The Prakash Mehra-Amitabh Bachchan combo was a formidable one ensuring a super duper hit at the box office from the time the two teamed up f...
The Prakash Mehra-Amitabh Bachchan combo was a formidable one ensuring a super duper hit at the box office from the time the two teamed up for ‘Zanjeer’ and ‘Sharaabi’ was no exception. Loosely inspired by the 1981 Dudley Moore-starrer ‘Arthur’, this sixth Mehra-Bachchan collaboration released on May 18, 1984, set the cash registers jingling merrily with producer-director Prakash Mehra laughing all the way to the bank. Unfortunately, Sharaabi was also the last hit the two gave together, putting an end to the duo’s winning streak.
'Sharaabi' had everything a Big B fan
would want to see in his film. An emotional story about a father and son
alienated from each other, a rich boy-poor girl love story set against all odds,
great comedy, superhit songs from Bappi Lahiri, and superlative performances
from Pran, Om Prakash, and Jaya Prada. Towering above all was of course Amitabh
who aced it as the golden-hearted drunkard searching for true love.
Vicky Kapoor (Amitabh) is the
only son of business tycoon Amarnath Kapoor (Pran) who gives his son all the
luxuries of life except his love and time. Vicky is brought up lovingly by Amarnath’s
friend Munshi Phoolchand (Om Prakash) but turns towards alcohol to fill the
empty void in his life. But he never wavers from helping out those in need.
He falls in love with a
professional dancer Meena (Jaya Prada) but his father opposes the match due to
the difference in social strata. Soon Meena disappears from his life and Vicky
is heartbroken. Anwar (Deepak Parashar) a poor orphan adopted by Vicky and
now a police inspector steps in to help and unite the lovers. Meanwhile, Munshi
dies in an accident leaving Vicky distraught.
With Vicky having left home
Amarnath starts missing his son. His business partner too tries to take
advantage of the situation and seizes all his property. Vicky and all the
people who he had helped in the past come to his rescue. Father and son unite
and Meena is accepted in their family. Vicky also opens a housing complex for
the poor and homeless and names it Munshi Phoolchand Nagar.
Sharaabi got as many as 11
nominations at the 32nd Filmfare Awards held in 1985 winning only
two. Bappi Lahiri won for Best Music Director. Kishore Kumar was the only
singer nominated that year in the Best Male Playback Singer for four songs all from
Sharaabi “De De Pyar De”, “Inteha Ho Gayi Intezar Ki”, “Log Kehte Hain” and “Manzilen
Apni Jagah Hain”. He took home the trophy for “Manzilen Apni Jagah Hain”.
The song “Jahan Chaar Yaar” was inspired
by Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila’s ever-popular Bengali song “Bondu Teen Din.”
It was also memorable for Smita Patil’s cameo. “Log Kehte Hain” too was
memorable for one other reason. The first part of the song “Mujhe Naulakkha
Mangwade Re” filmed on Jaya Prada had the same situation in the 1981 Rajesh
Khanna-Reena Roy starrer “Dhanwaan” where Reena Roy performed on “Kuch Log
Mohabbat Ko” for Rajesh Khanna in an empty theatre.
In 1983, Amitabh Bachchan had
burnt his left hand during Diwali celebrations. In the film he is seen keeping
his left hand in his pocket, which became a style statement for his character
in ‘Sharaabi’.
The film’s dialogues, written by
Prakash Mehra and Kader Khan, too are well-remembered for humorous and emotional exchanges between the characters, especially the one
with Mukri…. “Moochhe ho ko toh Nathulal jaisi”.
Sharaabi was later remade in
Kannada in 1985 as “Nee Thanda Kanike” with Vishuvardhan and Jayasudha in the
lead roles. In 1991 it was remade in
Telugu as “Panthulamma” starring Rajendra Prasad and Gowthami. It was remade in
Kannada again as “Yejamana” in 2000, featuring V. Ravichandran and Prema.
Sharaabi is considered one of Amitabh’s
most memorable performances and remains a very popular Bollywood classic that can be revisited again and again.
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