Films that drew me closer to Bollywood

Disco Dancer - Indian Elvis is Here

Mithunda rocked the nation with this rags to riches story of a street singer. He also popularised the 'scooter kick start' and 'pulling an imaginary rope' dance steps that earned fame in India as Disco Dance. Mithunda became the poor man's Amitabh Bachchan after featuring in this literally electrifying film (an electric guitar held a central role in the script)

"He's got guitar phobia. A guitar killed his mother." - P.N. Oberoi (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

The novel thing about the film's story was that it was not about making music or dance but using music as a source to seek revenge from the oppresive world - original! To quote Jimmy, the protagonist in the film:

"Mother, I have my music. I will sharpen this music like a sword and stab the city's heart with it." (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Aye saala..kasam paida karne wale ki, aisa jhakaas jacket

Tarzan - Oooo..ooo..eee…eeeeee

Not many of you might be knowing who Hemant Birje is but you must be knowing about his hit film Tarzan. Such was the impact of the film that it led to a flurry of rehashes like Jungle Love, among others. As a kid I was not allowed to watch this film which to me seemed like a children's film with all those wild animals having fun, the singing and dancing. What was worse that I was not even given a reason. That made me all the more inquisitive to watch this film. My first memories of the film are that of a skimpily clad Tarzan carrying the sultry Kimi Katkar in his arms. It was done so aesthetically that it left an indelible mark on me.

A very emotional story about a boy who has been losing on the better things in life due to his upbringing in the Jungles. It is left to Kimi Katkar, the Rakhi Sawant of the yore, to come and teach him how to appreciate things in the correct light. To quote her in the film - “I shall teach him love and the meaning of it”

I heard that NatGeo has taken this film to be a part of its archive as it gives a good understanding of Indian Wild Life.

“The guy who played Tarzan was good but the elephants were more facially expressive” – A Fan


Awwal Number - First Superhero

Cricket is a religion in India and Dev Anand played the God in this film. As an actor/writer/producer/director he delivered a knock out punch that left the audience awe struck.

Dev Anand plays Vicky - the Police chief, cricket control board president, selector and the former Indian cricket team captain who scouts a new talent Sunny (Aamir Khan) who is all set to replace Vicky's younger brother Ronny (Aditya Pancholi). Ronny cannot take this lying down and plots to bomb the stadium just as the prolific Sunny goes on a rampage in the cricket field, hitting sixers at will and on special requests from his beloved sitting in the crowd.

While the action takes place in the ground, the superhero Vicky aka Dev Anand surfaces and makes a poignant request to his errant brother:

"Ronny, every one has his day (meaning to say that Ronny's role in the film was over). Tum ye mat karo mere bhai"

Ronny does not relent and DIG Vicky has to kill his dear brother in this breathtaking tale of devotion to a game, a nation and the call of duty.

“Awwal number hum hain..baaki sab paani kam hain” – Dev Anand when asked who the hero was.

Gunda – Transcending norms, a classic!

The hysteria surrounding Kanti Shah’s magnum opus Gunda remains unparalleled. You visit the interiors in Bihar, UP and MP and you will get to understand what I mean. The high points of the film are its dialogues. They stay with you long after you leave the theatre.

A fast paced film that can truly be called an entertainer. Another specialty of the film was the way sub texts were interwoven into the plot. There are several film connoisseurs and intellectuals who discuss each dialogue and scene of the film to understand the mind behind the film – Kanti Shah, the Stanley Kubrick of Bollywood.

The story doesn’t matter as the film transcends all general norms that define a film. It is an experience of a life time and I am grateful to the deadly duo of Kanti Shah and Mithun for providing us with a classic.

Some crispy and poetic dialogues:

“Ae kafanchor neta, mere naam ki qawali gaana chhod ,kaam ki baat bata, jis kaam ke liye tu billi ka dudh peeke dilli se aaya!”

“Bheegi hui cigaret kabhi jalegi nahi aur yeh tay hain ke teri maut ki tareekh kabhi talegi nahi”

“Bulla toone khullam khulla lambu aata ko maut ke tave par senk diya, Uski laash ko worli ke gutter mein phenk diya!”

“Baap pe Poot, Pita pey Ghoda, kuch nahi toh,THODA THODA” (let me know if anyone understood this)

“Do, char, chhe, aath, dus.. bus..”


Darna Mana Hai/Darna Zaroori Hai

If Fountainhead had its Howard Roark, Bollywood has its Ram Gopal Verma. At times he acts human and makes films that ‘humans’ understand and at times he takes us into a world totally unexplored which makes us feel so shallow and apologetic about our IQ levels for not being able to comprehend his sensibilities that we end up calling him names to hide our inadequacies.

Darna Mana Hai and Darna Zaroori Hai leave you awestruck. An ensemble star cast and pool of directors exercise their creative freedom to the hilt and unleash one story after another to ensure that you sweat like a pig in an air conditioned theatre by the end of it all and there lies Ramu’s victory. While the ghosts in Ramsay’s films were typecast as ugly looking, trapped in a coffin and predictable, Ramu changed the face of the ghosts by bringing them in a more congenial environment in the cities where they chose to live inside the bodies of sexy sultry sirens like Urmila Matondkar and Mallika Sherawat rather than those nailed coffins.

Mummy: So ja beta warna Darna Mana Hai ki chudaail aa jayegi
Beta: Accha, fir tum kamre se baahar jao. Mujhe usse akele mein milna hai

Ghosts in earlier films – The ugh! factor