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A few 'curry' Westerns more (Part 2 of Bollywards Ho)

Continued from the first part posted on September 30 Khoon Ki Keemat (1974) Starcast:- Ashok Kumar, Mahendra Sandhu, Neelam Mehra, Mehmo...


Continued from the first part posted on September 30

Khoon Ki Keemat (1974)

Starcast:- Ashok Kumar, Mahendra Sandhu, Neelam Mehra, Mehmood, Bharat Bhushan, Raza Murad, Roopesh Kumar & Aruna Irani

Director: Shibu Mitra

Music:- Sonik Omi

Another “curry western”, which, like Kabeela took the essential facets of the storylines of cowboy western films and Indianized it perfectly. With a stone quarry and a mine as the backdrop,  the film, despite its low budget is technically sound, has a rugged feel, and like most Shibu Mitra films blends multiple popular genres with utmost conviction. Music by Sonik Omi is also quite enjoyable with the hit Asha Bhosle number Kaun Hai Tu Yeh Jaan Liya being the pick of the lot. 

Storyline:-  John (Ashok Kumar), an engineer, saves Deepak (Mahendra Sandhu), a slacker from an angry truck driver (Mehmood) who was about to physically assault him for conning him. When John takes Deepak to a mine, he is shot dead and everyone begins to assume that Deepak is John, the engineer.

 

Wanted: Dead or Alive (1984)

Starcast:- Shammi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Tina Munim, Mazhar Khan, Asrani & Om Shivpuri

Guest Appearance:- Deepti Naval

Director :- Ambrish Sangal

Music :- Bappi Lahiri

Amongst all the films mentioned here, this one , according to me is the perfect example of a Spaghetti Western, a popular subgenre which was at its peak in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Wanted , when released performed below average at the box office, but has since attained the status of a “cult classic” from the time it was released for home viewing and was aired on Doordarshan in the mid-90s.

Wanted is essentially a story of a bandit Vikram (Mithun Chakraborty) who was once a dutiful forest officer. He is accused of killing people and robbing an entire train which prompts Neeta (Tina Munim) to take revenge on him. The main highlight of Wanted is the detailed adaptation of the Western genre to the tee. Right from the technicolor-like colour scheme to the costumes, the quintessential shady inns, and the dilapidated granaries all form a perfect backdrop. The screenplay, though loose at times also has many tropes of the spaghetti western. Mithun, with his chiselled physique, rugged look, and the necessary brooding persona fitted the role perfectly, and so did Tina Munim as the petite but brave girl Neeta. However, the highlight of the film is a hilarious comical performance by the great Shammi Kapoor as Bhim Singh. Music by Bappi Lahiri was funky, zany, and thoroughly in sync with the film. Raahi Hoon Main is probably one of the better songs Baapi has ever sung, the title song by Asha Bhosle is a personal favourite due to its picturization and infectious beats. The only negative aspect of this otherwise slick film is the forced portrayal of Kehar Singh, the main baddie by Om Shivpuri who was otherwise a fantastic actor. Clearly, he was not comfortable in this role and his weird at times comical dialogue delivery almost totally mars the impact of the overall film.

 

Humse Hai Zamana (1983)

Starcast:- Mithun Chakraborty, Zeenat Aman, Danny Denzongpa, Amjad Khan, Shriram Lagoo, Kim , Kajal Kiran , Kamal Kapoor and Ranjeet

Director:- Deepak Bahry

Music :- Raamlaxman

Released after the surprise success of Humse Badhkar Kaun by the same team, this film was a failure at the box office but enjoyed a decent run later at video halls. Designed as a Western, replete with hats, gunfights, Russian Roulette, and drunken brawls in an inn, this film was a typical lost-and-found saga. Although the director Deepak Bahry debuted with a psychological thriller Jab Andhera Hota Hai (1974), his subsequent films have moderately budgeted no-holds-barred masala films set in semi-urban or rural areas and this film was no different. The film was about an evil landlord who throws his first wife and his child out of the house after getting married for the second time. The landlord’s loyal servant is killed when he protests against this atrocity. The Zamindar’s son and two sons of the servant grow up oblivious of each other’s identity. In the end, they recognize each other and take revenge on the baddie. All three lead actors' looks and swag are based on classic Western films. High on action and music with some popular songs like Gustakhi Maaf Ho by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle and the title song by Lata Mangeshkar, this film is a decent entertainer.

 

Jagir / Teenmurti (1984)

Starcast :- Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Danny Denzongpa, Zeenat Aman, Shoma Anand, Ranjeet, Pran, Preeti Sapru and Amrish Puri

Director :- Pramod Chakravorty

Music :- R.D.Burman

This film was a bilingual multi-starrer that was in the making for a couple of years. It’s a potboiler with a treasure hunt as its major plot point having a dash of a costume drama as well. The Bengali version titled Teenmurti was a blockbuster and the Hindi version also was a decent success in India and a resounding success in the erstwhile Soviet Union. Just like most films of this genre, it enjoyed a cult following after it was aired multiple times on satellite movie channels. Director Pramod Chakravorty, maker of huge action money spinners like Jugnu(1973) and Azaad (1978)  leaves no stone unturned to frame the film into a roller coaster ride of a curry western with some elements of a heist film and even a character based on James bond films. Though the backstory takes a little too long and the songs are not properly placed, the film is a thorough entertainer. Music by the great Panchamda was superb, right from the lilting Aaj ki Raat (Asha Bhosle) to that ode to Kolkata Shehron Mein se Shehar (Kishore Kumar) to the lovely title song to the lively duet of Kishore and Lata Chor Tera Naam Hai , all songs are amazing to listen to.

 

Zalzala (1988)

Starcast :- Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Anita Raaj, Rajiv Kapoor, Kimi Katkar, Vijayeta Pandit, Puneet Issar, Sudhir Dalvi, Gulshan Grover and Danny Denzongpa

Guest Appearance : Rati Agnihotri

Director :- Harish Shah

Music :- R.D. Burman

Zalzala is a rehash, rather an Indianized version of the Hollywood classic Mckenna’s Gold (1969). It was in the making for a few years, but when released, it was a box-office disappointment. Although there are some major inconsistencies with the script, most of the mounting of the film is on a lavish scale, the characterizations are solid, and unlike Wanted: dead or alive, it has a formidable group of villains headed by Danny Denzongpa (befittingly named Sona Singh) who is hellbent on acquiring a treasure which is located beneath an ancient Shiva temple in a remote location. There is a lot of novelty in the character of Reshma played by Kimi Katkar albeit within the periphery of conventional commercial Hindi cinema of those days. The troupe of bandits along with the hired guns played by the three main leads travelling through the lush, green valleys of Kashmir are a treat to watch courtesy the brilliant cinematography by Munir Khan. However, the same can’t be said about the song picturizations. Except for the climax devotional song, they are tackily choreographed.  Holi ayee re (Sudesh Bhosle, Shailendra Singh & Anuradha Paudwal) & Chakoo Chale Tere Liye (Kishore Kumar & Kavita Krishnamurthy) were quite popular though they were hardly Pancham’s best. If one doesn’t mind the songs and dances popping up amidst a “Western treasure hunt saga”, Zalzala is quite a watchable film.

Joshilay (1989)

Starcast : Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol, Sridevi, Meenakshi Seshadri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Satish Kaushik & Rajesh Vivek

Director : Shekhar Kapur & Sibte Hassan Rizvi

Music: R.D. Burman

Joshilay clearly was the most lavishly made film amongst all these curry westerns. It was shot in the difficult terrains of Ladakh, in all probability the first Hindi film to be shot there, it had the most desired bunch of young main leads when its shoot started and it was poised to be the next Sholay. But, it was jinxed from the very beginning, shooting halted many times, and the original director Shekhar Kapur left the film when it was almost 70 percent complete. By the time, the film was somehow completed and released with very little publicity and fanfare, it met with a terrible fate at the box office and sank without a trace. However, when viewed now, it comes across as one of the most slick and well-executed curry westerns of all time with some superb performances by Anil Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, and above all Sunny Deol as Dara who showed that he has inherited his illustrious father’s famed comic timing and impish charm. Yes, even this film suffers from a weak main villain, Kulbhushan Kharbanda as the menacing Raja Saab more than makes up for it. Music by R.D. Burman was amazing, and the title song sung by Kishore Kumar is the best of the lot. It was the last creation of the famed Kishore Pancham duo. Na Jaa Jaane Jaan, sung by R.D. Burman himself was fairly popular, Dhak Dhak Jiya Kare and Dhola Dhol Manjira are the other two rare gems from the movie. One feels sad to see such a promising film failing due to fragile egos. 35 years after its release, Joshilay hasn’t aged much, it could have been a blockbuster only if the makers had adhered to its now popular dialogue, “Aadmi ko khel wahi khelna chahiye jo achhi tarah khelna aata ho”.

- By Ayushmaan Mitra

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