Julie is a 1975 Indian romantic drama film directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and written by Chakrapani. The film stars Lakshmi in the title role (in her Hindi film debut). It also stars Vikram Makandar, Nadira, Rita Bhaduri, Om Prakash, Utpal Dutt and Sridevi, in her first significant Hindi role. The film was a critical and commercial success. Despite the film's success, Lakshmi felt comfortable in choosing to do mostly South Indian movies. Julie was also a musical blockbuster with critics alike and with award-winning music by Rajesh Roshan, which won him the Filmfare Award for the year. It had one of the first English songs in an Indian film, "My Heart is Beating", sung by Preeti Sagar. It is a remake of a Malayalam blockbuster film Chattakari (1974), which also starred Lakshmi as the female lead making her Malayalam and Hindi film debuts in both versions respectively. She would star in yet another remake, the Telugu film Miss Julie Prema Katha (1975). She didn't act in the Kannada remake, Julie, released in 2006, which had Ramya in the title role as Julie and Dino Morea as the leading man. She also declined the role of Julie's mother in the Malayalam remake titled Chattakari (2012), stating that she wanted the audiences to remember her as the young and beautiful Julie; the title role went to Shamna Kasim. Actress Urvashi portrayed the role of Julie in its Tamil remake Oh Maane Maane (1984). The remake and adaptation rights of this film are now owned by Glamour Eyes Films.

Plot

This film depicts the restrictive social conventions regarding inter-religion marriage and unwed motherhood in India. Julie (Lakshmi) is a Christian Anglo-Indian girl with a loving, but alcoholic father (Om Prakash), a dominating mother (Nadira), a younger brother and sister (Sridevi). She falls in love with her best friend, Usha Bhattacharya's (Rita Bhaduri) brother Shashi Bhattacharya (Vikram Makandar), a Hindu Brahmin boy. The lovers consummate their relationship, which leaves her pregnant. Shashi goes away to college, not knowing about her pregnancy. Her mother is distraught when Julie tells her about the pregnancy. They don't tell the rest of the family. Her mother thinks about getting Julie an abortion, but Ruby Aunty (Sulochana), a devout Christian, talks her out of it. Julie is sent away to have her baby in secret. The rest of the family is told that Julie got a job. After the baby's birth, Julie's mother arranges for the child to be left in an orphanage, and demands that Julie return home and forget about the baby.