Saturday, September 6, 2008

Sholay


Sholay (Flames)
Directed by Ramesh Sippy
Produced by G.P. Sippy
Written by Salim Khan,
Javed Akhtar
Starring Dharmendra,
Sanjeev Kumar,
Hema Malini,
Amitabh Bachchan,
Jaya Bhaduri,
Amjad Khan
Music by Rahul Dev Burman
Cinematography Dwarka Dwacha
Release date(s) August 15, 1975
Running time 188 min / India:204 min (director's cut) / USA:162 min
Country India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Sholay (Hindi: शोले, Urdu: شعلے) (English: Embers or Flames) is an Indian Hindi film by Ramesh Sippy. It is the biggest hit in the history of Bollywood, India's Hindi film industry. Released on August 15, 1975, it starred Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan. The movie, set in the lawless and rugged terrain of central India, is the story of two hired hands, trying to capture a ruthless dacoit by the name of Gabbar Singh.

Sholay is the highest grossing film of all time in India. It has earned Rs. 2,36,45,00,000, equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation.[1] When first released, the film was declared a commercial disaster. Word of mouth convinced movie-goers to give the film a chance and soon it became a box-office phenomenon. It ran for 286 weeks straight (more than five years) in one Mumbai theatre, the Minerva. Sholay racked up a still record 60 golden jubilees across India and doubled its original gross over reruns during the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.[1] Sholay was the first film in the history of Indian cinema to celebrate silver jubilee (25 weeks) at over a hundred theatres across India.

In 1999, BBC India declared it the "Film of the Millennium"; Indiatimes movies ranks the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare awards awarded it with a special award called Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.

Plot

 The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (June 2008)

The Thakur recruits Veeru and Jai

Former police chief Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) summons an old colleague and requests him to track down a pair of small-time thieves he once apprehended in the line of duty.

The two petty criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai(Amitabh Bachchan), are close pals who work together and share everything. They had encountered the Thakur in the past (as seen in a flashback), when after being caught by him trying to rob a train, he let them free temporarily to help him fight off bandits. The three succeeded in doing so, but as the Thakur lay unconscious after sustaining a wound, Veeru and Jai disputed over leaving him dead and escaping (Veeru), or letting him live but facing jail themselves (Jai). The call was decided over a coin toss, which Jai won.

Recollecting that experience, the Thakur explains that Veeru and Jai would be the ideal men to help him end the tyranny of Gabbar Singh - an infamous dacoit (bandit) wanted by the authorities for a Rs 50,000 reward. But money is not what the Thakur is after.

Veeru and Jai are found and brought to Ramgarh. They are told by the Thakur that they are to bring Gabbar to him alive for Rs 20,000 plus the Rs 50,000 reward.

After some difficulty in trusting each other, the Thakur demands Veeru and Jai's word and eventually Jai promises that they will do the job and he and Veeru decide to stay in Ramgarh to repel attacks from Gabbar's large gang.

The tyranny of Gabbar

Three of Gabbar's enforcers arrive in Ramgarh to collect supplies from the defenceless villagers. This time, however, they go back empty-handed, due to Veeru and Jai's intervention. The villagers show their gratitude by hailing their new heroes.

In Gabbar's camp, the tyrant interrogates the three men he sent to Ramgarh about why they were defeated by only two men. His psychotic nature is shown when he subjects his men to a twisted version of Russian Roulette where all three survive against the odds. This event amuses Gabbar who begins to laugh uncontrollably at the bizarre occurrence and the unlikelyhood of it happening. His cackles get louder and louder, as his henchmen join in. The three men who have survived this ordeal are bemused but then relieved and slowly begin to laugh as well. As the sounds of all of Gabbar's army laughing like fools reverberate around the rocky camp, Gabbar suddenly stops laughing and uses the three remaining bullets to shoot the three men dead.

Gabbar's plan to attack Ramgarh on Holi is put into action and in a much tougher battle this time, Veeru and Jai meet their match and are held at gunpoint. With his two recruits facing death, the Thakur has a chance to throw a gun to Veeru. But instead of helping, he simply stands stationary. With quick thinking, Veeru and Jai manage to save their lives but at the end state their intentions to walk away from Ramgarh, leaving the villagers to defend themselves, due to the Thakur's cowardice.

But before they can, the Thakur tells them the real reason of why he wants Gabbar and why he could not help them.

Some time ago, the Thakur had caught Gabbar and had him imprisoned only for the dacoit to escape and plot an evil revenge against him. Gabbar made his way to the Thakur's home and cold-bloodedly, killed his two sons, daughter, daughter-in-law and his only grandson. The only person in the family to survive this massacre was the Thakur's younger daughter-in-law, Radha.

The Thakur tracked down Gabbar but this time, the tyrant held the upper hand thanks to his gang and tortured him. Gabbar reminded the Thakur of his promise to come back and haunt him once he escaped and this was the day. Grabbing two swords, Gabbar maniacally approached the Thakur and ruthlessly amputated both his arms, although the Thakur survives it. The Thakur had shrouded this disability from Veeru and Jai, but now it was clear why he could not physically help them.

Village life

Living in Ramgarh, the cynical young Jai and lively Veeru find themselves growing fond of the villagers, taking pity on their sufferings under dacoit tyranny. Some of the villagers evoke more than fondness. Veeru is attracted to Basanti, a feisty, talkative young woman who makes her living driving a horse-cart. However, Basanti's aunt, who, thanks to Jai's meddling, is reluctant to let Veeru marry her niece and only after Veeru takes drastic measures does she finally agree.

Jai is drawn to Radha, the Thakur's reclusive widowed daughter-in-law, who very subtly returns his affections. The Thakur's servant, Ramlaal, tells of when Radha used to be full of life and colour until the day Gabbar killed her husband. After discussing it with Radha's father, the Thakur agrees that she can marry Jai.

The duo also befriend other villagers and instill a belief of freedom from Gabbar's villainous regime. Among these are the blind imam and his son, Ahmed, who has been offered a job in the city, but refuses to leave his father all alone. He is eventually talked into going and sets off on his horse. On the way, he has the bad luck of running into Gabbar's henchmen. Ahmed is killed and returned with a message for Ramgarh: Hand over Veeru and Jai or suffer the same fate as the dead boy.

As the villagers stand over Ahmed's body, they tell Veeru and Jai, that they can give away whatever wealth they have, but they cannot give away their children's lives. The Thakur, Veeru and Jai argue against ceding to Gabbar's threats, but only the imam, who has lost his son, convinces the villagers that they cannot simply give in to evil.

The climax

Veeru and Jai fight back and send a message back to Gabbar: For every villager killed by Gabbar, Veeru and Jai will avenge them by killing four of his men in return. Gabbar, angered by this, swears death on Jai, Veeru, the Thakur, and all of Ramgarh.

The battle approaches its climax when Basanti and Veeru are captured and Jai follows. As Basanti is forced to dance by Gabbar to keep Veeru alive, Jai steadily gets through Gabbar's defences. Soon Jai is able to get into a position to shoot Gabbar and demands the release of his friends. Veeru and Basanti escape while Jai holds back the dacoits from a distance with a rifle. Once Veeru and Basanti are safe, Jai slowly draws back and heads for his friends, only to be wounded grievously by a bullet as he is running away.

Jai is reunited with Veeru and Basanti where they realise they are running out of ammunition. As Veeru is unaware of Jai's wound, Jai orders him to go back to the village where he can take Basanti and then return with ammo. Veeru does not want Jai to face the bandits alone, so he suggests that Jai should go. The two dispute once more and resort to what has been their only method of resolution over the years - the coin. As it was earlier in the film, Veeru loses the toss and goes back to the village.

Jai, slowly dying and with only a few bullets, manages to fend off advances by the bandits, who have hidden under a small bridge and have thrown a stick of dynamite that has failed to explode. Jai manages to get close enough to the dynamite and uses his last bullet to detonate it, taking out the bridge and most of Gabbar's men.

Veeru returns to find Jai dying and sadly talks with him before he dies in his arms. Some of the villagers rush to the scene, including Radha, who once again must endure the anguish of losing someone. As Veeru wipes a tear, he notices Jai's old coin in his hand and then it dawns on him that he had been tricked by Jai all along. The coin was double-headed and Jai had managed to manipulate every situation that they disagreed on to his favour. Angry at his friend for sacrificing his life to save him, Veeru becomes hell-bent on revenge and goes after Gabbar.

Veeru catches Gabbar and beats him up badly, about to finish him off. But before he can kill him, the Thakur appears and reminds him of the promise to bring Gabbar to him - alive. Veeru is ready to break his word to avenge Jai when he is told that it was Jai who made the promise. Unwilling to break Jai's promise, Veeru hands Gabbar over to the Thakur who reveals his spike-soled shoes, made to make Gabbar beg for a quick death.

Aftermath

Gabbar is kicked around by the Thakur but is saved in the nick of time by the police, who tell the Thakur that Gabbar must be arrested and dealt with by the law. As Gabbar is taken away, the Thakur is denied vengeance, but knows that Ramgarh is free once again.

Jai's funeral takes place as Veeru stands all alone in front of the pyre. In the distance, Radha watches on through a window.

With nothing more for him in Ramgarh, Veeru leaves on a train. But as he looks up, he sees that he is not alone. Basanti has also boarded the train and both she and Veeru leave Ramgarh together.

Credits

Cast

Main
  • Sanjeev Kumar as Thakur Baldev Singh, usually addressed as Thakur sahib
  • Dharmendra as Veeru, the more jovial and naughty of the two friends
  • Amitabh Bachchan as Jai, the calmer and more thoughtful of the two
  • Hema Malini as Basanti, a talkative girl who is the coachman for the only horse-carriage in Ramgarh
  • Jaya Bhaduri as Radha, the Thakur's widowed daughter-in-law
  • Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh, the ruthless and psychotic dacoit who terrorizes the people of Ramgarh
Supporting

Crew

The film was produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It was written by scriptwriters Salim-Javed. R. D. Burman contributed the music. Anand Bakshi was the lyricist. It was the first Hindi (and possibly Indian) movie to have a stereophonic soundtrack.

Production

The film was a lavish production for its time. It took two and a half years to make; it went Rs. 300,000 over budget. Much of the film was set in the rocky terrain of Ramanagaram, a village near Bangalore, Karnataka. The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to Ramanagaram for convenient access to the sets.

In fact, one part of Ramanagaram town was renamed "Sippynagar" after the director of the movie. Even to this day, a visit to the "Sholay rocks" (where the movie was shot) is offered to tourists travelling through Ramanagaram (on the road between Bangalore and Mysore).

Influences and allusions

The movie drew heavily from the conventions of Western films, especially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns. Sholay's extensive use of slow-motion in shoot-outs was influenced by the westerns of Sam Peckinpah, films such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) The film also alludes to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, which shows a village hiring mercenaries to protect itself from bandits. The Hollywood movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) featured two appealing outlaws, similar to Jai and Veeru.

Gabbar Singh was modeled on a real-life dacoit of the same name who menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. He terrorized the local police. Any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was then released as an object lesson to other policemen.

Reception

Box Office

Sholay was released on August 15, 1975 in Bombay. On 11 October, 1975, the film was released in several other Indian film distribution districts. It earned Rs. 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation and remains the highest grossing movie of all-time in the history of Indian Cinema.

At Mumbai's Minerva theater, it was shown in regular shows for three continuous years, and then in matinee shows for two more years. Even in 240th week of its release, Sholay was packing the theaters. Sholay grossed about 35 crore rupees in its first run, a record that remained unbroken for the next nineteen years. Sholay ran for more than five years.

[edit] Critical response

The critic K.L. Amladi of India Today called the film a "dead ember" and added, "Thematically, it's a gravely flawed attempt." Filmfare said that the film was an unsuccessful mincing of Western style with Indian milieu, making it a "...imitation western—neither here nor there."Trade journals and columnists called the expensive film a flop.

Awards

  • When it was first released, Sholay won only one Filmfare award: film editor M. S. Shinde won for Best editing. He had edited 300,000 feet of film into 20,000 feet of theatrical release.[4] After the censors mandated cuts, the film was 18,000 feet and ran for 3 hours and 20 minutes.
  • Nevertheless, at the 50th Filmfare Awards, it received the prestigious award as the Best Film of 50 Years. Ramesh Sippy was there to receive the trophy.
  • It was declared "Film of the Millennium" by BBC India and internet polls in 1999. 
  • In 2006, Sholay was voted best film in Iran. 

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

  • Best Actor in Supporting Role - Amjad Khan 
  • Best Cinematographer (Colour)- Dwarka Divecha 
  • Best Art Director - Ram Yadekar 

Legacy

DVD release of Sholay
DVD release of Sholay

Sholay has inspired many imitations, in cinema and television, and has spawned a whole sub-genre of films whimsically dubbed Curry Westerns as a tribute to Spaghetti Westerns. None of them has had the success of the original film. The latest attempt to trade on Sholay's fame was Ram Gopal Varma's film Aag (2007), which was pulled from theaters after two weeks. It is now considered one of the biggest flops in Bollywood's history.[5] "Aag" was originally also called "Sholay" and was apparently meant to be a tribute to and "in the spirit of Sholay." The name was changed to "Aag" after legal action was taken by the makers of the original "Sholay." Amitabh Bachchan, who had one of the lead roles in the original "Sholay" plays a villain in "Aag."

The stars of the film appeared in other films; they did not seem to be limited by their roles in Sholay. Amitabh Bachchan went on to become one of the biggest stars in the Indian film industry. However, some of the supporting actors never escaped the shadow of their hit film.

Amjad Khan, who played the bandit Gabbar Singh played many more villainous roles afterwards. He played Gabbar Singh again in the 1991 spoof Ramgarh Ke Sholay. He also reprised the role in a commercial for biscuits.

Comedian Jagdeep, who played Soorma Bhopali in the film, also attempted to capitalize on his Sholay success; he directed and played the lead role in the 1988 film Soorma Bhopali; Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan also played cameos.[6] The film was not a success.

Sholay is out of the theaters, but thanks to television, VCRs, and DVDs, it is widely available and still extremely popular. In the year 1996, "Sholay" was first shown on the Indian government-run Doordarshan television channel; streets were virtually empty during the show. Young Indians who had not been born when Sholay was released will still have seen the film and know the dialogues and characters.

Soundtrack

R. D. Burman, who composed the music for the film, was one of the most sought after composers in 1975, when the film was released. However, out of the twelve soundtracks he composed that year, Khushboo and Aandhi were critical successes and Deewar and Khel Khel Mein mild commercial hits. No other Burman film soundtrack that year attained the resounding critical and commercial success of Sholay.

The songs picturized in the film were the following:

  1. Jab Tak Hai Jaan, sung by Lata Mangeshkar
  2. Koi Haseena, sung by Kishore Kumar and Hema Malini
  3. Holi Ke Din, sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar
  4. Yeh Dosti, sung by Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey
  5. Mehbooba Mehbooba, sung by Rahul Dev Burman

A qawwali, Aa Shuru Hota Hai Phir, was also recorded, but it was never picturized or released.

However, at the time, the songs from Sholay attracted less attention than the dialogues — a rarity for Bollywood. This prompted the producers to release audio-cassettes with only dialogues.

Another aspect of the soundtrack that was widely appreciated and has gone through a number of re-releases were the instrumental scores. The title track, which has a particular emphasis on acoustic guitar and brass sections is still well anthologized and is an example of Burman's foray into fusing Indian sounds with Latin and Afro-Cuban elements. Burman also created some disparate segments including a sparse track to augment the ferocity of Gabbar Singh amidst the desolate location and one to highlight the Thakur's shock at seeing his family exterminated.[8]

Among the songs, two versions of Yeh Dosti were released, an extended version which was cited as the "happy version" and a shorter one called the "sad version". For many years this device became a mainstay of Hindi film soundtracks, with the sad concise version of the "happy song" played during the sad scenes.

The song Mehbooba Mehbooba, performed and composed by Burman, became very popular. This song has been highly anthologized, remixed, and recreated. A notable recent version being one created by the Kronos Quartet for their Grammy-nominated album You've stolen my heart.

Trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (September 2007)
  • The director's original choice for Jaidev too was different. Shatrughan Sinha was almost signed, when Dharmendra convinced the producers that Amitabh would be the right choice.
  • The producers wanted Danny Denzongpa to play the bandit chief, but he was committed to Feroz Khan's "Dharmatma". Amjad Khan was a second choice.[10]
  • The scene in which Thakur's family is killed was cut by the censor board; the murder of a small child was deemed too horrific to show.
  • The film showcased two real life romances. Amitabh married Jaya Bhaduri, who played the widowed daughter-in-law, in 1973, during the filming. Dharmendra married Hema Malini in 1980, five years after the release of the film.
  • Amjad Khan prepared to play a bandit chief by reading a book titled Abhishapth Chambal, which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Bhaduri, who happened to be the father of Jaya Bhaduri.
  • The screenwriters, Salim-Javed, named Veeru and Jai after a couple of Salim's college friends.[11]
  • According to some sources Sholay has always been the number one grossing film of all time, in the Indian film industry.
  • The basic plot of the movie was lifted from the 1972 Hindi movie Bindiya Aur Bandook produced by Joginder and Joginder later on filed a lawsuit against Ramesh Sippy.

Deewaar (1975 film)

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (June 2007)
Deewaar
Directed by Yash Chopra
Produced by Gulshan Rai
Written by Salim-Javed
Starring Amitabh Bachchan,
Shashi Kapoor,
Nirupa Roy,
Neetu Singh,
Parveen Babi
Music by Rahul Dev Burman
Cinematography Kay Gee
Editing by T. R. Mangeshkar
Pran Mehra
Distributed by Trimurti Films
Release date(s) 24 January 1975
Running time 174 min.
Country India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Deewaar, or Deewar (Hindi: दीवार, Urdu: دیوار), is a classic Indian movie, directed by Indian director Yash Chopra. Built upon the angry young man persona of Amitabh Bachchan, the movie came at a time when the lofty heights of freedom movements were dashed by the stark reality of corruption that had steeped into society. The story is unique because of the inherent moral ambiguity in the leading character; Bollywood films usually portray an unreal distinction between good and evil.

It is remembered for its powerful dialogue (Salim-Javed) and performances by the lead actor Amitabh Bachchan who was ably supported by Shashi Kapoor, playing the role of his younger brother. Amitabh Bachchan's character, Vijay Verma, is said to have been based on the life of the Mumbai gangster, Haji Mastan Mirza.[1] Deewaar followed Zanjeer, another path breaking movie for Amitabh Bachchan, though he lost the Filmfare Best Actor award to Sanjeev Kumar(Aandhi) that year.

Indiatimes Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.[2] The film became a "superhit" at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4.[3].

The film was later, remade in Tamil as Thee (1980) starring Rajnikanth, Suman and Sripriya, and Telugu as Magaadu starring NTR and Ramakrishna.

Story

The movie tells the story of two brothers, Vijay and Ravi Verma, who follow different career paths: Vijay is a smuggler and Ravi the policeman who is asked to hunt Vijay down. Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bachchan) and Ravi Verma (Shashi Kapoor) are the sons of a trade unionist, Anand Verma(Satyen Kappu), who was defeated and disgraced by the management of his firm using his family as bait. Unable to bear the public disgrace father deserts the family, and the sons are raised by their mother(Nirupa Roy)who brings them to Bombay City, who suffers the trials and tribulations of a poor single mother. Vijay Verma, the elder brother, grows up with an acute awareness of his father's humiliation and is victimized for his father's supposed misdeeds. In the process of fighting for his rights Vijay, who starts out as a boot polisher and becomes a dockyard worker in his youth, becomes a smuggler and a leading figure of the underworld.

His brother Ravi, on the other hand, receives an education as the elder brother sacrifices his education so that the at least one of them can get education becomes an upright police officer.

Ravi romances Veera (Neetu Singh), the daughter of a senior police officer. Vijay has an affair with Anita(Parveen Babi), a woman he meets at a bar. When Anita gets pregnant Vijay decides to abandon his life in the underworld, not wanting to pass onto his son the humiliation he received because of his father. But it is too late. Ravi decides to arrest Vijay, notwithstanding their family relation. Their mother sides with the law-abiding son even though the decision pains her greatly. The two brothers clash. Vijay dies in the encounter and Ravi is presented a police gallantry award by the State.

There were several stereotype breaking characters in Deewar such as bar dancer Anita (Parveen Babi) with whom Vijay has premarital sex. This was considered taboo at the time. Babi was beautiful and Nirupa Roy's, performance (in a role earmarked for Vijayantimala) was memorable.

But Deewar clearly belongs to Amitabh Bachchan. Gloriously rebellious, frightfully lonely and amazingly intense, his eyes seem to burn down everyone who crosses his path. The initial choice for Shashi Kapoor’s role was Navin Nishchal, but he did not want to play the second lead.

Cast

Credits

  • Director: Yash Chopra
  • Producer: Gulshan Rai (Trimurti Films)
  • Writers: Salim-Javed
  • Art Director: Desh Mukherjee
  • Chief Asst. Director: Ramesh Talwar
  • Editor: Pran Mehra
  • Lyrics: Sahir Ludhiyanvi

Awards & Nominations

Miscellanea

  • In 2004 a film with the same title Deewaar was released, again starring Bachchan in the lead. The film was not a remake.
  • Shashi Kapoor who played Amitabh Bachchan's younger brother in the film is actually four years older than Bachchan. (Similar to the way Roger Moore who is 3 years older than Sean Connery looks younger)
  • The screenplay of the movie is considered to be a classic and was part of the curriculum in FTII Pune
  • The original script did not have any provision for songs , the producer who did not want to deviate from the norm requested for songs to be added stating Picture Bahut sookhi hogi (The narrative will be very dry) to which the script writing duo quipped picture ka naam gili deewar rakh dijiye, (Call the movie Wet Wall).

Pratigya


Pratigya

Film poster
Directed by Dulal Guha
Produced by Dharmendra
Starring Dharmendra
Hema Malini
Ajit
Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal
Release date(s) 1975
Country Flag of India India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Pratigya is a 1975 Indian Hindi film. Produced by Dharmendra and B.S Dahal the film is directed by Dulal Guha. The music is given by Laxmikant Pyarelal. The film stars Dharmendra trying to take revenge on Ajit who killed his parents. He goes to the village and pretends to be the new police Inspector in town, and then sets about training the local police force. This has hilarious consequences as he does not know much about what he is training. The movie has Hema Malini as the love interest, and stars Jagdeep, Mukri, Keshto Mukherjee, Mehar Mittal and Johnny Walker in comic roles.The movie was a super hit and one of its song is still tuned and famous " mai jat yamla pagla "

Aandhi


Aandhi

DVD cover
Directed by Gulzar
Produced by J. Om Prakash
Gulzar
Written by Kamleshwar
Starring Sanjeev Kumar
Suchitra Sen
Om Prakash
Music by R.D. Burman
Cinematography K. Vaikunth
Editing by Waman Bhonsle
Gurudutt Shirali
Release date(s) 1975
Country India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Aandhi is a 1975 Indian movie allegedly based on then prime minister Indira Gandhi's life. It was directed by Gulzar. The movie is noted for its songs composed by Rahul Dev Burman, written by Gulzar and sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.

The movie was not allowed a full release as the similarity to Mrs Gandhi's life held it up while she was in power. After her loss in the 1977 elections the ruling Janata party cleared it and had it premiered on national television.

Cast

Music

The music of this film was composed by Rahul Dev Burman with lyrics by Gulzar. Songs like Tere Bina Zindagi, Tum Aa Gaye Ho and Is Mod Pe Jate Hain are considered classics in Indian cinema.

Song Singer(s) Notes
Tere Bina Zindagi Se Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar Picturised on Sanjeev Kumar & Suchitra Sen
Tum Aa Gaye Ho Noor Aa Gaya Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar Picturised on Sanjeev Kumar & Suchitra Sen
Is Mod Se Jate Hain Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar Picturised on Sanjeev Kumar & Suchitra Sen
Salam Kijiye Mohammed Rafi, Amit Kumar & Bhupinder
Title Music Instrumental

Chupke Chupke


Chupke Chupke
Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Produced by Hrishikesh Mukherjee,
N.C. Sippy
Written by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Starring Dharmendra,
Amitabh Bachchan,
Sharmila Tagore,
Jaya Bachchan and
Om Prakash
Music by S.D. Burman
Release date(s) 1975
Country India
Language Hindi
Budget Rs. 9,91,000
IMDb profile

Chupke Chupke (Hindi: चुपके चुपक, Urdu: چُپکے چُپک, translation: Hush-Hush) is a 1975 Indian film comedy starring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bachchan, Om Prakash, David, Asrani and Keshto Mukherjee. The movie was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and the music was composed by S.D. Burman.

Plot

The film revolves around Professor Parimal Tripathi (Dharmendra), a botany professor who falls in love with and marries Sulekha (Sharmila Tagore). Parimal loves playing pranks, and is the antithesis of regular professors. Sulekha, on the other hand is in awe by her jijaji (brother-in-law) Raghavendra (Om Prakash). She considers her jijaji to be a person of high intellect and looks upon him as her idol. Parimal develops an inferiority complex thanks to Sulekha's excessive praise of her jijaji and decides to prove that he is also just as smart. Jijaji's pressing need for a driver who can speak pristine Hindi provides the perfect opportunity for Parimal to enter into his life. Parimal decides to become Pyaremohan Illahbadi, a motor mouth driver who pretends to hate the English language and speak only Hindi. So begins the comedy of errors, as Parimal and Sulekha play prank after prank on the unsuspecting jijaji.

First they pretend that Sulekha is not happy in her new marriage, then they put across the impression that Sulekha is having an affair with Pyaremohan, and if that was not enough they get Parimal’s long time friend Sukumar Sinha (Amitabh Bachchan), who is also a Professor, but of English literature, to temporarily act as Parimal and portray him as a serious and boring lecturer, the complete opposite of Parimal's character. Pyaremohan's excessively refined Hindi, his habit of correcting jijaji's usage of the language and his persistence in getting jijaji to teach him English all serve to irk jijaji to no end and provide for many laughs. Towards the end, SuKumar falls in love with and ends up marrying Vasudha (Jaya Bachchan) who at first believed he was Parimal, Pyaremohan reveals his true identity and jijaji finally admits that he too can make mistakes. The film revolves around the resolution of these funny mishaps.

Music

The music for the film was given by S.D. Burman, with lyrics by Anand Bakshi. The movie has a number of memorable songs such as Chupke Chupke, Sa Re Ga Ma, Abke Sajan Sawan Mein.

Degrees of Separation

This film is one of two realeased in 1975 to cast Dharmendra and Amitabh together, the other being Sholay. Apart from these Ram Balram was only other film that the two starred in together ( if one does not count Dharmendra's guest appearances in Andha Kanoon and Naseeb, and Amitabh's cameo in Guddi).

Faraar


Faraar
Directed by Shaker Mukherjee
Produced by Alankar Chitra
Written by Gulzar
Starring Amitabh Bachchan
Sharmila Tagore
Sanjeev Kumar
Music by Kalyanji Anandji
Cinematography K.H. Kapadia
Editing by Babu Lavande
Release date(s) 1975
Country Flag of India India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Faraar is a 1975 Bollywood crime film drama. The film is produced by Alankar Chitra and directed by Shanker Mukherjee. The film stars Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Sulochna, Sajjan, Agha and Bhagwan Dada. The music is by Kalyanji Anandji.

Plot

The film is based around a middle-class man, Rajesh (Bachchan) living with his sister. He is in love with a young woman, and he intends to marry her once he has found a potential husband to take care of his sister. However, one day his sister is raped and murdered and the police are unable to find any clues and it is left to Rajesh to find the murderers and avenge her death. He traces the murderer and kills him, and is therefore now on the run from the police himself. Rajesh abducts a child as a hostage and seeks refuge in a house only to later learn that the child is the son of his former lover, who is now married to a Police Inspector. Rajesh is torn in two minds as whether to release the child, or use him to make an escape.

Cast

A painting of the original Hindi poster
A painting of the original Hindi poster








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