[Review] Shaan
Muffy St. Bernard
full version (with some pictures & extra stuff) is available on:
http://www.freewebfile.com/bollybob }
I don't know much about James Bond. I'll admit that right away. In
fact, the only James Bond film I've ever seen is "On Her Majesty's
Secret Service" which I understand is the most un-Bond-like James Bond
film around...just my luck. But while I don't know much about the
specifics of the genre, I can tell immediately when somebody is drawing
inspiration from it...and just in case there was any doubt: RAMESH SIPPY
WATCHED AT LEAST ONE JAMES BOND MOVIE. Though it probably wasn't the
same one I saw, incidentally.
But there are more things happening in this film than just an homage
to Bond. If you've ever seen Mr. India, you might have been curious
about "what came before." Did Mogambo -- evil villain of Mr. India --
have a younger brother, who also lived on an isolated island and devised
gigantic, ridiculous plots instead of just doing things in a
straightforward way? If you've been wondering this -- and I know you
have -- you can feel free to view "Shaan" as a sort of prequel, an
"Episode 1" of the Mogambo story. Except in this case the villain is
Shakaal, and while Mogambo had a thing for acid and robots, Shakaal
likes to push buttons and hang around really big fish.
Shaan is an example of a film with a big budget and a big bunch of
ideas that don't necessarily relate to each other at all. The filmmakers
have managed to cram in a whole bunch of exciting visuals and
gadgets...but few of them make any sense, leading to a sort of
explosive, patchwork atmosphere. I have a feeling they really WERE
trying to make a Bond film...which they may have been able to pull off
if they hadn't combined it with heavy-handed family melodrama and long,
long, LONG stretches of exposition on behalf of...well, everybody.
Speaking of 'everybody,' in Shaan you've got the standard plotline
of a clash between the "virtuous" brother and the "criminal" brother
(though in this case, the criminal brother is played by both Amitabh and
Rishi...but don't worry, they are two different people in the film, not
a two-headed monster, an idea which surely occurred to the screenwriters
but was abandoned so they could afford a bigger crocodile). Vijay and
Ravi -- the scandalous but good-hearted brothers -- spend most of their
time engaged in wild, ridiculous schemes which I suspect they perform
not because they're profitable, but just because they're fun. One of
these plots involves Amitabh tricking an unscrupulous hotel owner, and
one of Amitabh's ingenious techniques is to constantly suck on his coat
collar. A brilliant and subtle moment of characterization.
The two brothers meet their matches in a pair of women -- the
glamorous Parveen Babi and the somewhat gawky Bindiya Goswami -- who are
also good-hearted con artists (both of whom, in my opinion, have more
masculinity and street-smart savvy in their little fingers than the
somewhat fey and goofy Rishi Kapoor) Parveen, besides being a
deft-fingered little minx, also displays more cleavage than you have any
right to expect in a Bollywood film, if you ask me. In fact, cleavage
seems to take the 'center stage' in this movie...and now's as good a
time as any to mention the spandex-clad, voluptuous Bond Girl who
gyrates to the opening song with highlights of the film projected onto
her body. If you decide to watch the film just for that scene
alone...try to ignore the fact there's a hole in her outfit. I suspect
that, after splurging for the final "island blowing-up" scene, they
couldn't afford a second costume for her.
Oops, I just gave away the ending, I'm sorry. But don't
worry...lots of stuff happens before the island explodes. In fact, up
to this point, there hasn't even been an island in the film. But just
you wait...
The four crooks -- along with Bindiya's sneaky uncle -- form a team,
sing some nice songs, and fall into a sweet double-dating sort of
romance that perfectly compliments their thieving lifestyles. At one
point they hijack a bus for a song-and-dance number. Left to their own
devices, this happy-go-lucky bunch of cons would have provided an
entertaining movie, posing as water-walking gurus and nightclub singers
to defraud folks of their jewelry and hard-earned rupees. But as is
always the case, Vijay and Ravi have an older brother -- Shiv Kumar --
who happens to be a moralistic police officer, a loving father, and a
doting husband. Shiv Kumar is hell-bent on thwarting the evil Shakaal's
insane plans for world domination -- Shakaal is a button-happy bald guy
who spends most of his time coercing people into loyalty in his
space-aged underwater den, located on a secret island that, as I've
already mentioned, blows up in the end. Despite his busy schedule, Shiv
Kumar finds time to mollycoddle his wayward brothers and -- with the
help of his long-suffering and thermos-bearing wife -- start them on the
path to righteous living.
All is not bound to go well, as you can imagine. Shiv Kumar is
hunted down by Shakaal's team of vicious beagle puppies in one of those
"way too long" scenes I've already mentioned. Vijay and Ravi become
hell-bent on stopping Shakaal at any cost, and their goal is made
considerably easier by the fact that none of Shakaal's rifle-bearing
flunkies can shoot a darned thing...not even a motionless child in the
middle of a barren field. I suspect this arch-villain should have spent
less time breeding giant sturgeons and thinking up newer and better
buttons, and could have redirected his time and money into training his
men to shoot straight.
But, no. Instead, he takes the typically Shakaal way out
(overcomplicating things) and he...kidnaps Rakesh's wife. Rakesh is a
carnival sharp-shooter. Get it? By putting pressure on Rakesh, Shakaal
believes he can force Rakesh to kill his enemies. It didn't take me
long to think of better alternatives to this plan.
Despite their uselessness, Shakaal's schemes are fascinating to
watch. He's got a revolving conference table with exploding chairs, jets
of poison gas, and an enormous crocodile that eats department store
dummies (but only ones made out of pâté, from the looks of it). Despite
all his gimmiks, he's not exactly a FEARSOME man...the insanity lurking
in his little bald skull is the kind of insanity that allows you to find
loopholes in every plan he hatches. Consider this bit of criminal
genius:
Shakaal is in a room with Ravi, and decides he would like to kill
Ravi. Fortunately, he has a plan: fill the room with poisonous gas, and
send in two murderous thugs wearing gas masks!
The loopholes -- which Ravi cunningly exploits -- are that the
gas-masks can easily be ripped off, the thugs aren't particularly
strong, and Shakaal himself has no gas-mask and suffers from the poison
just like anybody else would. Good plan, Shakaal...you DESERVE to get
your ass kicked!
Which, of course, he does, by both Rishi and Vijay (who had
previously managed to kill the enormous crocodile, using a sharp piece
of metal that just happened to be lying around). But before Vijay can
deliver the killing blow, Shiv Kumar's long-suffering widow (now bereft
of her thermos AND her husband) intervenes..."don't sink to his level!"
This bit of inappropriate moralizing gives Shakaal just enough time to
trigger his most diabolical weapon -- a lever, this time -- and all hell
breaks loose. This turn of events tells me two things:
1) Even considering the stupidity of Shakaal's employees, it's a
good thing that he never hired Mrs. Shiv Kumar, or his island would have
blown up much sooner, thanks to her bright ideas.
2) It's a good thing they stopped Shakaal when they did, because he
was obviously graduating from buttons to levers...and what comes next,
dials? Who knows what he could have accomplished with the mastery of
such knowledge.
Under no circumstances could this movie be taken seriously, and I
sincerely doubt it was meant to be. Maybe the filmmakers were just
having fun. Most of the time this fun exploded onto my TV screen in a
series of unbelievable scenes, energetic songs, and classic dialogues.
But the rest of the time...well, it just dragged. People stood around
and pontificated. Action sequences were never ending, and rarely
suspenseful. Comic dialogues were allowed to go on far longer than they
should have (for example, Vijay and Ravi's "I'm talking about a car, but
you're talking about Bindiya" routine, and a scene where Vijay chats up
an anonymous woman in a cafe for what seems like hours...they should
have consulted my grandfather for advice on how to keep a joke short but
sweet). It should have been shorter and faster: an action film --
especially not one hoping to move in a nonstop James Bond style --
should not spend half of the film with nothing happening.
In short: lots of fun times, but too many opportunities for smoke
breaks. And I don't even smoke.
Muffy.
Rocky Raccoon
news:3B71AB6A...@hotmail.com...
[snip]
It was supposed to be a Bond movie & Shakaal was stereotype Bond
villian without the cat (or did he have a cat - I forgot saw this
movie more
than 10 years back).
This was Ramesh Sippy's first movie after Sholay, hence it was much
awaited. But didn't do very well at the BO inspite of the star-cast.
You missed the crowning glory of the movie. Amitabh & others disguise
themselves so that Shakaal doesn't recognize them (for the Yamma Yamma
sequence). What's their disguise - black handkerchiefs tied on the
wrist - and
Amitabh changes his voice to sing in a gravelly RDBurman voice -
possibly
because Shakaal would have heard him singing in his Kishore Kumar
voice & would
recognize it.
This was the first movie for both Kulbhushan Kharbanda(Shakaal) &
Mazhar Khan (Abdul, IIRC, in the movie).
Kulbhushan shifted to art movies /uncle/father roles after this movie
& Mazhar totally dissapeared I think. Mazhar was then relaunched in
Ramesh
Sippy's TV Soap Opera 'Buniyaad' in which he was one of the most
popular
characters.
Mazhar also played the absolutely incorrigible Psmith in the Hindi TV
adaptation of PGWodehouse's "Leave it to Psmith" [ Saeed Jaffrey
playing
Lord Emsworth, Kiran Thakur playing Lady Constance, Ajit Pal playing
Freddie Threepwood , Anu Aggarwal playing Eve Halliday, Mohnish Behl
playing Mike Jackson ]
Chetan Vinchhi
Muffy St. Bernard wrote...
> {Here's a somewhat stripped-down version of the "Shaan" review. The
>full version (with some pictures & extra stuff) is available on:
Thanks for the excellent (as usual) write-up. I would just like to add
a couple of tidbits about the movie.
First, I remember this being the film which gave Kulbhushan
Kharbanda a well-deserved break. His portrayal of Shaakaal was a
curious mixture of mock evil (complete with the almost-subdued
laughter, the lopsided grin, playing with the oversized bejewelled
ring, the works), melodrama and - you got it - grandiosity.
Second, several aspects of the music deserve mention. R.D.
Burman's score lives up to the requirements of the film. I think
the first title song (played during the opening credits- there was
another one later in the movie) was sung by Usha Uthup and is
irresistable just for that reason!
"yamma yamma" that plays towards the end of the movie (with
a gypsy dance or something) is notable for one "historical" fact.
Apparently, it was to be sung by two legendary singers -
Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. However, on a particular
rehearsal/recording date, Kishore Kumar was unavailable or
something and it was recorded by Rafi and R.D.Burman. In
the subsequent days, Rafi fell ill (unfortunately, never to
recover) and hence the song was retained as a Rafi-RDB
duet, perhaps the only one of its kind.
There were other songs. One you mentioned in passing
("mai.n teraa tuu merii jaane saaraa hi.ndustaan") ended in
a fashion that can be best identified with by Bombayites
(oops, Mumbaites) - a doble-decker BEST bus being
hijacked to the Khandala ghats! The holymen walking on
water song enabled Johnny Walker (Bindiya's Uncle) to
retain his near-perfect record of having at least one song
picturized on him in every movie (notable exceptions to
this record include some of his earlier work - like Jaal -
and Anand. Any others?).
> <review deleted>
C
Muffy St. Bernard
>
> "Muffy St. Bernard" <muffys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:3B71AB6A...@hotmail.com...
> [snip]
>
> It was supposed to be a Bond movie & Shakaal was stereotype Bond
> villian without the cat (or did he have a cat - I forgot saw this
> movie more
> than 10 years back).
He didn't actually have a cat, because no cat would be silly enough to
hang around with him. :) Lots of big fish, though...oooh, I wish I
could've gotten some screen grabs...
> This was Ramesh Sippy's first movie after Sholay, hence it was much
> awaited. But didn't do very well at the BO inspite of the star-cast.
There is one Sholay-esque scene in the film -- when Rakesh is trying
to save the window and her daughter during a pretty tense shootout.
Well really, it was more of a Sergio Leone-esque scene...but quite tense
no matter who inspired him.
> You missed the crowning glory of the movie. Amitabh & others disguise
> themselves so that Shakaal doesn't recognize them (for the Yamma Yamma
> sequence). What's their disguise - black handkerchiefs tied on the
> wrist - and
> Amitabh changes his voice to sing in a gravelly RDBurman voice -
> possibly
> because Shakaal would have heard him singing in his Kishore Kumar
> voice & would
> recognize it.
You're absolutely right! Though I didn't clue in that he was
disguising his voice, I just figured somebody had done a TERRIBLE job
matching the playback singer with the actor. Not to mention, that was a
very, very goofy voice in an otherwise incredible song.
> This was the first movie for both Kulbhushan Kharbanda(Shakaal) &
> Mazhar Khan (Abdul, IIRC, in the movie).
> Kulbhushan shifted to art movies /uncle/father roles after this movie
> & Mazhar totally dissapeared I think. Mazhar was then relaunched in
> Ramesh
> Sippy's TV Soap Opera 'Buniyaad' in which he was one of the most
> popular
> characters.
>
> Mazhar also played the absolutely incorrigible Psmith in the Hindi TV
> adaptation of PGWodehouse's "Leave it to Psmith" [ Saeed Jaffrey
> playing
> Lord Emsworth, Kiran Thakur playing Lady Constance, Ajit Pal playing
> Freddie Threepwood , Anu Aggarwal playing Eve Halliday, Mohnish Behl
> playing Mike Jackson ]
I would love to put this sort of thing in a "trivia about the film"
spot on the website...it doesn't seem like this sort of information is
recorded anywhere, and the only people who know it are the people who
were following the situation in the first place.
Muffy.
Muffy St. Bernard
Alright, this clinches it...do you and Rocky (and anybody else who
cares to contribute) mind if I stockpile these messages on the site?
There's very little of this sort of information just lying around where
people can find it, I think it would be great to link to it "for those
curious."
I, for one, love rolling in this sort of information. I'm not sure
what the second Usha Uthup song might have been, I'd assumed the song in
the middle of the film (where the 5 thieves conspire to steal Bindu's
diamond necklace) was sung by Asha Bhosle.
Though yes, that opening song is a doozy!
Muffy.
Rocky Raccoon
> > You missed the crowning glory of the movie. Amitabh & others
disguise
> > themselves so that Shakaal doesn't recognize them (for the Yamma
Yamma
> > sequence). What's their disguise - black handkerchiefs tied on the
> > wrist - and
> > Amitabh changes his voice to sing in a gravelly RDBurman voice -
> > possibly
> > because Shakaal would have heard him singing in his Kishore Kumar
> > voice & would
> > recognize it.
>
> You're absolutely right! Though I didn't clue in that he was
> disguising his voice, I just figured somebody had done a TERRIBLE
job
> matching the playback singer with the actor. Not to mention, that
was a
> very, very goofy voice in an otherwise incredible song.
As someone else said in this thread, KK was unavailable for the
recording &
hence RDB sang the song. RDB has sung a lot of other songs like the
absolutely sensational "Mehbooba" in Sholay & has also shouted
"Monica, Oh my Darling" in the Karvaan(Caravan) "Piya Tu Ab to Aaja"
song.
> I would love to put this sort of thing in a "trivia about the
film"
> spot on the website...it doesn't seem like this sort of information
is
> recorded anywhere, and the only people who know it are the people
who
> were following the situation in the first place.
You can absolutely take anything you want & put it on the website.
Muffy St. Bernard
> > I would love to put this sort of thing in a "trivia about the
> film"
> > spot on the website...it doesn't seem like this sort of information
> is
> > recorded anywhere, and the only people who know it are the people
> who
> > were following the situation in the first place.
>
> You can absolutely take anything you want & put it on the website.
Thanks! There's a "tidbits" page up there now for just this sort of
thing. Wow, I love organizing information!
Muffy.
Chetan Vinchhi
>
> Alright, this clinches it...do you and Rocky (and anybody else who
>cares to contribute) mind if I stockpile these messages on the site?
Feel free to use whatever is appropriate.
>I'm not sure
>what the second Usha Uthup song might have been
No, no. The "first title song" was by UU. As you have rightly
pointed out, the "second title song" was by Asha Bhosale.
C
Mahesh Lodh
>This was the first movie for both Kulbhushan Kharbanda(Shakaal) &
>Mazhar Khan (Abdul, IIRC, in the movie).
>Kulbhushan shifted to art movies /uncle/father roles after this movie
>& Mazhar totally dissapeared I think. Mazhar was then relaunched in
>Ramesh
>Sippy's TV Soap Opera 'Buniyaad' in which he was one of the most
>popular
>characters.
It wasn't the first movie for
Kulbhushan Kharbanda . He had acted in Bhumika which was in the 70's.
He has also acted in B-grade Ramsey Horror movies like Veerana, Mahakaal
and many more.
Regarding Mazhar Khan he acted very well in Sholay. He was also there in
Bhowani Junction as Shashi Kapoor's son.
Mahesh
Rocky Raccoon
news:ObCc7.4302$NJ6....@www.newsranger.com...
>
>
>
> >This was the first movie for both Kulbhushan Kharbanda(Shakaal) &
> >Mazhar Khan (Abdul, IIRC, in the movie).
> >Kulbhushan shifted to art movies /uncle/father roles after this
movie
> >& Mazhar totally dissapeared I think. Mazhar was then relaunched in
> >Ramesh
> >Sippy's TV Soap Opera 'Buniyaad' in which he was one of the most
> >popular
> >characters.
>
> It wasn't the first movie for
> Kulbhushan Kharbanda . He had acted in Bhumika which was in the
70's.
> He has also acted in B-grade Ramsey Horror movies like Veerana,
Mahakaal
> and many more.
Maybe. This probably was the movie where he had a major role.
> Regarding Mazhar Khan he acted very well in Sholay.
Huh !!! Who was he in Sholay ?
Are you thinking about Amjad Khan ?
> He was also there in
> Bhowani Junction as Shashi Kapoor's son.
Bhawani Junction was released after Shaan.
Shaan - 1980 BJ - 1985
>
> Mahesh
>
>
Mahesh Lodh
>> It wasn't the first movie for
>> Kulbhushan Kharbanda . He had acted in Bhumika which was in the
>70's.
>> He has also acted in B-grade Ramsey Horror movies like Veerana,
>Mahakaal
>> and many more.
>
>Maybe. This probably was the movie where he had a major role.
He DID have major roles in many B-grade Ramsay movies.
>
>> Regarding Mazhar Khan he acted very well in Sholay.
>
>Huh !!! Who was he in Sholay ?
oops I meant Shaan , where he acted as Abdullah.
>> He was also there in
>> Bhowani Junction as Shashi Kapoor's son.
>
>Bhawani Junction was released after Shaan.
>Shaan - 1980 BJ - 1985
Yes but I was just refuting your fact that Mazhar Khan dissappeared
after Shaan.
Mahesh
Rocky Raccoon
>
>
> >> It wasn't the first movie for
> >> Kulbhushan Kharbanda . He had acted in Bhumika which was in the
> >70's.
> >> He has also acted in B-grade Ramsey Horror movies like Veerana,
> >Mahakaal
> >> and many more.
> >
> >Maybe. This probably was the movie where he had a major role.
>
>
> He DID have major roles in many B-grade Ramsay movies.
OK. But I doubt if anyone other than you has seen these movies.
I don't know how active Mo was in those days. Maybe he may
seen those movies & also given raving reviews about these
Ramsey movies :-)
> >
> >> Regarding Mazhar Khan he acted very well in Sholay.
> >
> >Huh !!! Who was he in Sholay ?
>
> oops I meant Shaan , where he acted as Abdullah.
Abdul, I think.
>
>
> >> He was also there in
> >> Bhowani Junction as Shashi Kapoor's son.
> >
> >Bhawani Junction was released after Shaan.
> >Shaan - 1980 BJ - 1985
>
> Yes but I was just refuting your fact that Mazhar Khan dissappeared
> after Shaan.
He was there in a lot of movies, actually. Ek Hi Bhool, Dhanwan,
Wanted,
Shiva Ka Insaaf etc. When I said dissapeared, I mean he didn't come
into
prominence, like you would expect him to after getting a big break
like
Shaan.
May have been because of the Zeenat Aman thingy.
Rocky Raccoon
>
> He DID have major roles in many B-grade Ramsay movies.
What were the Ramsey movies he acted in before Shaan.
Most filmography sites for KK show only one movie before
Shaan - Bhumika !!!
Balaji A.S. Murthy
>
>"Mahesh Lodh" <mahes...@yahoonospam.com> wrote in message
>news:LMCc7.4344$NJ6....@www.newsranger.com...
>>
>> >
>> >Huh !!! Who was he in Sholay ?
>>
>> oops I meant Shaan , where he acted as Abdullah.
>
>Abdul, I think.
>
>>
>>
>> >> He was also there in
>> >> Bhowani Junction as Shashi Kapoor's son.
>> >
>> >Bhawani Junction was released after Shaan.
>> >Shaan - 1980 BJ - 1985
>>
>> Yes but I was just refuting your fact that Mazhar Khan dissappeared
>> after Shaan.
>
>He was there in a lot of movies, actually. Ek Hi Bhool, Dhanwan,
>Wanted,
>Shiva Ka Insaaf etc. When I said dissapeared, I mean he didn't come
>into
>prominence, like you would expect him to after getting a big break
>like
>Shaan.
>
>May have been because of the Zeenat Aman thingy.
Actually, I think his "big" break came as the leading man in "ROOHI" but
didn't amount to much, nor later.
Also, I could be wrong here (and would love to be corrected), didn't he pass
on some itme ago?
- Balaji
David Chute
> If you've ever seen Mr. India, you might have been curious
> about "what came before." Did Mogambo -- evil villain of Mr. India --
> have a younger brother, who also lived on an isolated island and devised
> gigantic, ridiculous plots instead of just doing things in a
> straightforward way?
I'm sure you're right about the Shaakal/Mogambo connection: Salim Javed
wrote both films, and Javed Akthar has described "Shaan" as one of their
weakest scripts. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that "Mr. India" was
deliberate self-parody.
Akthar was saying that the movie was mechanical and lacked passion, and he's
certainly right about that. But if you take it as a collection of clever set
pieces (best viewed in installments?) a lot of it is quite well-crafted. The
set up in the first twenty-minutes or so, with the con men being conned,
teaming up with their rivals, and then getting conned again, is really
beautifully engineered. Not as easy to set up as they make it look. Amitabh
is wonderful in those scenes, too, doing sneaky verbal comedy; too bad he
didn't get to do that sort of thing more often.
The clincher, though, for me, is that Ramesh Sippy is a truly excellent
action director; the best genre specialist I've come across in Hindi cinema,
prior to the advent of movie brats like V.V. Chopra, R.K. Santoshi and R.G.
Varma. The opening assault scene, the shoot out at the stable ( with
Shatrughan Sinha as a way cool "Magnificent Seven"-style sharpshooter), the
kidnapping and killing of Sunil/Shiv (shot in England)---all world-class
sequences.
David Chute
>> He DID have major roles in many B-grade Ramsay movies.
>
> OK. But I doubt if anyone other than you has seen these movies.
> I don't know how active Mo was in those days. Maybe he may
> seen those movies & also given raving reviews about these
> Ramsey movies :-)
>
Muffy has mentioned them in the past, as have I. They have an underground
rep among movie cultists in the States. An entire chapter in the book "Mondo
Macabro: Weird & Wonderful Cinema Around the World" is devoted to the
Ramsays. You're not dissing them, are you?
Rocky Raccoon
news:B7986836.E211%dcc...@earthlink.net...
I am actually. I really don't know who are these fans who like Ramsay
movies,
but well, even Dr. Jai Maharaj has his fans (and his newsgroup also).
I can't think of a single film except "Do Gaz Zameen Ke Niche" which
Ramsay have
made & is worth watching. There maybe a couple of others which may be
OK, but
the average Ramsay production is something one should keep away from.
Their "Zee Horror Show" which appears on Zee TV is also garbage (it's
name has
been changed, I don't know what it's called now).
Their typical horror make up is coloured "Chappati Ka Aata" smeared on
the face
& wierd green gooey liquid dripping all over. Their typical 'formula'
also consists of one
scantily clad female. With a little effort even I can make movies
better than
this.
Mahesh Lodh
>> >> It wasn't the first movie for
>> >> Kulbhushan Kharbanda . He had acted in Bhumika which was in the
>> >70's.
>> >> He has also acted in B-grade Ramsey Horror movies like Veerana,
>> >Mahakaal
>> >> and many more.
>> >
>> >Maybe. This probably was the movie where he had a major role.
>>
>>
>> He DID have major roles in many B-grade Ramsay movies.
>
>OK. But I doubt if anyone other than you has seen these movies.
>I don't know how active Mo was in those days. Maybe he may
>seen those movies & also given raving reviews about these
>Ramsey movies :-)
Actually both the above Ramsay movies were made after Shaan. Veerana was in
mid-80's and Mahakaal was in 1992. I was only refuting your fact that KK only
acted in classy arts movies after Shaan.
Anyhow Veerana was total crap. ( it featured Jasmine, whose only other film
I can recall is Sarkari Mehmaan with Vinod Khanna). Mahakaal is at least
watchable. Archana Puran Singh looks quite sexy in this movie with an awesome
knockout body. It also includes a decent star cast like Johny Lever, Reema Lagoo
,KK, Karan Shah (unlike other Ramsay movies which mainly consist of unheard
actors) Actually some of Ramsay horror movies could be classified as comedy
movies.
Mahesh
Rocky Raccoon
> Actually both the above Ramsay movies were made after Shaan.
So inspite of what it sounded like in your original post, Shaan was
Mazhar
Khan's 1st movie & KK's 2nd movie, right.
> Actually some of Ramsay horror movies could be classified as comedy
> movies.
Intentional or unintenional comedy. I used to usually feel like crying
when I used to watch the Ramsey Zee horror show.
Cricfan
>
> Mazhar also played the absolutely incorrigible Psmith in the Hindi TV
> adaptation of PGWodehouse's "Leave it to Psmith" [ Saeed Jaffrey
> playing
> Lord Emsworth, Kiran Thakur playing Lady Constance, Ajit Pal playing
> Freddie Threepwood , Anu Aggarwal playing Eve Halliday, Mohnish Behl
> playing Mike Jackson ]
That serial was called "Isi Bahane". It was quite well made. Btw,
didn't Malavika Tiwari also act in it?
Mazhar was a good actor. Wonder why he didn't act in many films. He
died some time back.
Arun
Muffy St. Bernard
>
> "Mahesh Lodh" <mahes...@yahoonospam.com> wrote in message
> news:LMCc7.4344$NJ6....@www.newsranger.com...
> >
> >
> > >> It wasn't the first movie for
> > >> Kulbhushan Kharbanda . He had acted in Bhumika which was in the
> > >70's.
> > >> He has also acted in B-grade Ramsey Horror movies like Veerana,
> > >Mahakaal
> > >> and many more.
> > >
> > >Maybe. This probably was the movie where he had a major role.
> >
> >
> > He DID have major roles in many B-grade Ramsay movies.
>
> OK. But I doubt if anyone other than you has seen these movies.
> I don't know how active Mo was in those days. Maybe he may
> seen those movies & also given raving reviews about these
> Ramsey movies :-)
I've seen "Mahakaal," and I can safely say that: if Kulbhushan
Kharbanda is in it, I don't remember him, and I'm never, ever watching
it again to find out. :)
Well, that's putting it a little harsh. I'd watch it again if you
paid me.
Muffy.
Muffy St. Bernard
>
> I am actually. I really don't know who are these fans who like Ramsay
> movies,
> but well, even Dr. Jai Maharaj has his fans (and his newsgroup also).
>
> I can't think of a single film except "Do Gaz Zameen Ke Niche" which
> Ramsay have
> made & is worth watching. There maybe a couple of others which may be
> OK, but
> the average Ramsay production is something one should keep away from.
>
> Their "Zee Horror Show" which appears on Zee TV is also garbage (it's
> name has
> been changed, I don't know what it's called now).
>
> Their typical horror make up is coloured "Chappati Ka Aata" smeared on
> the face
> & wierd green gooey liquid dripping all over. Their typical 'formula'
> also consists of one
> scantily clad female. With a little effort even I can make movies
> better than
> this.
I don't know how many would claim the Ramsey films are "good" movies,
but they are rare examples of genre filmmaking in Bollywood, and not so
easily dismissed on the "curiosity" level.
I've been a horror fan since I was a kid, so it's amazing to see what
the Ramsey's do: there's no real horror film background in India, so
they can't draw from a tradition. Instead, they steal from Western
films ("Mahakaal" was a rip-off of "Nightmare On Elm Street," though --
curiously -- without the finger-knives), stick in Johny Lever, and also
throw in a lot of bawdy humour to attract whatever crowd these films
attracted in India ("rural" crowds, apparently...hence the rural
settings in a lot of their movies).
I'm fascinated by these films -- not because they're good, but because
their context is interesting -- and this isn't just limited to the
Ramsey's...I think that "Ataank," (Jaws) "Suparman," (ummm, Superman)
and (as David mentioned) "Adventures of Tarzan" have the same appeal.
It's amazing to see how Bollywood adapts them.
I would LOVE to see the early Rekha horrors...I understand she was in
a version of "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde" at one point.
Muffy
Habshi
different men in one movie ) where he kills his brides one by one .
Forget its name .
Rocky Raccoon
news:3b748783....@news.onetel.net.uk...
It's not a horror movie. The name of the movie is "Nau Din Nau Raat"
(9 days, 9 nights). I saw this almost 20 years back, but AFAIK, he
doesn't kill his brides. The story is like this, the heroine, runs
away from
her wedding & is generally wandering around. Each day a diff person
saves her (gives her refuge) - each is Sanjeev Kumar in a diff role.
10th day, all 9 attend her wedding or something like that.
It was a remake of Tamil Movie - Navratri - with Shivaji Ganesan.
Denesh Bhabuta
<rro...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>It's not a horror movie. The name of the movie is "Nau Din Nau Raat"
Did SK do a horror movie though? IIRC it was called something like
'Reecchaa' (Werewolf). Anyone remember this?
Denesh
--
Denesh Bhabuta
www.10quid.co.uk - domain, webspace and mail facilities for £10
www.dedi-serv.net - Dedicated Servers from under £75 per month
Chetan Vinchhi
Rocky Raccoon wrote...
>
>It's not a horror movie. The name of the movie is "Nau Din Nau Raat"
>(9 days, 9 nights).
Confusions galore! The 9-role movie you are referring to is
"nayaa din na_ii raat".
The bride-killing horror movie of SK was "jaani dushman".
C
Rocky Raccoon
Did SK play 9 roles in the movie ?