# Meri Jung

Meri Jung (transl. My War) is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language legal drama film produced by N. N. Sippy and directed by Subhash Ghai. The film stars Nutan, Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Seshadri, Amrish Puri, Javed Jaffrey (in his debut film), A. K. Hangal, Iftekhar, Khushbu and Parikshit Sahni. The film's music was by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and lyrics were by Anand Bakshi. The film was a box office success. Puri won Best Supporting Actor and Nutan won Best supporting actress.

## Plot

The story follows Arun Verma, an 8-year-old boy, who lives with his 5-year-old sister Komal and their parents in a lower-middle-class family. They share a peaceful life until Arun's father is wrongfully convicted of murder. Despite his innocence, he is found guilty by the ruthless lawyer G. D. Thakral and is sentenced to death. Arun's mother, devastated by her husband's execution, suffers a mental breakdown and is placed in a mental institution. On the other hand, the lawyer in defense of Arun's father realizes that Thakral knew of his innocence yet manipulated the law for his own gains. Arun's house and all his property are auctioned off by the court. Filled with anger and a desire for revenge, Arun then grows up to become a successful defense lawyer with the singular goal of defeating Thakral in court.
Years later, Arun is approached by Geeta Srivatsav to defend her sister, Dr. Asha Mathur, who is accused of causing a patient's death with a poisoned medicine while on duty. Arun is initially hesitant, but a reminder of his own mother's plight convinces him to take on the case. While in police custody, Asha reveals that while on her way to the hospital, somebody replaced the medicine bottle from her purse with a look-alike bottle of poison, resulting in the patient's death. Arun then meets her husband, Dr. Dinesh Mathur, who reveals that the poison would result in death within 2 to 15 minutes, depending on the body's resistance. During the trial, Arun exposes the truth by drinking the original medicine in court, proving that it was not the cause of death. It is then revealed that the medicine which he drank contained poison. Asha is acquitted and Arun narrowly escapes death.
Arun and Geeta fall in love, but their happiness is short-lived when Thakral's son, Vikram Thakral, attempts to harm Geeta. Arun and Vikram's rivalry escalates into a physical confrontation. Meanwhile, Arun discovers that the piano in Dr. Mathur's house once belonged to his father, stirring memories of his past. He also learns that his mother, who is Dr. Mathur's patient, is alive and brings her home, where she slowly recovers her memory.
Vikram, seeking revenge against Arun, manipulates Komal, who is studying at the same college, into falling for him, intending to publicly humiliate Arun. However, when Vikram's ex-girlfriend reveals his intentions to Komal, an altercation ensues, and Vikram kills her, witnessed by Dr. Mathur's family. Arun sees this as an opportunity to bring Thakral to justice and steps in as the prosecutor against Thakral, who is defending his son. As the trial progresses, Thakral resorts to kidnapping Arun's mother to force him into backing down. However, Arun manages to save his mother despite being attacked by Thakral's goons. In a final confrontation, Thakral accidentally shoots his own associate's son while trying to kill Arun. Vikram is sentenced to death, and Thakral becomes mentally unstable. The film concludes with Arun and his family finally reuniting, having achieved justice and peace.

## Cast

| Actor/actress | Name | Character | Notes |
| Nutan | Aarti Verma | | |
| Anil Kapoor | Arun Verma | Defence Lawyer | Son of Aarti Verma |
| Meenakshi Seshadri | Geeta Srivastav | Sister of Asha Mathur | |
| Javed Jaffrey | Vikram Thakral | Son of G.D Thakral | |
| Khushbu | Komal Verma | Arun's Sister | |
| Girish Karnad | Deepak Verma | Husband of Aarti Verma | |
| Amrish Puri | G. D. Thakral | Public Prosecutor | Senior Lawyers |
| A. K. Hangal | Gupta | Defence | Senior Lawyers |
| Rabia Amin | Indu Gupta, | Advocate Gupta Daughter | |
| Viju Khote | | Arun Verma Assistant | |
| Beena Banerjee | Asha Mathur | Doctors | |
| Parikshit Sahni | Dinesh Mathur | Doctors | |
| Kamal Kapoor | Dhaaga sahab | Smuggler | |
| Iftekhar | Mr. Garewal | Public Prosecutors (lawyers)(Special Appearances) | |
| Pradeep Rawat | Rawat | Public Prosecutors (lawyers)(Special Appearances) | |
| Sudhir | Bhosale | Police Inspector | |
| Rajan Haksar | Oberoi | (Special Appearance) | |
| Subhash Ghai | Subhash Ghai | Himself as Special Appearance in the Song "Bol Baby Bol" | |

## Soundtrack

Music was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal and lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi.
| Song | Singer |
| "Zindagi Har Kadam Ek Nayi Jung Hai" – 1 | Lata Mangeshkar, Nitin Mukesh |
| "Zindagi Har Kadam Ek Nayi Jung Hai" – 2 | Lata Mangeshkar, Shabbir Kumar |
| "Zindagi Har Kadam Ek Nayi Jung Hai" (Short) | Lata Mangeshkar |
| "Ae Mere Khwabon Ke Shehzade" | Anuradha Paudwal |
| "Jhoom Le, Jhoom Le" | Laxmikant Kudalkar, Subhash Ghai |
| "Bol Baby Bol, Rock-N-Roll, Mere Sang Dol, Duniya Hai Gol" | Kishore Kumar, Javed Jaffrey, S. Janaki |

## Remakes

| Year | Title | Language |
| 1986 | Vijrumbhana | Telugu |
| 1987 | Oru Thayin Sabhatham | Tamil |
| 1989 | Yuddha Kanda | Kannada |

## Awards
### 33rd Filmfare Awards

Won
* Best Supporting Actor – Amrish Puri
* Best Supporting Actress – Nutan
Nominated
* Best Film – N. N. Sippy
* Best Director – Subhash Ghai
* Best Actor – Anil Kapoor
* Best Music Director – Laxmikant–Pyarelal
* Best Lyricist – Anand Bakshi for "Zindagi Har Kadam"