Adinath, a young jail warden, persuades the authorities to let him try an experiment: he takes six convicted murderers on parole to an abandoned farm, where they must work the land with no walls and no guards, only his trust. The men are surly, suspicious and tempted to run, and villagers and officials wait for the plan to fail, while a lively toy-seller, Champa, slowly softens them. Inspired by an open-prison experiment in the princely state of Aundh, the film is V. Shantaram's most celebrated work. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and a Silver Bear at the Berlin film festival. Lata Mangeshkar's prayer Aye Malik Tere Bande Hum, composed by Vasant Desai, became a school prayer across India. It was remade in Tamil as Pallandu Vazhga (1975).
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