This film was a bigger hit than ‘Sholay'(‘Sholay’)

Film: ‘Sholay’,  (‘Sholay’) released in 1975, is counted among the most successful films of Hindi cinema. Actors like Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan were seen in this film. This film was one of the highest grossing films of 1975. Whatever films were released during this period, none could stand in front of Sholay. But, in the meantime, a film was released which gave a tough competition to Sholay at the box office and in theatres. This film, released about 50 years ago, was made on a very low budget, but it earned a lot at the box office. The name of the film we are talking about here is ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’.

The second highest grossing film of 1975

These days the festival of Navratri dedicated to Maa Durga is going on. On this occasion, we tell you about this film made on Santoshi Maa. Although many such films have been made in the film industry, in which different forms of Maa Durga have been described, but the craze for ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’ released in 1975 was seen among the audience that it is still discussed today. In this film, the beautiful and miraculous relationship between Maa Santoshi and her devotee has been shown.

Crowd of audience gathered in cinemas
As soon as Jai Santoshi Maa was released on 15 August 1975, the cinemas lit up. People reached the cinema with their families to see the story of Mata. This film was discussed so much in those days that even Sholay started to fade in front of it. Its songs also played a big role in making this film a hit. As soon as ‘Main To Aarti Utroon Re Santoshi Mata Ki’ was played, people would get immersed in devotion. This song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and its music was given by C. Arjun.

People used to enter the theatre without their slippers. Huge crowds of spectators used to gather outside theatres to watch this film adorned with the divine play and glory of the Goddess and people used to remove their slippers and shoes before entering the theatre. When the film started, they used to sit with flowers and coins in their hands and when the film ended, they used to throw the flowers and coins in their hands towards the screen, as if they were sitting to listen to a story. On the basis of its story, this film became the second highest grossing film of the year.