Category Archives: My Reviews

1942: A Love Story (1994)

My Reviews,

Happy New Year! This is the first post of 2026 and it is dedicated to R.D. Burman, who passed away on 04 January 1994. 1942: A Love Story was one of his last films as a composer.

R D was passing through the worst phase of his career by the late 80s and was not a sought after composer during that period. But the producer and director Vidhu Vinod Chopra insisted on his name for the music of 1942. The decision was justified. R. D. delivered one of the best scores of his distinguished career. Unfortunately, he passed away before the film’s release and was unable to bask in the success of his efforts. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in spite of tough competition from films like Mohra, Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.

As a film, 1942 is an audio and visual treat. Binod Pradhan’s cinematography was widely appreciated. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is credited as the song director and leaves a lasting impact. The sets by Nitin Desai are impressive.

The Plot

As its name implies, the plot is set in 1942 when the Quit India movement was launched against the British with the famous “Do or Die” (karenge ya marenge) slogan. There are 2 parallel tracks in the movie. One of the freedom movement and one of romance.

In the very first scene, Anil Kapoor’s character is being led to the scaffold. Apparently,  he has been supporting the krantikaris (revolutionaries or freedom fighters) and is set to be hanged for this crime. The flashback begins.

Raghuvir Pathak (Anupam Kher) is a krantikari. He is talking to his colleagues Ashutosh (Ashish Vidyarthi) and Raj Singh (Kamal Chopra). Ashutosh is reading the newspaper describing the atrocities performed by General Douglas (Brian Glover). Douglas is a savage character. Its normal for him to hang or kill a revolutionary as per his will. Ashutosh is itching to teach him a lesson. The news report mentions that Douglas is being promoted and he will be leaving for England on the 25th. Before that, he will be attending a farewell parade in Kasauni from his regiment on the 22nd.

Raghuvir realises this can be an opportunity to assassinate Douglas. His associates Govind (Pramod Moutho) and Abid Ali Baig (Pran) live in Kasauni and will help in this cause. Such an opportunity cannot be missed. Ashutosh volunteers to kill Douglas but Pathak stops him. He has identified Shubhankar for the job. Ashutosh is to start for Kasauni and help with the preparations. Pathak will also go to Kasauni posing as a TB patient undergoing treatment and oversee the planning which includes building of the bomb that will kill Douglas.

The scene shifts to Kasauni. Preparations are in full swing to welcome General Douglas and so are the protests by the opposition. Diwan Hari Singh (Manohar Singh) is a respected and wealthy man sympathetic to the British Government and totally against the Indian freedom movement. He is desperately trying for the Rai Bahadur title which has been his lifelong ambition. His wife is Gayatri Singh (Sushma Seth). They have a son Naren Singh (Anil Kapoor). Diwan Hari Singh is fed up with all the talk about the Quit India movement. The Commanding Officer Major Bisht (Danny Denzongpa) assures him that no revolutionary can enter Kasauni as long as he is the CO.

In the very next scene, Raghuvir Pathak arrives in Kasauni with his daughter Rajeshwari (Manisha Koirala) in a bus. The driver is Raj Singh. The bus enters the town square where a group of people have gathered to protest against General Douglas’s visit. Major Bisht notices the Indian revolutionary flag on the bus and orders his men to remove it immediately. The crowd starts protesting and the British soldiers start beating them to crush the protest.

Naren is sitting in his car nearby with his driver Manohar/Munna (Raghubir Yadav). Naren notices a boy picking up the fallen flag and getting attacked by the soldiers. Naren rushes to rescue the boy. Someone throws a stone on the soldiers which hits the bus and breaks the window. Rajeshwari’s face appears at the window and she finds Naren staring at her. A very poetic scene. For Naren, this is love at first sight. The face disappears and Munna pulls Naren inside the car. Naren finds his father Diwan Hari Singh sitting there. His father has witnessed his “rescue” act and scolds him for getting involved with the protestors. They head towards their house called Kasauni Palace.

Diwan Hari Singh tells his wife Gayatri about the incident involving Naren and the boy. Gayatri rushes outside to check if Naren is fine but sees him leaving on his horse. Naren goes back to the bus stand to look for the girl. The driver tells him she has already left. But she has dropped her earring in the bus. Naren takes the earring and shares what has happened with Munna. They behave like close friends rather than master and servant. Naren can’t get Rajeshwari out of his mind. Its time for one of the best songs of the movie Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga.

Next morning, Naren goes to Munna’s house. Their mission for the day is to find the girl in the bus on priority. By coincidence, Naren sees the girl on a swing in the neighbouring house. This is the house of Govind, who works for Hari Singh. He doesn’t know yet but Rajeshwari is staying in Govind’s house where her father Raghuvir is secretly working on the assassination of Douglas.

So, Naren finally meets Rajeshwari. For the next hour, we see him wooing her and they get closer, assisted by some lovely songs. There is the teasing song Rooth na jaana. Rajeshwari’s realisation of love is reflected in Pyar hua chupke se. This is followed by a rainy duet Rimjhim rimjhim and the evergreen Kuch na kaho. Some more characters are introduced like Major Bisht’s daughter Chanda (Chandni) who fancies Naren.

Naren and Chanda are acting in a play Romeo and Juliet, which will be performed in front of Douglas. (Interestingly, it is in Hindi and Douglas doesn’t understand a word of that language!). Rajeshwari joins the play rehearsals as a prompter. Naren is more than happy to have her close by.

Raghuvir and his team are planning to kill Douglas by throwing a bomb at him when he is sitting in the audience watching the play. Baig is supplying the raw materials for the bomb to Raghuvir. Then Shubhankar will execute the task.

The first 90 minutes are spent on the romantic track and the assassination planning. Interestingly, Major Bisht and the police are aware that something is being planned against Douglas. How they know about it is not revealed properly. They track Ashutosh and shoot him. Ashutosh manages to reach Raghuvir’s (i.e. Govind’s house) before he dies. The police come searching and Raghuvir and Rajeshwari act swiftly and bury the body before their involvement is discovered.

Rajeshwari shares her father’s background with Naren. But Naren is only concerned about his love life. He tells his mother about Rajeshwari and his intention to marry her. She is supportive and gives him “sindoor” and asks him to go ahead. He rushes to meet Raghuvir and Rajeshwari and make it official. But his pro British father Diwan Hari Singh calls the police to inform them about Raghuvir. Raghuvir is the traitor they are looking for.

The police rush to arrest Raghuvir immediately. The police and Naren arrive at almost the same time. Raghuvir and Rajeshwari feel that Naren has betrayed them by bringing the police with him. Raghuvir asks Rajeshwari to flee and hide in the mountains.

Raghuvir goes to his room, ready to detonate the bomb before the police can arrest him. The bomb explodes killing Raghuvir and some policemen. Rajeshwari witnesses the blast from her hiding place and rushes towards the house but a man stops her. This is Shubhankar (Jackie Shroff), the man assigned to kill Douglas. He comforts her and asks her to remain strong to face the situation. Apparently, he loves her but hasn’t told her about it.

Shubhankar and Rajeshwari hide in the forest as he plans the next steps. It is assumed that both father and daughter died in the blast. Naren refuses to believe that Rajeshwari is no more. He has an altercation with his father and leaves the house. He searches for Rajeshwari and finds she is alive. Baig seems to be involved in hiding and protecting her. Baig accuses Naren of being just like his father and siding with the British. Naren does his best to convince them of his innocence. He is ready to go against his father and help in making the mission successful.

But is it so easy? General Douglas arrives in Kasauni and unleashes his cruelty. After a series of events including the deaths of some key characters, Naren is accused by the British of helping the revolutionaries. Douglas orders his execution by hanging in public. Diwan Hari Singh is torn to choose between his son and the British but is not ready to bend before his son. (Incidentally, he has finally received the Rai Bahadur title (his life’s achievement) by staying loyal to the British.) He pleads with Naren to tell the names of the real culprits and he can go free. Naren retorts that he only knows one traitor and that is Diwan Hari Singh.

Will Naren be executed? What happens to Douglas? And what is Rajeshwari’s future? What is Shubhankar’s role? The questions are answered in the long climax.

The Music

The music is easily the best thing about 1942. R. D. Burman shows his class. Javed Akhtar has penned the songs. It sounds different from the music prevalent in the 90s era. Rarely do you see a combination of great lyrics, music and a satisfying picturization. Ek ladki ko dekha which does not follow the standard pattern of a song (mukhada and antara) and is more of a free flowing poetry. Javed Akhtar won his first Filmfare award for best lyricist. And Kumar Sanu won the Best Playback (Male) award for the same song. Kavita Krishnamurthy won her first Filmfare award for Best Playback (Female) for Pyar hua chupke se. Kuch Na Kaho appears twice in the film. Kumar Sanu had sung the male version while Kavita K the female. But the female version was later recorded in Lata Mangeshkar’s voice, which was retained in the movie. Rooth na jaana carries the flavour of the 1950s and 60s songs with a distinct Bengali touch. Rimjhim rimjhim is easily one of the best rain duets. One song Yeh safar bahut hai kathin magar, picturised on Jackie Shroff is sung by Shivaji Chattopadhyay.

My Thoughts

1942 is a “good looking” film. Binod Pradhan’s cinematography captures the beauty of Dalhousie and other locations making the scenes look like a painting. Add to it the good looking actors! The directorial treatment is poetic which works well in the romantic track. The  evergreen music and poetry enrich the film. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is credited as the song director and makes his presence felt. Nitin Desai was the art director (this was only his second film). The sets of the movie were appreciated and brought him recognition.

But the story and its treatment falters. The film is slow and nothing worthwhile happens for a long time. In one scene, Raghuvir Pathak talks about letting the whole of Kasauni know that he has arrived in the town. Isn’t that a foolish step if he is on a secret mission? Why advertise your presence unnecessarily? What could have been a gripping track involving the freedom movement turns out to be disappointing until the character of Shubhankar arrives.

The romantic track works well. Anil Kapoor and Manisha Koirala are convincing. Anil Kapoor is good in the romantic scenes and later as the angry young man who defies his father and supports the freedom fighters in their mission. Jackie Shroff’s dashing entry finally brings some spunk and liveliness to the plot. His presence makes it worth watching. He won the Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actor. Other actors like Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa and Pran are fine in their limited roles.

Overall, 1942 is one of those films which did not perform well at the box office but is fondly remembered today, the main reason being its timeless musical score. Hats off to Pancham Da!

Gharana (1961)

My Reviews,

There was a time when many South Indian studios or production houses were active in producing Hindi films. AVM, Gemini and Prasad Productions were some of the big and established names. They primarily remade southern language movies into Hindi and met with success.

Gharana, made under the Gemini banner was one of such successful productions. Directed by S S Vasan, it was a typical family drama involving a joint family, romance, misunderstanding and sacrifices. It had some big names from the Hindi film industry and lovely music.

The Plot

Gharana tells the story of a wealthy family. The head of the family is Rai Bahadur Ramdas (Bipin Gupta) who doesn’t have any say in the running of the house. His favorite phrase is “Ichcha bhagwan ki” meaning “it is the god’s will” and basically admitting he is helpless. The real controller is his wife Shanta (Lalita Pawar), who doesn’t stay or let others stay peaceful for a moment. You can call her a dictator, a terror. Shanta’s typical day begins by calling out loudly to her daughters in law and make them slog the whole day. No one including her husband dare to defy her. They just let the things be as they are.

Ramdas and Shanta have 3 sons and a daughter. The eldest son has passed away. His wife is Gauri (Vijayalaxmi) who has 2 sons Gappu and Pappu (played by Moppet Raja and Master Randeep). The second son is Kailash (Raaj Kumar). He looks after the family business and travels to Mumbai frequently. His wife is Sita (Devika). Sita worships her husband and even has his photo in the temple in her room. Kailash is tired of the constant interference and dominating nature of his mother and talks about moving to a different residence with Sita. But she talks sentimentally about the importance of a family staying together. It doesn’t take much time for cracks to develop in a house when people start leaving.

The youngest son is Kamal (Rajendra Kumar), a college student. Through a silly scene, he meets Usha Gupta (Asha Parekh) and they eventually fall in love. Usha’s father is a lawyer Shyam Lal Gupta (Kanhaiyalal). She has a stepmother Sheela (Krishna Kumari) who behaves like a filmy stepmother. But Usha has a caring father who is always concerned about her well being in spite of his wife’s pressure.

And there is a daughter called Bhairavi (Shubha Khote) married to Sarang (Agha). Bhairavi stays with her parents because her father-in-law is a classical singer and she can’t stand his singing. (May be ironic but Bhairavi and Sarang are the names of 2 classical ragas!). Sarang keeps coming to meet Bhairavi and persuade her to come home but she refuses and her mother is fully supportive in this decision. So Bhairavi stays in the house and she spends her time backbiting about the other family members to her mother.

Kailash is returning home from Mumbai in a train. He meets his friend Madan’s sister Ragini (Minu Mumtaz). Ragini’s would be husband, a pilot officer had died in air crash just prior to the marriage.

Apparently, Madan had considered Kailash as a potential groom for Ragini but Kailash’s father had already selected a girl for him. Ragini had liked his photo too but life had other plans. They joke about it. Ragini is a spinster. She, along with her sister have started a dance school. She is devoted to dance and happy to serve the society.

Kailash reaches home, he has brought presents for everyone. He gifts a camera to Sarang, This is to ensure a bit of comedy and play an important part later in the movie.

He gifts a diamond necklace to Sita making Bhairavi jealous. Bhairavi is not happy as he has not got anything for her. Kailash tells her he had assumed she would be in her husband’s house. Sita offers to give the necklace to Bhairavi but Kailash stops her. He advises Bhairavi to behave maturely and go and stay with her husband. But she is in no mood to relent and leaves the room angrily.

Sita starts unpacking Kailash’s suitcase and is amused to find women’s clothing in it. Kailash realizes his luggage has got switched with Ragini’s. Next moment, Ragini arrives with Kailash’s suitcase. In their conversation, Kailash mentions that his wife is a goddess and it is her love that draws him to this house. Thanks to his mother, there is a persistent stormy atmosphere in the house and it is Sita who helps in calming him down.

Later, Sita reveals to Kailash she is pregnant. The elder daughter in law Gauri informs the happy news to Shanta. Shanta is overjoyed at the news. Bhairavi tries to poison her mother’s ears stating Sita or Kailash did not consider it important to let her know first. This is an insult to her. Shanta is quick to reprimand both and create a scene.

Through a coincidence, Kamal’s marriage gets fixed to Usha. Her father is obliging and Shanta has him agreeing to all her terms and conditions, meaning a fat dowry etc. The marriage takes place. There is a celebration song with Bhairavi and Sheela singing praises of the groom and bride respectively.

During the song, Kamal notices that his bhabhi Sita is not around and goes to meet her. She is not feeling well. He insists that she come down and makes her wear the necklace gifted by Kailash. Kailash sees the intimacy between Kamal and Sita and suspects they are having an affair. (Bhairavi is partly responsible as she had hinted this to Kailash indirectly when he had returned from Mumbai). But that is far from the truth. Kamal treats Sita like his mother. This is understandable considering Shanta’s character; displaying love or compassion is not in her nature.

Kailash is hurt. He leaves the house abruptly in his car. He attempts suicide but is saved by (who else?) Ragini. She takes him to her house and calms him down. He refuses to go back and prevents her from informing his family about his whereabouts.

Ragini helps Kailash to come out of his depressive state. Kailash recovers but refuses to go back and stay with Sita. Ragini goes to meet Sita and inform that she knows where Kailash is staying etc. He is planning to marry a second time though the law does not permit this. Sita says her husband is her God and she is ready to do anything for him. She talks about sanskriti, the duty of an ideal wife and so on. She blames herself for this situation and is ready to give consent for his marriage. How ridiculous!

Kailash comes home to collect his belongings. Sita begs her pati parmeshwar to stay for their child’s sake. But he doesn’t care and leaves.

In a random scene, Shanta is beating the 2 boys (who were mimicking her and Bhairavi!), when Gauri stops her. She raises her voice and lectures Shanta about her behaviour for the first time. She has been suffering after her husband’s death and being treated like a servant but she will not let her children suffer. Shanta orders her to leave the house with her children. Usha steps in and supports Gauri.

Kamal lectures his father to raise his voice and not leave everything to the will of God. Ramdas finally acts and goes to the extent of beating Shanta. Going forward, he will take charge of the house. Gauri will not be a servant of the house and new staff will be engaged immediately. Bhairavi goes with Sarang to their home and reconciles with her father in law. Ramdas also takes charge of the office and bars Kaliash from coming there or borrowing money.

Sita delivers a boy but Kailash doesn’t care. Kailash comes to know its Ragini’s birthday but he doesn’t have money to buy her an expensive present. He goes to Sita and demands the necklace he had gifted her. Sita hands him the box but but it is empty. (Unknown to them it had been “borrowed” by Bhairavi). This leads to further frustration for Kailash and he blames Sita and her character. His father, mother, brother – everyone makes an attempt to make him see reason. Sita tries to commit suicide but Kamal saves her.

All the melodrama continues until the misunderstanding is cleared at the end.

The Music

Gharana had some good songs by Shakeel Badayuni (lyrics) and Ravi (music). The ones that stand out are Mohammed Rafi’s Husnawale tera jawaab nahin, which has some weird choreography. Then there are 2 duets by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle – the romantic Jabse tumhein dekha hai ankhon mein tum hi tum ho, and the devotional duet Jai Raghunandan Jai Siya Ram. And finally, the delightful Dadi amma dadi amma maan jaao, sung by Asha Bhosle and Kamal Barot.

My Thoughts

Gharana could have been a fun film if not for all the melodrama. I was expecting Asha Parekh and Rajendra Kumar’s characters to team up and rebel against their tyrannical mother. That would brought some drama to the proceedings. But this hardly happens and the plot remains monotonous. Shanta is an extremely hard nut to crack.

The misunderstanding between Kailash and his wife is not convincing. If only he had talked to his “goddess” wife and brother it would have sorted matters and saved the audience from the agony. The Sita character is unbearable and she keeps preaching about the devotion of a wife, respecting one’s parents and so on. (Thankfully) Rajini’s character is not of a filmy vamp. She genuinely wants to help Kailash and make him see sense but fails like the others.

The film drags on but it seems the audience was happy with the result and made it a hit.

Disco Dancer (1982)

My Reviews, , ,

A few months ago I had read about the popularity of the Hindi film Disco Dancer (DD) in Russia (then Soviet Union). The film met with unprecedented success and became the highest grossing Indian film in the Soviet Union (replacing Awara (1951), which held the honour till then). That got me curious and the result is today’s post.

Mithun Chakraborty stars as the main character in this B Subhash produced and directed movie. Bappi Lahiri gave some extremely popular numbers like I am a Disco Dancer, Koi yahaan naache naache, Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy aaja aaja, possibly starting the disco music trend in Hindi film music. So, over to the film!

The Plot

DD is the story of a poor boy Anil. Anil is a singer cum dancer who performs on the streets of Mumbai with his uncle (father’s friend) Master Raju (Rajesh Khanna in a special appearance). They play a variety of instruments and sing songs like Goron ki na kalon ki. At the end of the day, he goes home. His widowed mother Radha (Geeta Siddharth) is waiting for him. Anil informs her that Raju uncle had to go to his village as his mother is seriously ill. Anil’s father used to perform with Raju and wished that his son will be a successful artiste. No details are given how his father passed away. Also, we don’t know if Anil attends school and seems his mother relies on his earnings to run the house.

Anil has a (bad) habit. He will not eat until his mother feeds him with her hands. This is a daily ritual. Next day, Anil goes to perform with his mother. A small girl invites him inside her bungalow. She has been watching him perform everyday and likes his singing. She even knows the song by heart and has a guitar. Soon the children start singing and enjoying until the girl’s father arrives – Mr. P N Oberoi (Om Shivpuri).

He sees people watching the kids’ performance by climbing the compound wall of the bungalow. He shoos them away angrily. He is in an extremely foul mood and barges inside. He slaps his daughter and orders her to go in. He slaps Anil and pushes Radha when she comes to protect him. Radha gets injured. Anil tries to hit him with the girl’s guitar when the police arrive. Oberoi cooks up a story. He sees his daughter’s guitar in Anil’s hand. He accuses him of stealing the guitar. Radha claims she is the culprit and is sent to jail.

Anil comes to meet her and promises he will grow up soon and teach the “Seth” owning the bungalow a lesson. After she is released from jail, Radha goes with Anil to their house in a basti (settlement). The neighbours keep harassing Radha, calling her a thief. The taunting continues even though Radha is innocent. Anil threatens to cut their tongues. Radha pacifies him and decides to leave Mumbai. They move to Goa.

18 years pass and Anil is now a young man (Mithun Chakraborty). We see him performing at a wedding in Goa (Tuntun is the bride). She pays him 100 rupees which he distributes amongst his friends cum musicians. They are not pleased by the paltry amount. He mollifies them saying at least they got something. He is waiting for the day when he will be a successful musician and will reward them in a better way.

Anil comes home. He still insists his mother to feed him with her hands else he won’t eat. Being the Hindi film mother, she obliges. He promises her that when he will be a big man, there will be a big party in his honour and she will have to feed him with her hands in front of the guests. He is still bitter about their experience in Mumbai and waiting for the day when the same city will welcome his mother with respect. He will sharpen his musical talent like a sword and stab the city (what a dialogue!).

In Mumbai, Oberoi is still staying in the same bungalow. His son Sam (Karan Razdan) is a famous disco dancer. He is traveling to Goa for a show. He performs one of the many hit songs of the movie Koi yahaan naache naache, with his partner/lover Nikki Brown (Kalpana Iyer). She is the daughter of his manager David Brown (Om Puri).

After the show, Sam is enjoying some romantic moments with Nikki in the Green Room. David enters the Green Room to talk about their next show, and Sam doesn’t like the intrusion. Sam is arrogant like his father. He insults David badly. David is hurt by this behavior. He is not a servant or secretary and demands respect but Sam is no mood to listen. Apparently,  this has happened many times but this time David takes a tougher stand. He decides to leave Sam and teach him a lesson. He vows to create a new superstar in the disco universe, and Sam will drown in his brilliance (wow!). Nikki cares for Sam and doesn’t know how to react.

Very conveniently, Sam’s replacement is readily available in Goa. David sees Anil dance walking on a bridge in the night. He is impressed and approaches him. Anil is overwhelmed by the opportunity, that to from Sam’s manager. He agrees to perform in the show. Anil assumes a new name Jimmy.

Sam is not sitting quiet. He has sent his sister Rita (Kim) and her friends to disrupt the performance. David introduces Jimmy. As expected, the audience is not very receptive of Sam’s replacement. Rita mocks him, calling him sadak chhap many times but Jimmy maintains his calm and concentrates on his performance. He performs the song Ae Oh Ah…zara mudke mila ankhen, which wins over the crowd. He doesn’t leave the opportunity to mock Rita, who is not amused. The show is successful and David is relieved.

Next day, Anil/Jimmy meets Rita. It seems Jimmy knows Rita is Oberoi’s daughter i.e the daughter of his old enemy. But is she still the small, kind girl who had invited him to her house? Doesn’t seem so. She behaves like a typical rich man’s haughty daughter. He agrees he is a sadak chhap singer cum dancer, risen from the streets. But he is confident the day will come when he will be successful enough to compel her to ask for his autograph.

Fresh from their successful collaboration, David is arranging more shows. He plans to take Jimmy to Mumbai, the place for fame and riches. Radha is reluctant to go but Jimmy convinces her. They arrive in Mumbai and pass by Oberoi’s bungalow. David mentions that it is their common enemy’s residence.

David calls Sam and informs him that he has been replaced by Jimmy in all future shows, making him agitated. Sam’s father Oberoi hears this and is angry too. He calls Basco/ Bosco (Yusuf Khan) to take care of Jimmy and ensure he does not reach the show venue. Bosco and his gang meet Jimmy. While initially helpless, Anil gathers courage (like a Hindi film hero) and tackles all the men single handedly. Jimmy rushes and manages to reach the auditorium and performs Krishna, dharti pe aaja tu.

The show is a success and Jimmy becomes a star. He is all over the media. Fans follow him everywhere. His merchandise floods the markets – Jimmy T-shirts, fabrics, perfumes, and so on. But at heart, he is the same person who cares for his mother.

Sam has sunk into depression and spends the whole time in Nikki’s house. He is unable to accept his downfall. He drinks all day. David is aware of this. He asks Nikki to join Jimmy’s troupe but she refuses politely.

One day, Jimmy meets his old friends from Goa. He also visits the basti where the residents had taunted his mother. There is a sub-plot where Oberoi is trying to grab the basti land and develop it for immense profits. Oberoi engages a foreign goon (Bob Christo) with Bosco’s help to threaten the dwellers and make them vacate the land forcefully. Jimmy helps in thwarting these plans by tackling all the goons. He comes to know that Oberoi is behind all this.

The city mayor Khandelwal (Khandelwal) invites Jimmy for a party (it’s his daughter’s 18th birthday). It is the big party Jimmy had been waiting for. The VIPs and notable personalities from the city will be attending the function. The big names gather around Jimmy. Even Sam feels insulted when his fans rush to meet Jimmy on his arrival. The mayor welcomes Jimmy and Radha with respect. Oberoi and his daughter Rita are among the guests.

Jimmy has tears in his eyes as he describes the past events of his life and talks about the sacrifices by his mother. (Yes, and his mother feeds him lovingly with her hands, as expected.) The mayor introduces Oberoi to Jimmy who refuses to shake hands and insults him openly, reminding how he had behaved 18 years back, beaten him etc. Rita realizes Jimmy is the same boy who used to sing in front of her house.

Next day, Rita comes to meet Jimmy and gifts him the same guitar that he had been accused of stealing 18 years earlier. She apologizes for what has happened. Love blossoms. Oberoi is angry when he sees Rita with Jimmy. Rita is adamant and leaves her house and comes to live with Jimmy.

A revenge game between Jimmy and Oberoi begins. Sam has started taking drugs and Oberoi cannot bear to see his condition. Rita has already revolted against him. Oberoi plots to destroy Jimmy. There are many plans. One plan is to electrocute him when he picks up an electric guitar at a party. Nikki informs Radha about this. Radha rushes to the party and picks the guitar before Jimmy can do so. She gets killed due to an electric shock. Later, Jimmy is beaten up and his legs are broken. He spends a lot of time recovering with Rita assisting him to walk.

All this has impacted Jimmy. He develops guitar phobia (if that is a term). He imagines his mother whenever he sees a guitar. He is reminded of the shocking incident. He doesn’t have the courage to pick the guitar and perform. Nothing motivates him to sing and dance.

David and Rita try to bring him out of this state but are not too successful. Will Jimmy overcome his demons and perform again? Music is his life, how will he carry on? And what happens to Oberoi? All is answered at the end after few more songs and even Master Raju reappears in the climax.

The Music

Bappi Lahiri shot to fame with his disco themed music and it attained popularity outside India as well. While not of a classic quality, all songs are catchy and hummable.

“Goron ki na kalon ki” (Suresh Wadkar and Usha Mangeshkar), “Ae Oh Ah…zara mudke mila ankhen” (Kishore Kumar), “Koi yahaan naache naache” (Bappi Lahiri, Usha Uthup) and “Yaad aa raha hai” (Bappi Lahiri) feature famous names.

There are some new names who sing popular numbers like “Jimmy Jimmy Aaja” (Parvati Khan), the title song “I Am A Disco Dancer” (Vijay Benedict), and “Krishna, dharti pe aaja” (Nandu Bhende).

My Thoughts

I am confused about the reason for the huge success of the movie. It’s not a mediocre movie but the execution could have been better. I cannot comment about the quality of Mithun’s dance or technicalities, but yes, he has the moves. (He outperforms Karan Razdan who just couldn’t dance). But Mithun outshines all others in the acting department. He has a raw and natural presence, the emotional scenes are particularly impactful. In comparison, the action scenes are tedious to watch. But Mithun convinces the audience that his character has learnt to sing and dance on the streets. He has also learnt to fight and defend himself on the streets. So, it works in his favour!

The romantic track between Mithun and Kim seems forced and they lack the chemistry. Kim is memorable in the iconic song Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy aaja aaja. Om Puri is good but doesn’t have much of a role. The villains are uninteresting and ham all the way. Om Shivpuri and Karan Razdan are irritating. Yusuf Khan and Bob Christo have strong screen presence but their characters lose steam when the hero tackles them easily!

At the core of DD is the revenge theme. The wronged hero, who returns to claim his place. He is down many times but rises each time to take on his enemies and move ahead. Maybe that thought resonated with the audience. And the music, which was “different” and something the audience was fine to accept. And credit to Mithun Chakraborty, who connects the character with the audience successfully.