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Krodhi (1981)
Khalnayak before Khalnayak....
Subhash Ghai is well known for his large-canvas dramatic films, namely Karz, Vidhaata, Saudagar, Pardes, Taal etc. But very few people have heard about this one, one of the earliest films directed by Ghai. This was when he used to to make action films (Kalicharan, Vishwanath, Gautam Govinda). Krodhi was conceived in 1977 on a large scale, with a cast of Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman, Hema Malini (Extended appearance), Pran, Ranjeeta, Sachin, Moushumi Chatterjee (Guest appearance) and Amrish Puri in a small role. Ghai was really excited about the project, but constant fights and disagreements resulted in the film getting delayed for nearly 4 years.
Anyways onto the plot- An orphan named Vikramjit Singh "Vicky" (Dharmendra) unaware of his parents, grows up in an environment of hatred. The only bright spot in his life is the companionship of a girl named Aarti (Moushumi Chatterjee). They grow up an gradually fall in love in each other. Vicky goes abroad for studies, although he keeps in touch with Aarti, who on the other was facing torture at the hands of her evil uncle. Soon, Vicky returns to India, and manages to get a job and a small house. He plans to propose to Aarti. However, her uncle sold her off to some people who try to rape her, and she commits suicide and dies in Vicky's arms. Angered, he kills her uncle and his accomplices, which results in him becoming an underworld don with his own private army. One of his trusted associates Neeta (Zeenat Aman) gets bethroed to a CBI officer Kumar Sahani (Shashi Kapoor) who is out to apprehend Vicky. Soon Kumar and his colleagues attack Vicky's den, forcing him to flee. His helicopter crashes and he is presumed dead. But he had survived and had taken refuge in an ashram presided over by an Acharya (Pran). Even though the latter knows who he is, he lets him live in the ashram. A few years later, Vicky replaces Acharya as the head of the ashram. He helps a young couple Raja and Guddi (Sachin and Ranjeeta) in convincing their parents for marriage. He also comes across a cheeky prostitute named Phoolwati (Hema Malini) who tries to seduce him again and again. He crosses paths with a dreaded dacoit named Jagira (Premnath) who tries to convince him to loot the ashram. One day, Neeta and Kumar visit the village, and she is shocked to see Vicky. The latter is now faced with a challenge to either run away or kill Neeta. What happens next?
As mentioned earlier, the film was delayed for nearly 4 years, and this had a negative effect on the final product. Direction by Subhash Ghai was ok. The dialogues had overuse of English which made them look forced. Music was good.
Performance-wise it's Dharmendra as usual who's in the driver's seat, with his intensity, acting and dialogues on point throughout the film. Shashi Kapoor too was good, though his chocolate boy image made him look like a joker in front of Dharmendra. Zeenat Aman does a fine job as Shashi's wife and Dharmendra's accomplice, but it's Hema Malini who steals the show as the cheeky prostitute, who again and again tries to entice Dharmendra. Funnily enough, they got married midway during the shooting. Premnath is menacing as the main antagonist and Pran saab does a brilliant job as the Acharya. Moushumi Chatterjee makes a blink and miss appearance, while the rest of the cast was decent.
At the box office, Krodhi got a decent opening, but it struggled due to negative reviews, and eventually failed to recover it's budget, although it was the 11th highest grossing film of 1981. Still I feel that it is probably Dharmendra's most underrated film from the 80s, and it's a must watch for his fans and also for those who want to see Dharmendra and Shashi Kapoor together.
Karishma Kudrat Kaa (1985)
Double Dose of Dharam...
Karishma Kudrat Kaa (1985) is another one of the collaborations between Dharmendra and Arjun Hingorani. It featured Dharam pa in a double role, along with Mithun Chakraborty, Anita Raj and Rati Agnihotri. Shakti Kapoor features as the main antagonist. The story revolves around a simple-minded widower (Weak Dharam) who lives in a village with his mother, son and sister (Rati Agnihotri). He is supposed to marry a beautiful girl (Anita Raj) whose brother is a cop (Mithun Chakraborty). Also, Rati and Mithun are in love with in each other. Mithun is after a wanted criminal (Strong Dharam) who is actually the lookalike of his to-be brother in law. Weak Dharam unwittingly becomes an enemy of a dreaded dacoit (Shakti Kapoor) and is thrown out of the village. Meanwhile, Strong Dharam, who was on the run, sees his weak doppleganger and decides to take his identity to escape the law. He stabs Weak Dharam, leaves him to die and returns home to his family. No one really notices the change in him. He succesfully woos Anita and both end up getting intimate in a drunk state, but he refuses to marry her. He also plans a scheme to sell off his sister to the local brothel for money. However, she gets raped and this incident compels him to mend his ways and he decides to protect them from all harm. At the same time, Mithun finds out that the man pretending to be Weak Dharam is actually the criminal he is after. Also, Weak Dharam had not died- he was saved by a group of pundits. Will the family ever find out the reality of Strong Dharam? Will Mithun suceed in arresting him? Will Weak Dharam see his family again?
Performance-wise, Dharmendra totally dominates the show, both as the weak simpleton and as the strong criminal. Mithun was just about ok as the cop. Anita Raj looked really beautiful and gave a good performance. Rati Agnihotri too was decent. Shakti Kapoor was excellent as the main antagonist.
Sadly, Karishma Kudrat Kaa failed live up to the expectations of the previous Dharam- Arjun collaboration Katilon Ke Katil (1981) and ended up as an average grosser. However it is must-watch for Dharmendra fans who want to see him in full flow.
Kaun Kare Kurbanie (1991)
Funny, Cringeworthy, Scary, Amateurish- You name it!!!
Kaun Kare Kurbani (1991) was yesteryear director Arjun Hingoani's last film. It featured Dharmendra, Govinda, Anita Raj, Hemant Birje and an unknown actress. The film's plot is concerned with a masked mysterious man raping and murdering numerous beautiful girls. A tough cop (Dharmendra) is assigned the case. He has a personal vendetta against this man, because this same person had raped and killed her sister. He vows to bring the kidnapper to justice. He lives with his wife (Anita Raj), a son, and a collegian brother (Govinda). Govinda is a flirt who spends his time fooling around with girls. Soon Dharmendra gets hold of some evidence which points towards his brother being the killer. He gets caught in a dilemma- whether to arrest him or not.
My opinion about this film is a mixed bag. At places, it managed to scare me. Sometimes it made me cringe like hell, and sometimes it made me laugh. But one good thing here is that Dharmendra isn't shown to be as an invincible hero. He is shown to be vulnerable, which was a bit of a surprise. The monster in the movie was both funny and scary.
Direction by Arjun Hingoani is pretty average. The songs too were mediocre, save for the title track. Talking about the performances, Dharmendra portrays the tough cop role with his usual flair, Anita Raj is ok, Govinda gives a good performance and Hemant Birje is sadly wasted.
On the whole, Kaun Kare Kurbani is a decent fare which can be recommended to people who want some thrills coupled up with cringeworthy moments and unintentional comedy.
Parampara (1993)
Seniors overshadow the juniors.....
Parampara (1993) revolves around an age-old enmity between a Thakur (Sunil Dutt) and a tribe leader (Anupam Kher). The Thakur's only son (Vinod Khanna) returns from abroad, and meets and befriends Anupam, much to his father's chagrin. He also gets close to Anupam's sister (Ramya Krishnan) and love blossoms between them. Soon she is pregnant with Vinod's child. In the meantime, Dutt Sr. Arranges his son's marriage with girl from a rich family (Ashwini Bhave) who likes him. Unable to make up his mind, Vinod ends up marrying both the women. Dutt Sr. Comes to know that Ramya is pregnant with Vinod's child, and sends his men to kill everyone. Eventually, everyone including Ramya is killed, except Anupam and the newborn child (Aamir Khan), who was rescued by Ashwini. In retaliation, Anupam attacks Dutt Sr. But is arrested by the police and is sentenced to prison. Vinod, who was away on a business trip, is aghast on what happened and refuses to speak to his father for the rest of his life. He is comforted by Ashwini, and they eventually find love. Soon she gives birth to a son (Saif Ali Khan).
Anupam is released from prison and challenges Dutt Sr. To a duel. Vinod intervenes and accepts the challenge on his father's behalf. On the day of the duel, both take their positions and aim at each other, but Vinod is the one who gets shot. Before dying, he reveals that he never loaded his gun, since he wanted to end this bloodshed. He tells Anupam to take his first son far away from there and raise him in an environment devoid of violence and bloodshed. At Vinod's funeral both Anupam and Dutt Sr. Raise swords before getting separated by Ashwini. Anupam takes Aamir and leaves for good.
Years later, grown-ups Aamir and Saif meet as college students and befriend each other. They are involved in their respective romances with Raveena and Neelam. However, everything changes when Aamir recognizes Dutt Sr. And Saif recognizes Anupam. While the former blames Dutt Sr. For killing his mother (Ramya) while the latter blames Anupam for killing his father (Vinod). The only way to settle matters is a duel. Who will survive????
One of the things which were appreciated about this movie was Yash Chopra's direction. The rest of the subject faced heavy criticism. That's not completely true. Yes, the music was forgettable, but the performances were good. Sunil Dutt was excellent as the grey-shaded Thakur. Vinod Khanna was also very good. Anupam Kher got even more scope than Aamir and Saif, and was brilliant. Aamir and Saif (on debut) sadly looked out of touch, but were decent. Among the ladies, it is Ashwini Bhave who is the standout. Debutant Ramya Krishnan also gives an excellent performance. The other two ladies are hardly there.
Had the dialogues, story and the music been better, this could have been a blockbuster.
Insaniyat (1994)
Neither so good, nor so bad...
Insaniyat (1994) sadly happens to be the only film till date to star Amitabh Bachchan and Sunny Deol together. Had heard a lot of bad things about this movie, but when I actually sat down to watch the film, it wasn't that bad. Yes, there were a lot of continuity errors, there were instances where the dialogue delivery seemed to be forced and unconvincing. One can easily tell that the film was a delayed release. Surely two- three points can highlight this fact-
1. Amitabh's constantly changing looks.
2. Nutan and Vinod Mehra also featured in supporting roles in this film, which released in 1994, even though both of them passed away in the year 1991.
3. Also in the scene when Amitabh and Anupam Kher come face-to-face for the first time in the film, I spotted another error. When Amitabh says that "Tujhe tu khud bhi chota lagne lagega aur tera yeh bada ghar bhi", at that moment he is standing on the right, and Anupam on the left, but at the very next moment, Amitabh was standing on the left and Anupam on the right. I wasn't able to understand how did this happen.
Talking about the action scenes, they seemed too clumsy. I mean it was pretty ridiculous to see a 50 year old Amitabh jumping around to dodge enemy fire like a monkey. But here I would like to pinpoint something out. How is it that people can tolerate stars like Aamir, Salman, SRK, Akshay and Ajay doing action movies in their 50s, but they weren't able to accept Amitabh in a similar way? Why the hypocrisy?
Talking about the music, the BGM was good at times. As far as the songs are concerned, only one song " Saathi Tera Pyaar Pooja Hai " registered in my mind.
Now on to the performances. Amitabh Bachchan looks old and out of shape, but with his powerful dialogue delivery he never fails to keep the viewers engrossed throughout the movie. Sunny Deol was alright, nothing special, though I do believe that his dialogue delivery would have been more convincing had he himself dubbed his lines. Chunkey Panday was a total miscast. He failed to look convincing as an action hero. Someone like a Sanjay Dutt or a Salman Khan would have been a better choice. Vinod Mehra was unimpressive in a brief role. The fact that his voice was dubbed by someone else doesn't help. Anupam Kher hams through his role. Nutan goes overboard in her scenes. There was one point where she forgot her lines. Jaya Prada is wasted in a small role as Amitabh's long-seprated childhood sweetheart. Sonam is hardly there.
On the whole, Insaniyat had all the potential to become a blockbuster- an all-star cast, long list of singers etc., but got screwed badly due to substandard writing, bad direction and unconvincing performances by the principal cast.
Surprisingly, the film managed to earn 11.21 crores worldwide against a budget of 4.25 crores.
Mere Jeevan Saathi (2006)
Has it's flaws, but a beautiful film nonetheless.
This film was filmed way back in 2001, but due to some supposed production delays and rumours of ego issues between the two heroines, it was finally released on the 3rd of February 2006. The film is directed by Suneel Darshan(Director of Jaanwar and Ek Rishtaa- The Bond Of Love),starring Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor and Amisha Patel in the lead roles.
The film revolves around Vicky(Akshay), a budding talented singer who dreams of becoming a rockstar. He has been in love with Anjali( Amisha) since a very long time. Vicky gets a big offer from the Angel Music Company in the US which he eagerly accepts. He desires to take Anjali along, but she insists on staying back.
So in the US, Vicky meets Natasha(Karisma), the CEO of the company. He performs at various concerts and Natasha helps him in becoming a star. But Vicky is unaware of her real motives. Natasha then requests him to stay back for her birthday, which he accepts. Then at her home, Natasha confesses her endless love for Vicky, saying that she was deeply in love with him since their college days. Her father had warned her that she could never win him over, since he loved Anjali, but that didn't dissuade her. Vicky had invited her to a cafe ,but on the way she gets the heartbreaking news of her father's death in a accident.
The next day, Vicky comes over to celebrate Natasha's birthday with her. She suceeds in charming him and they end up spending a passionate night together. The next day, Vicky, horrified at the big blunder, quickly boards a flight for India, but Natasha isn't going to let him go so easily and accompanies Vicky to India. There Vicky finds it really hard to control his anger at Natasha's behavior. On Valentine's day, Vicky uncomfortably tells her that their one-night stand was only a mistake and he still loves Anjali. On hearing this, she attempts suicide by slitting her wrists, but he saves her. Then he proposes to Anjali, and she accepts. On discovering that they are engaged, Natasha gets really jealous and starts dancing on broken glass bits until she passes out. She then dreams of killing Anjali, hires hitmen to bomb his car. Vicky realizes that her obsession for him is becoming really dangerous. Overcome by guilt, he divulges the whole truth to Anjali. She feels hurt, but doesn't get angry at him since he had already punished himself a lot. She then insists on meeting Natasha.
Coming towards the acting department, Akshay Kumar is okay, but not that great. I don't know why, but he looked like a child in front of Karisma. Karisma is the scene stealer in this film. She looks and acts really well. This film proves her versatility. I mean, is she the same Karisma Kapoor who played cutie pie roles in the 90's in films like Raja Babu, Andaz Apna Apna, Coolie No 1, Saajan Chale Sasural, Raja Hindustani, Jeet, Judwaa, Hero No 1, Dil To Pagal Hai, Biwi No.1, Hum Saath Saath Hai etc. to some character driven roles in Fiza, Zubeidaa and Shakti?? Amisha also looks beautiful but she seems to be struggling in front of Karisma. Songs by Nadeem-Shravan are good and melodious, but Tum Bin Na Hum Jee Sakenge is my favourite.
All in all, Mere Jeevan Saathi is a bit over-the-top and melodramatic at times, but it is a must-watch for diehard fans of Karisma Kapoor.