Since its inception, the Indian film industry, particularly the Hindi film industry has borrowed and adapted concepts, storylines, and somet...
Since its inception, the Indian film industry, particularly the Hindi film industry has borrowed and adapted concepts, storylines, and sometimes even the tropes of a particular genre such as swashbucklers, film noir, and most notably cowboy westerns. The Westerns, with its action-packed storylines, beautiful cinematography of the rugged terrains, the gunfights, and of course the revenge and treasure hunt facets have always attracted our “desi” filmmakers. The lead actors also fancied themselves looking dapper in cowboy hats, brown and taupe-shaded checked shirts, and bellbottom pants.
This knack for adapting / Indianizing the aforementioned genre reached its pinnacle in the 70s and 80s with hordes of films either getting directly adapted from the films or adapting the outfits, mis e scene, or a few scenes from them. Some were huge hits, some of them failed to connect with the audiences then though, but have enjoyed tremendous popularity when they were later released on television and video. So, here is a list of these masala curry westerns. It must be noted that I have deliberately kept Sholay out of this list as it merits a separate write-up altogether. So, are you ready for the ride ??
Starring :- Vijaylalitha, Vinod Mehra (special appearance), Ajit, Sridevi, Jagdeep & Premnath
Director :- K.S.R. Dass
Music :- R.D.Burman
A year before the much more well-known Zanjeer arrived and made Amitabh Bachchan a phenomenon, this little-known curry western was the first film to adopt the spaghetti western Death Rides a Horse much more directly, only this time the protagonist is a feisty gun-toting revenge-seeking woman named Rani (Vijaylalitha). It was unique in many aspects, a revenge seeking female protagonist those days was very rare, and even more uncommon was the fact that the film doesn’t have a proverbial “hero”, Vinod Mehra makes only a fleeting appearance as a cop. R.D. Burman’s music was breezy though not popular at that time. It’s only now that Tum bhi jhoothe and andhera andhera are talked about amongst Pancham da enthusiasts. Rani Mera Naam also is notable for the blatant use of the costumes, sets, and guns from popular “Western” films. It was unrealistic for sure, but gives viewers a high dose of snazzy visuals.
Khote Sikkay (1974)
Starring :- Feroze Khan, Danny Denzongpa, Rehana Sultan, Ranjeet, Narendranath, Madhuchhanda, Sudhir, Alka, Paintal, Ajit Singh Deol & Ajit
Director:- Narinder Bedi
Music:- R.D.Burman
Khote Sikkay is still eminently watchable thanks to deft direction by the talented Narinder Bedi,, some superb performances by its cast and above all the entire look and feel of the film which smacked of the cowboy films notably The Magnificient Seven and Sergio Leone’s Dollar trilogy (Feroze Khan’s nameless character is said to be a direct adaptation of Clint Eastwood’s character in these films). A year later, the all-time blockbuster Sholay also adapted elements of The Magnificient Seven. Music and BGM by R.D. Burman was quite popular, especially the Kishore ditty Jeevan Mein Tu Darna Nahin still infuses courage in the hearts of the audience. Feroze Khan, after this film became synonymous with this genre of films and was christened “The Indian Cowboy” by film and trade magazines.
Kaala Sona (1975
Starring :- Feroze Khan, Parveen Babi, Durga Khote, Danny Denzongpa, Farida Jalal, Bipin Gupta and Prem Chopra
Director :- Ravikant Nagaich
Music :- R.D.Burman
Cinematographer turned director Ravikant Nagaich had the uncanny ability to adapt popular genres from the West such as spy thrillers and suitably Indianizing them. Kaala Sona was his maiden attempt in adapting a Western and in my humble opinion remains his best to date. It was a regular revenge drama that was so popular in Bollywood those days but the entire film has the look and feel of a typical cowboy western right from the costumes (Feroze Khan, Parveen Babi, and a few other characters don ponchos, leather jackets, boots, and the typical cowboy hat regularly, while Danny’s character wears a headgear and has a hairstyle like a typical Red Indian) to the cinematography, the colour scheme almost everything is straight out of a hamlet in Arizona or Texas!! It’s a highly enjoyable fare with a delightfully evil turn by Prem Chopra as Poppy Singh. Music by RDB enhances the overall “Western” look and feel of the film. The BGM is out of the world and songs like Koi Aaya, Tak Jhoom, Sun Sun Kasam se are still a pleasure to listen to.
Kabeela (1976)
Starring :- Feroze Khan, Rekha, Bindu, Premnath, Kamini Kaushal & Imtiaz Khan
Director :- Bolu Khosla
Music :- Kalyanji Anandji
This film is an apt example of adapting a typical “Western” storyline and incorporating it in some other cultural backdrop, in this case, a gypsy tribe which has a very vague line between what is right and what is illegal or wrong. Directed by Raj Khosla’s brother Bolu Khosla, it is a drama with dollops of action and some “dialoguebaazi” between the protagonists. Music by Kalyanji Anandji is quite appealing, especially the Kishore Kumar song Koi Maane Ya Na Maane and the Lata Mangeshkar solo Do Phool Zindagi Ke.
Chunaoti (1980)
Starring :- Dharmendra (Special Appearance), Feroze Khan, Neetu Singh, Kumud Chhugani, Padma Khanna, Jairaj, Satyen Kappoo and Danny Denzongpa
Director : Satpal
Music :- Laxmikant Pyarelal
This moderately successful, delayed 1979 film follows the typical tropes of the Western genre to the tee. Although not as classy as a Khote Sikkay or as racy as Kaala Sona, the film is still watchable for its fast-paced goings-on and some gripping confrontational moments. Dharmendra shines in an extended cameo though he wears a hideous wig for inexplicable reasons!! Feroze Khan in his typical “Eastwood- Waynesque” avatar is again delightful and Neetu Singh looks extremely pretty. The song Mehfil Mein Paimana Jo Laga from this film was quite popular.
Kachche Heere (1981)
Starring:- Feroze Khan, Reena Roy, Danny Denzongpa, Aruna Irani, Kanwar Ajit Singh Deol, Narendranath, Shakti Kapoor, Sudhir, Komila Wirk & Dev Kumar
Director :- Narinder Bedi
Music :- R.D.Burman
A sort of sequel and essentially following the same storyline of Khote Sikkay, this film was of the early 80s but was not as successful as its predecessor. Just like the first film, it also uses the rugged topography of the badlands, Feroze Khan’s enigmatic presence, and the Seven Samurai trope of Rogues turn Messiahs, but somehow the effect is a little diluted here and at times the film looks like a spoof of its predecessor. However, the film is still quite enjoyable especially the idea of looting director Prakash Mehra’s house is quite hilarious. Music by RDB is decent here though not his best. Haare na Insaan sung by Kishore stands out .
Laparwah (1981)
Starring:- Mithun Chakraborty, Ranjeeta, Satyen Kappoo, Prema Narayan, Shubha Khote, Prem Bedi & Shakti Kapoor
Director :- Ravikant Nagaich
Music :- Bappi Lahiri
Buoyed by the surprise success of Surraksha (1979) Mithun and Ravi Nagaich signed a spate of films together, this was one of them. A love story between a slacker and a rich heiress with a bit of adventure thrown in, it’s a messy mishmash of various genres, but again for some strange and inexplicable reason, almost all its characters wear cowboy outfits, drink, and fight in pubs and stay in wooden cottages. Music by Bappi Lahiri is really nice, Koi Bhi Dil Mein na Aaya Tha and Tum Ko Maine Sapne Mein sung by a teenager Jatin Pandit of the famed Jatin Lalit duo are the best of the lot.
Satte Pe Satta (1982)
Starring:- Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sachin, Ranjeeta, Shakti Kapoor, Sudhir, Kanwaljeet, Bimal Sahoo, Paintal, Asha Sachdev, Prema Narayan, Rajni Sharma, Madhu Malhotra and Amjad Khan
Special Appearance: Sarika and Vijayendra
Director:- Raj N Sippy
Music : R.D.Burman
A classic case of an apt adaptation of a Western, the 1954 musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in this case, this 1982 action comedy was a hit when it was released but now has attained a cult status perhaps never imagined then. Right from its superb background score to its witty dialogues, the film is heartwarming and engaging thanks to an adept direction by Raj N Sippy who at that time was an expert in Indianizing foreign films, and some brilliant performances by Big B and an enthusiastic mix of young and experienced cast. Music by Pancham Da again is at its very best here. All the songs are situational and are according to the mood of that particular scene making it a proper desi “western” “musical”.
…. To be Continued
By Ayushmaan Mitra
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