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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