A Hindi movie, Namkeen was released in 1982. Touching up some sensitive but untouched aspects of the Indian society, especially found in rural areas, Namkeen has Sanjeev Kumar playing a central character as a truck driver called Gerulal. Gerulal is taken as a tenant by an old lady and her three daughters. During his stay at their place Gerulal comes to respect the four for their ability to tackle challenges and live a respectable life despite a hand-to-mouth existence. He comes to like the elder daughter, and proposes her before he has to move to another location for business. Gerulal’s job is to ferry produce between the remote, hilly location of Himachal Pradesh to the city and back. He drives the legendary Tata L1210 truck. Turning down Gerulal’s proposal, the elder daughter of the landlady suggests that he marry her younger sister. Gerulal declines and moves on. Much to his shock, Gerulal, some years later, during his travels, finds the youngest of three daughters dancing in a local show. She is part of a local troupe, which does not bode well in terms of values. He finds out from her that her elder sister lost her mental balance and committed suicide after he left. Her mother died of shock. Gerulal rushes to the house to find the elder sister played by Sharmila Tagore. She looks elder than she actually is. He takes her with him. All along the movie, and through out the emotional journey of Gerulal – the truck driver, the Tata L1210 makes a trusted companion.

Introduced in the mid-60s in collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG of Germany, the L1210 became very popular with truckers. Its unique design of the truck had the round headlights placed in their shells ahead of the wheel mudguard. Between the two mudguards was a long bonnet with the OM 312 engine under it. Located longitudinally, the 4.6-litre four-cylinder diesel engine produced 110 hp of power, and was mated to a five-speed transmission. Brakes were service hydraulic assisted by single chamber air pressure booster. Steering was of the recirculating ball type. Suspension was made up of semi-elliptic silicon-manganese leaf springs with hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers. The front had 12 leaves; rear had wider and thicker 10 main leaves and seven auxiliary leaves.