1976 · Film
Chitchor
Basu Chatterjee's musical romance in which a village headmaster's family mistakes a visiting overseer for the eligible engineer they hope will marry their daughter Geeta.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, Chitchor is free to watch in India on YouTube.
The story
In the hill village of Madhupur, headmaster Pitamber Chaudhri's younger daughter Geeta is a carefree girl usually trailed by a little neighbour boy, Deepu. A letter from Geeta's elder sister in Bombay announces that a young engineer, a possible match for Geeta, is coming to the village. When Vinod steps off the train, the family welcomes him warmly, and he begins teaching Geeta to sing. Talk of a wedding starts, until a second letter suggests the family may have the wrong man.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
A light, gentle romance of mistaken identity with well-known songs and no violence, comfortable for family viewing. At about an hour and three-quarters, it is also one of the shorter Rajshri classics.
Genres:RomanceComedyMusicalFamily
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Chitchor was written and directed by Basu Chatterjee and produced by Tarachand Barjatya for Rajshri Productions. It is based on Chittachakor, a Bengali story by Subodh Ghosh. The main shoot took about 25 days in Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra, with a few scenes filmed at Kihim near Alibag. Ravindra Jain composed the songs, and the soundtrack marked K. J. Yesudas's debut in Hindi film music.
The film opened on 30 January 1976 and was a box-office hit. At the National Film Awards, Yesudas won Best Male Playback Singer for "Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara" and Master Raju won Best Child Artist. Wikipedia lists later versions in Telugu (Ammayi Manasu), Malayalam (Minda Poochakku Kalyanam) and Tamil (Ullam Kavarntha Kalvan), and notes that the 2003 Hindi film Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon has a similar storyline.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Romantic comedy, Musical
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Director
- Basu Chatterjee
- Cast
- Amol Palekar, Zarina Wahab, Vijayendra Ghatge, A. K. Hangal, Dina Pathak
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch Chitchor in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, Chitchor is free to watch in India on YouTube.
- Is Chitchor in Hindi?
- Yes. Chitchor is a Hindi-language film.
- How long is Chitchor?
- Chitchor runs for 1 hour 45 minutes (105 minutes).