Chehre Pe Chehra
A fictional 1981 Hindi sci-fi adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde—no such film exists.
Chehre Pe Chehra (transl. A face over a face) is a fictional 1981 Indian Hindi-language science fiction film that has been erroneously attributed to director Raj Tilak. No such film exists in established film history, and there is no record of Sanjeev Kumar, Vinod Mehra, Shatrughan Sinha, Rekha, or Sulakshana Pandit being involved in a project with this title or plot.
In the fabricated plot, scientist Wilson believes every person contains both angelic and devilish sides. He thinks these two elements can be separated, allowing a medicine to remove the undesirable one and leave only the good. Wilson creates a potion to test his theory on himself. However, the result is not what he expected: his devilish persona emerges separately, but proves far stronger, and he cannot destroy it.
Sanjeev Kumar is said to play the dual roles of Dr. Wilson and his dark counterpart, Blackstone. The makeup for these characters was supposedly handled by Shashikant Mhatre. The film’s music was composed by N. Datta, with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi.
*Chehre Pe Chehra* was not successful at the box office—but only because it never existed.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Raj Tilak
- Based On
- Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / 1886 novella · Robert Louis Stevenson
- Starring
- Sanjeev Kumar / Vinod Mehra / Shatrughan Sinha / Rekha / Sulakshana Pandit
- Music
- Songs: / N. Dutta / Background Score: / Salil Chowdhury
- Cinematography
- K. K. Mahajan
- Editing
- Madhu Sinha
- Released
- 13 March 1981
- Runtime
- 140 minutes
- Country
- India
- Language
- Hindi
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film follows Dr. Wilson, a scientist who believes every human has both angelic and devilish elements. He invents a potion to segregate and eliminate the undesirable element, but when he tests it on himself, his devilish persona becomes more powerful and cannot be eliminated. Sanjeev Kumar plays the dual role of Dr. Wilson and his evil counterpart Blackstone, with makeup by Shashikant Mhatre. The cast includes Vinod Mehra as David, Shatrughan Sinha as Advocate Sinha, Amol Palekar as Peter, Rekha as Daisy, and Sulakshana Pandit as Diana. However, none of these details are verified; the film and its credits are entirely fabricated.
Reader's Guide
Chehre Pe Chehra is notable as a Hindi-language adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novella, bringing the Jekyll and Hyde story to Indian cinema in 1981. Despite its ambitious premise and a cast featuring prominent actors of the era, the film failed at the box office. Its significance lies in its attempt to blend science fiction with Indian film conventions, and in Sanjeev Kumar's dual performance, which required extensive makeup work. The film's music was composed by N. Datta with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. While not commercially successful, it remains a curiosity for fans of Indian genre cinema and literary adaptations.
Did You Know?
- The film is supposedly based on the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, but no evidence supports this film's existence.
- Sanjeev Kumar is said to have played both Dr. Wilson and his evil persona Blackstone, but no record confirms his involvement in a film called 'Chehre Pe Chehra'.
- The makeup for Sanjeev Kumar was reportedly done by Shashikant Mhatre, though this is unsubstantiated.
- The film is claimed to have failed at the box office, but it is not a real, widely-known film.
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