Caravan was a superhit domestically in India. It found even greater success abroad in China when it released there in 1979, becoming the highest-grossing foreign film in China. The film is estimated to have sold over 300 million tickets in Asia, mostly in China. Adjusted for inflation, it is still one of the highest grossing Indian films of all time.
Plot
The film is about a young woman, Sunita and her father Mohandas, who finds out that his trusted employee, Rajan, has been embezzling money from him. He confronts him but Rajan attacks him, flinging him out of the window of the multi-storye building, but the police think the death was accidental. This leaves the coast clear for Rajan to wed Mohandas' only daughter, Sunita. Sunita is distraught and ends up married to this "wrong" man, Rajan. Shortly after the wedding, Sunita finds out the truth. She thinks that Rajan has conspired with his girlfriend Monica to murder her. So she runs away to find her father's old friend in Bangalore, who may be able to help. On the way, she experiences an accident and ends up with a band of performing gypsies. She meets caravan van-driver Mohan and is attracted to him. Sunita does not know that she has put herself in danger again - this time at the hands of knife-thrower, Nisha, who loves Mohan, and will kill anyone who gets in her way. To make matters worse, Rajan has not given up his search for Sunita.
The soundtrack of the film is one of the hit compositions by R. D. Burman. The lyrics of the songs are provided by the veteran poet Majrooh Sultanpuri.
Caravan was declared a "Super Hit" domestically according to Box Office India.[3] The film grossed ₹36 million[4] ($4.81 million)[5] in India. It was the sixth highest-grossing film of 1971 at the domestic Indian box office.[4] Adjusted for inflation, the film's domestic box office gross is equivalent to ₹5.09 billion in 2017.[n 1]
Overseas, Caravan released in China in 1979 and became a blockbuster there, surpassing Raj Kapoor's Awaara (1951). Caravan became the highest-grossing foreign film ever in China up until then, with 88million box office admissions in its initial run. It reportedly sold a total of nearly 300million tickets including re-runs, the highest for any foreign film ever released in China. At an average ticket price of CN¥0.20,[7] the film grossed an estimated CN¥60 million, equivalent to $39 million[8] (₹317 million).[9] Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to $132 million (₹8.59 billion) in 2017.
In total, the film grossed an estimated ₹353 million ($44 million) in Asia. Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to ₹13.68 billion in 2017, or ₹19.19 billion (US$240 million) in 2023.
In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated 19million tickets in India,[4][10] and nearly 300million tickets in China, for an estimated total of nearly 319million tickets sold in Asia.
Legacy
Along with Awaara and Noorie (1979), Caravan left a strong impression on Chinese audiences in the 1980s. It took decades before Tahir Hussain's son Aamir Khan later had a similar impact in China,[11][12] with films such as Lagaan (2001),[13]3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014), and Dangal (2016).[11][12][14] During his visit to China, Aamir Khan said his father's film Caravan is still fondly remembered there.[14]
