka: Surya’s love interest and fiancee; Madan’s sister-in-law

Jyotsna Singh as Sonia Jurrat: Ajgar’s daughter; Rajnagh’s sister, Akash’s love interest; Tapasvi’s former fiancee

Amrish Puri as Ajgar Jurrat: Rajnagh and Sonia’s father

Mahesh Anand as Rajnagh Jurrat: Ajgar’s son; Sonia’s brother.

Kiran Kumar as Nagdansh Jurrat: Ajgar’s brother

Tej Sapru as Bada Nilu

Dan Dhanoa as Majhla Nilu

Anand Balraj as Chhota Nilu

Gulshan Grover as Tapasvi Gunjal; Sonia’s former fiance.

Rajesh Vivek as Dacoit Manohar Dev

Master Manjunath as Babu: Prabhat’s adoptive brother

Dalip Tahil as ACP Gupta