Suspense thrillers dominate OTT screens today, but the genre has deep roots in Hindi cinema going back to the 1970s. Long before streaming platforms existed, a 1969 mystery thriller starring Rajesh Khanna set a template that Bollywood still talks about.
BR Chopra's Ittefaq
That 1969 film was called Ittefaq. It was produced by BR Chopra, brother of Yash Chopra, while Yash Chopra himself directed it. Alongside Rajesh Khanna, the cast included Bindu, Madan Puri and Sujit Kumar. What made Ittefaq stand out was that it did not carry a single song, making it only the third Bollywood film of its era to skip music entirely, following Munna and Kanoon, which had also released without any songs before it. So the choice was not entirely new for its time, yet audiences still embraced it warmly. The film won Yash Chopra the Filmfare Award for Best Director and went on to become a box office hit.
Grandson Abhay Chopra revives the title
Decades later, BR Chopra's grandson Abhay Chopra decided to make a film with the very same title. His 2017 version of Ittefaq featured Vinod Khanna along with Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha and Mandira Bedi. In this version, Sidharth Malhotra played the character originally essayed by Rajesh Khanna, Sonakshi Sinha stepped into Nanda's role, while Akshay Khanna played the character of Iftekhar. While BR Chopra's original was a hit, Abhay Chopra's remake only managed an average run at the box office, even though it drew plenty of praise from critics.
A twist in the music
Where the 1969 Ittefaq had no songs at all, the 2017 version starring Vinod Khanna included exactly one track. Its theme song, 'Ittefaq Se,' was inspired by the popular 'Raat Baaki, Baat Baaki' from the 1982 film Namak Halal, recreated by Tanishk Bagchi for the new film. So while the grandfather's version stayed completely away from music, the grandson chose to add one limited but talked about track.
One family, one title, two generations
What ties both versions of Ittefaq together is that the same family made the film twice, first the grandfather and then the grandson. Yash Chopra and BR Chopra remain two of Hindi cinema's biggest names, while Ittefaq stands as the biggest film of Abhay Chopra's career so far. He is currently still working to build further momentum in his career.
