Starcast: Saira Banu, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Sulakshana Pandit, Dr Shreeram Lagoo, Asrani, Pinchoo Kapoor, Urmila Bhatt Director: P...
Starcast: Saira Banu, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Sulakshana Pandit, Dr Shreeram Lagoo, Asrani, Pinchoo Kapoor, Urmila Bhatt
Director: Prakash Mehra
Music: Kalyanji-Anandji
Had Feroz Khan been ready to work on Sundays Hera Pheri would have had the debonair actor working with Amitabh Bachchan for the first time. When Feroz refused to compromise with his Sunday holiday Prakash Mehra turned to Vinod Khanna. Vinod was finally signed for the role Amitabh was to do and Amitabh did Feroz's role. Not only that, Vinod agreed to play Ajay's role provided he was paid Rs 1 Lakh more than Amitabh. Mehra agreed. So while Amitabh took home Rs 1.5 Lakhs, Vinod got Rs 2.5 Lakhs for Hera Pheri. While shooting the film the story of Muqaddar Ka Sikander was narrated to Vinod and Amitabh who readily signed on the dotted line. The rest is history...
Hera Pheri which hit the big screen on October 1, 1976, inspired a Telugu spinoff in 1978. Titled Rama Krishnulu it starred Telugu legends, NT Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswar Rao with Jaya Sudha and Jaya Prada as their respective love interests.
Two small-time crooks Vijay (Amitabh) and Ajay (Vinod) loot rich, criminals for a living. One night, during a gambling session, Vijay recognizes Sheru who had assisted PK (Pinchoo Kapoor) in murdering his father. PK incidentally is roaming scot-free as Ghanshyam Das, pretending to be Vijay's friend.
Ajay is not aware of Vijay's tragic past. Later on, Ajay discovers that PK is his father. He leaves Vijay and joins hands with PK. Has Ajay really betrayed Vijay? Does Vijay learn the truth about PK forms the rest of the story.
This was one among the six films the two superstars paired up with great success at the B.O. Both were scene stealers throughout the film, matching action with action, romance with romance. In fact, Vinod Khanna bagged a Filmfare nomination for best supporting actor that year.
Saira Banu looked a tad old and haggard opposite Amitabh. Incidentally danseuse Mallika Sarabhai was originally cast opposite Vinod Khanna. She was later replaced by Sulakshana Pandit who served her purpose as a decorative piece.
Kalyanji-Anandji, Mehra's staple music directors, gave some hummable numbers like 'Barson purana ye yarana',' Aap ka sarkar kya kuchh ho gaya hai', 'Mujhe pyar main khat', 'Kaun anjaam e-ulfat nahin janta' and of course the boisterous and memorable 'Yeh waqt ki hera pheri hai'.
For those who love the Big B actioners of the 80s, Hera Pheri never fails to entertain even half a century later. For those who are yet to see the film, watch how the two superstars managed to carve a niche of their own without stepping on each others' toes.
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