Early/less known works of Sanjay Dutt

[gebruss]

I have spend a lot of my time recently watching movies which fit the topics title. Most of them don't have a thread in Film Fair, which is fair enough, but I thought I would like to share my thoughts on some of them and as they are not usually very deep or profound or long (my thoughts, that is, not the movies), I am going to make a kind of list with a brief description, which I add to as I get on with my viewing. I would really appreciate comments or anybody adding to this.

Khatron ke Khiladi (1988) This also stars Dharmendra, Neelam, Madhuri Dixit and Chunkey Pandey. It starts out with three fairly distinct storylines which come together rather well in the second half of the movie.

Number one concerns Rajesh (Sanjay Dutt), a photographer with a sideline in jewellery theft and an ill mother, who falls in love with one of his victims (Madhuri) who is the daughter/niece of some rather shady businessmen. Number two involves Mahesh, son of a policemen whose intended future wife is a psychiatrist and convinced that marriage is the number one reason for mental illness in women. He then proceeds to try and convinve her otherwise while pretending to be one of her patiens. The two girls are friends. Number three is about a masked super-hero type person who kills people who have escaped justice in court by bribery or other means. He has a helicopter and a red-lined cape and is known as the "Substitute Court". Things become complicated when Mahesh tries to arrest the "Substitute Court" while at the same time Rajesh is trying to steal diamonds from the people the "Substitute Court" has come to deal with and there are further relations between all the characters involved.

Some of the movie is quite bizzare, espcially things involving the "Subistitute Court" and there is a lot of nicely choreographed and not very realistic but rather artistic fighting and fake blood. The acting is over the top in places, but not in too bad a way. I liked the music and it certainly kept me entertained.

To be continued.......

[alexaha]

great thread, gebruss ! I'm not the one who'd know about any early Sanju movies, but there's at least one more poster here who loves his early works and I'm sure she'll contribute to this thread  .

[Anamika]

great thread, gebruss ! I'm not the one who'd know about any early Sanju movies, but there's at least one more poster here who loves his early works and I'm sure she'll contribute to this thread  .

Yup, here I am.

Although "loves his early works" is not quite true, like gebruss I have just started recently to watch Sanju's earlier films. Some, like Khalnayak or Saajan, have their own thread in Film Fair, so there's no need to write much about them here.

Gebruss, I have not seen Khatron ke Khiladi yet, and am thankful for the suggestion and the description. As soon as I can get the DVD I'll watch it. I love the Sanjay-Madhuri jodi, these two really sizzle on screen!

But there are some earlier Sanjay Dutt films without Madhuri worth mentioning too, IMO.
The first one I'd like to write about is Naam.

I could not find a thread in Film Fair for it. Naam has released in 1986 and it was the first big hit Sanjay had. It's about two brothers, as in so many BW movies - the white and the black sheep of the family. Sanju plays the black sheep (of course); the one who gets into trouble all the time and makes his mother mad. Then he goes to Dubai to prove himself and earn lots of money, only to get cheated. He starts working for a drug smuggler. His brother (played by Kumar Gaurav) and mother (Nutan) first give up on him, but later try and find him once they realize he's still alive and needs help.

The movie reminded me of Amitabh's early - and good - 'angry young man' films, but it felt more realistic, more gritty. Okay, the logic has the usual holes and the geography is strange sometimes, but I really felt with the characters, mostly with Sanjay's - his poverty and struggle, hope and disillusionment.
And in this movie he isn't a star yet, just a great actor.

There's a very interesting article in Tehelka by Mahesh Bhatt, the director of Naam, mostly about working with Sanjay at the time, right after he came out of rehab (from his drug addiction): http://www.tehelka.com/story_main21.asp?filename=Ne110406_I_can_CS.asp

Here's an excerpt:
"The making of Naam was one of the most pleasant experiences I have ever had. There was an enormous trust Sanjay, Kumar Gaurav and I shared — in fact, Kumar Gaurav was the single most important component in the remaking of Sanjay Dutt. Here was a man who was saner, on a firmer wicket, and was the producer to boot, who put himself on the line for Sanju just out of sheer generosity. It’s something you don’t see in the movie world. As for Sanju, he gave everything to the film — he was single-minded, as focused as a horse with blinkers, he just did not see anything beyond the movie. It was deeply satisfying to watch — perhaps it caters to a certain Pygmalion complex, but nothing is as invigorating as seeing someone who has been written off come into full bloom right under your gaze.
(...)Naam was a golden jubilee film; with it, Sanjay Dutt was reborn. The first time he came to see me later on, I still remember the smile he walked in with, the sunlight shining through his hair and the gratitude in his face as he looked at me. I had never experienced a thank you said so silently and so eloquently.

Sanjay Dutt is not a man of words. He’s a disaster when he opens his mouth, he has no control of his tongue, he talks like a low-grade moron. But what he feels, he feels with an energy that just surges out of him and overwhelms you. He has never enjoyed hobnobbing with people of any intellectual pretensions. The lingo he used even then was that of the common man — foul-mouthed, abusive environments made him very comfortable. The purer you are, the more distant you are from Sanju. The coarser you are, the more real you are to him. Anything refined is for him something suspect.

One of the things I loved about working with him was the relief of finding an actor who is not narcissistic. I remember thinking during Naam: This guy doesn’t give a damn about how he looks on screen, he leaves it to the cameraman and just goes and does what he’s supposed to. And this in an industry where men (and macho men, not just the pretty boys) go to huge lengths to control how they look on screen — lighting, best profile, best angle — spend hours, like women, in front of their mirrors before they give a shot. Not Sanju. It was a relief to find a male who was not in awe of his own physical form. I don’t think I’ve found an actor who fits that bill in all my life."

[gebruss]

Gebruss, I have not seen Khatron ke Khiladi yet, and am thankful for the suggestion and the description. As soon as I can get the DVD I'll watch it. I love the Sanjay-Madhuri jodi, these two really sizzle on screen!

Hi Ele, nice to see someone who shares my interest. I saw Naam recently, and I really liked it, it even made me cry towards the end with the scene in the hospital in Singapore, alas the last scene war to over top even for my taste and I started to laugh.

Sanjay-Madhuri are great together. Anther early one in which they both appear, though they are not a pair in this one, is Ilaaka The main focus of the movie is Raja played by Mithun Chakraborty who is your friendly neighbourhood gangster, in this case destilling and selling alcohol. You know he is basically a good guy, as he wanted to go to school as a boy but circumstances prevented him from doing so, and the teacher's daughter (Madhuri) loves him. He also looks after his disabled foster-father. He is at odds with the unfriendly big ganster boss, Nagar (Amrish Puri), which leads to all sorts of complications, especially after a new police inspector Suraj (Sanjay Dutt) is transferred to the area.

The plot is somewhat unusual, in that the two men actually strike up a friendship before they know that they are on opposite sides of the law, and the subsequent developments strain this friendship up to and beyond breaking point. It also involves a secret concerning Suraj's father's death and there is a love-interest for Suraj in the form of a police-woman (Amrita Singh), who is actually very good at fighting. Rakhee plays Suraj's mother and while I do like her, she always seems to speak in a halting and pained voice, which is much more appropriate when she is playing somebody severly traumatised as in Baazigar, less so here, where she is a widow who is fairly well adjusted.

The music is ok, Sanjay and Amrita get no song, but there is a nice song in the honour of Ganesh and a Holi-song with lots of Madhuri's dancing. The level of violence is fairly high but not too excessive. The DVD I watched was of not great quality. Maybe not something to actively search out, but if you come across it, it will provide an entertaining evening.

Mera Faisla (1984) is another one I like very much. This movie apparently highlights the danger of corruption but does so in its unique and entertaining way. Sanjay plays a young student, Raj, who wants to become a police officer in accordance with his grandmother's wishes. His father also was a police officer and died after he was shown to be corrupt and in league with several still influential gangsters. Raj also wants to marry his college sweetheart but her father oposses the match, as he is sure that Raj is going to turn out to be corrupt just as his father was. Raj is now confronted with the need to proof himself not corrupt as well as elucidating the mystery of the events surrounding his father's death.

The plot has several holes, a fair amount of violence, and also a substitute love-interest, for the parts of the movie, when Raj's girlfriend is forbidden to meet him by her father, whose fate rather annoyed me, but is typical for films of this period . However, the reason I like this is the music. Three songs stand out IMO: One involves Sanjay Dutt in drag proclaimin how the whole world is his/her lover because he is so very beautifull and asking the girl's in his girlfriend's hostel to defend his honour. The second has him and the substitute love interest complaining of a love-sick person phoning them, and the third involves the girlfriend and a photographer. They are all very funny and if I had the technical ability I would put them on Youtube (hint, please ). I was extremely glad my version of had subtitled songs because otherwise I would have missed quite a bit of the amusement. The grandmother is formidable. I would recomend it also for the relative novelt of seeing Sanjay play the honest and upright policeman (though he did that quite frequently in his earlier movies) and it predates the worst of the mullet phase .

Kabzaa (1988) on the other hand, is something I would recommend only to serious Sanjay Dutt fans, though I have a soft spot for this movie. It is similar to Naam in structure, in that it is basically one long flashback. It starts with Ravi (Sanjay Dutt) staggering along a deserted street with a bullett riddled chest and finaly being admitted to hospital. We learn that he is the younger brother of a lawyer who works for an underworld boss. His brother does not want him to become to involved with his clients but Ravi is fascinated by their lifestyle and also useful to them in that he has no criminal record. This boss wants to acquire a piece of land owned by Ustad Ali Mohammed (Alok Nath), who wants to dedicate his land for a children's playground. When Ravi encounters Ali Mohammed his conscience is awakened which puts him in conflict with his brother's employer. Alsong the way, the brothers acquire a girlfriend each (Amrita Singh and Dimple Kapadia) and one of them becomes seriously ill. and there is a very cheesy song which is repeated more often than I found strictly speaking necessary.

The movie seems to be fairly low budget (and all of it seems to have been blown on one exploding car) and this is its main drawback, as well as being somewhat ponderously worthy at times. There is a very cheesy song which is repeated more often than I found strictly speaking necessary.Ravi wears the identical clothes in every scene and it features the most low-key engagement party I have ever seen in a Hindi movie, when the engagement was actually public and a happy occassion.

When I saw this first I was not convinced that a playground would be such an important thing, but I have since learnt that they are very important, especially in less affluent areas, as they provide a safe place for children to play, which is not on the street and where they are less likely to become involved in gangs, which made me apreciate this aspect of the movie more.

[Anamika]

Hey, great list and recommendations. I haven't seen any of those films. I'm living in a country where Bollywood is either unknown, or restricted to the complete works of SRK. So there's very little chance to just 'come across' a film; I have to get most DVDs shipped from the US for deterring prices. There's only one dealer who has Indian DVDs in my town and I've already bought all Sanjay Dutt films he had (not many, sadly).

So it's good to know there are more films somewhere in outer space...

One I found in that shop, watched and rather liked despite its flaws, was Sadak (1991), where Sanjay plays a taxi driver in Mumbai whose sister had become a prostitute against her will, and he then falls in love with a girl who has also been sold to a procurer. He resolves to save her, tries to buy her free etc.... ...and it all becomes pretty much dramatic.

Sanjay plays the kind of role he is perfect in, the good-hearted guy who has seen hard times. In Sadak he is a working-class hero rather than a crook, and his friends are the taxi drivers and tea-wallahs from the same street. The weakest point, however, is the heroine, played by Pooja Bhatt. She's as exciting as a wet towel, wearing the same astonished expression all through the movie, and I sometimes thought that Sanjay's character tried to free her from the brothel from pity rather than love, since there's no chemistry whatsoever between them. The music was nothing special either.

But as much as the heroine disappointed me, the hero immediately made me want to watch more...

...like Thanedaar (1990) a very typical masala flick. It's with the Sanjay-Madhuri jodi I love, but they don't have much screen time together. Thanedaar is a lost-and-found story, like so many others: A brave policeman is murdered by the bad village Thakur, his sons get separated, one grows up to be a policeman, the other becomes a criminal.
There is not much in the movie that would be surprising for anyone who knows Bollywood films from the 70s and 80s. Madhuri plays a girl whose parents have been murdered by the same Thakur, who is a particularly horrible species of baddie who kills his enemies with his own poisonous blood! 
It's all extremely OTT, but rather entertaining nevertheless.

The best parts are a gypsy dance by Madhuri and a plot twist where Sanju's character - the thief - is mistaken for his brother - the policeman - and starts to play the police inspector for the villagers.
The worst parts are the usual funny sidekicks and most of the songs and dances, featuring horrible costumes and hairstyles, a strange 'disco style' music and dance, and a totally gray studio background - nothing to distract you from the costumes.

To quote your rating, this too is 'not something to actively search out, but if you come across it, it will provide an entertaining evening'...

[JenniferJanu]

Ah, another thread I can enjoy!!! 

If you want a Sanju movie that is early AND less known, you must see Vidhaata (1982). Granted, Sanju doesn't make his appearance until about 30 minutes or so into the movie, but of course, when he does appear, it's worth it. Vidhaata is a little goofy and there is the obligatory bizarre disco scene (Udi Baba!!!), but overall, it's a good film.

Another early/less known film is Do Dilon Ki Dastaan with Padmini Kolhapure. This movie is your standard boy loves girl, boy gets girl, boy's father doesn't like girl, vamp tries to seduce boy, evil villian tears couple apart movie, (complete with unexplainable blindless!!!!) but for what it's worth, it's cute, the songs are good, and Sanju is adorable. He is SO SKINNY!!! This film came out in 1985, so even though Sanju does some kick some ass, don't expect any muscles to be revealed. 

Mahaanta (filmed in the early 90s, released in 1996) is a hard to find movie, and the only copy I have is a bad pirated from the Pakistani black market apparently. But, if you can find it, I'd recommend it. I don't remember much about the story itself, other than a bad guy is trying to force Madhuri to marry him, and Madhuri's father feels he has no choice but to arrange the marriage because the guy is a major gangster. Of course, Madhuri already loves Sanju, so therein lies another problem. Madhuri is beautiful in this film (when isn't she?), and even though Sanju smacks her around a couple of times (competely unnecessary) you can't help but root for them to be together. The music is amazing (laxmikant pyarelal!!!!), and Chule Mujhe Chule is as sexy a picturization as was possible in 90s Bollywood). Plus, Madhuri's name is 'Jenny' in the film. Gotta love that. 

Lastly, I will recommend Adharm. The date of release is 1992, but the film seems to have been started long before then, judging from Sanju's ever-changing hair styles in the second half. I wrote a review of Adharm on the oldies section of the film fair, so I'll just repost some of it here:

Adharm is the story of a mega dysfunctional family. A father left one son his estate and threw the other son out because he liked to have parties where couples drank wine and danced to 'Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo' on the record player. (SCANDALOUS!!!!) The cast-out brother seeks revenge. Years pass, and he gets his revenge when he has the good brother's son framed for murder and trafficking of young girls for prostitution. (For such charges, the guy only gets 14 years!!!!! The evil brother should have framed him for killing black bucks instead!  ) The good brother goes to jail, leaving behind his wife (Shabana Azmi) and younger brother (who will grow up to be Sanjay Dutt). The evil brother isn't done. He wants his childhood home now that his nephew is out of it and wasting away in jail. Worried they will be killed for the estate they live in, Shabana, Sanjay and some guy who is taking care of them leave the estate to the evil brother and go to live in poverty. wah wah.

Anyway, the rest of the movie deals with how Sanjay Dutt is going to get the estate back. I, of course, was often distracted by his constantly changing haircuts (or lack thereof) and his overweight, not-heroine-material girlfriend Sarah. Here is another example of Christians portrayed negatively in Bollywood. Sarah is Christian (as evidenced by the cross around her neck and strapless, cleavage enhancing dresses, apparently). As in other films he's done, Sanjay is apparently too busy kicking the asses of bad dudes to give his girlfriend any attention, so she has no choice but to throw herself at him via song and dance. Only Sarah (played by some girl named Anita Raj) can't dance. She can't really act either. And--I'm not trying to be mean here--but she's really quite FAT, even for a BW actress. Plus, she's just annoying.


Another thing about Adharm--the choreography is AWFUL. But the songs are good and they make up for it. There are some homosexual undertones in the movie too, and not sure what the director was trying to say with that.

gebruss, I have not been able to find Khatron Ke Khiladi! Where did you find it?

[gebruss]

Ele, Sadak is actually one of my favourite early Sanjay movies, despite the violence and I don't mind the heroine, while Thanedar, which seems to be fairly well known, is rather further down my list. It was just too OTT for me (which is quite something), and the music and dancing were just awful, especially the disco inspired scene. Maybe I am being harsh, because I read so much in praise of this before I saw it.

I preferred Taaqatwar (1989) a comedy with Govinda, which has a similar story-line involving separated childhood friends who grow up to find themselves on different sides of the law and then have to co-operate to right an old wrong and punish a common enemy. Govinda's character is clearly inspired by Anthony in Amar, Akbar, Anthony, but still funny and Sanjay is the upright policeman with a devoted mother, though he spends much time glowering in leather jackets on motor bikes which is rather attractive. The climactic fight is very over the top but in a very fun way and ilustrates why it can be of crucial importance to wear the crucifix your father gave you .

JenniferJanu, thanks for your recommendations, Vidathaa I have seen and enjoyed, mainly because of the focus for once being on the older protagonists but the other two I have not yet seen. I found Khatron ke Khilad in the bargain bin at an Asian DVD and Music shop near the cinema where I go to watch Bollywood. It is a GVI DVD.

Another one I saw and liked very much, which has Sanjay as "a good-hearted guy who has seen hard times" to quote Ele is Yodha (1991). Don't be put of by the DVD-cover which shows a black clad woman with big hair and long metallic fingernails. It's from a rather bizarre song. The story revolves around two men on either side of the law (but in this case they are neither separated brothers nor childhood friends ) who become sworn enemies due to an unfortunate series of events and misunderstandings, although they have a common enemy. Sanjay plays Suraj Singh, your friendly neigbourhood gangster, who is all right with beating people up and smashing their homes, but won't be involved in drug-dealing, due to painful events in his past. He has a younger sister whome he adores and who falls in  love with Karan's (Sunny Deol) younger brother. Karan is a lawyer whose father is a journalist trying to expose the identity of the  most notorious gangster in the city who also happens to be Suraj's boss. Little do Karan and his father know that this Gangster is actually a highly respected judge, though the viewer knows this from the start. All sort of drama ensues.

I liked the music in this one, though it is not always well integrated into the plot (or integrated at all for that matter), some of the comic relief is actually funny, Anjana Mumtaz plays Karan's mother and she is one of my favourite mother's. On the downside, I had problems getting a working DVD of this movie, and I still have to watch the second half in Stop and Go, and there is a drastic depiction of drug-abuse and a lot of violence against women. But if you wanted to know how to turn your enemy into a dog, this is the movie for you .

[JenniferJanu]

What does everyone think of Rocky? I LOVE it. I even love the convoluted, WTF? storyline involving the electric shock therapy and Rocky's mother being told that in order for her son to stay sane, she must hide from him at all costs. hahahaha. That doctor should have had his license taken away!

[gebruss]

It's rather embarrasing but I haven't seen Rocky yet , so I can't comment. It is, however, on my rental list. It does sound like my cup of tea as I am very WTF resistant and tend to rather enjoy more outlandish story-lines.

[Anamika]

Jennifer, Gebruss, thanks for the reviews. Looks like I have to sacrifice another 50 Euros and order a big bunch of DVDs from Nehaflix...

Until now, I just bought whatever I could find (as long as it had Sanjay on the cover and I could get it for a reasonable price) without any idea what the film is like - apart from occasional plot summaries on IMDB. So this really helps me deciding what to look for.

Jennifer, I just got Adharm this week, and will watch it soon.

Rocky is a film I like because of Sanjay's youth, the boyishly awkward dancing, the OTT action scenes - especially the fight on bikes - and some sweet moments. The plot with that 'he goes mad when he sees his mother' story reminded me of some Manmohan Desai films with their very carefree attitude towards medicine (and logic in general). So it's one of the films I watch when I'm in the mood for sheer Bollywood madness, but it's not a movie I would usually recommend...
...except to WTF resistant co-bollywhaters liike Gebruss. Yes, go watch it, you'll have fun.

Gebruss, I might also give Taaqatwar a try, but I am somewhat allergic to Govinda. I have seen Do Qaidi (1989) with Sanjay and Govinda; and only because of Sanjay I watched it all the way to the end. I just can't stand Govinda's eternal grin and general inability to act. (Hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings here, it's just my personal opinion). The story of Do Qaidi isn't even bad, it's about two small-scale criminals who hate each other but are forced by fate to work together against a bigger enemy (plus they fall in love with two sisters), and it definitely has some funny and sweet moments - but a lot of WTF action in the 2nd half (not action necessary for the plot, it looks like the director was just fond of showing very long scenes of guys hitting each other or shedding a lot of filmi blood on the scenery).

And you are right, most of Thanedar's dancing and music is among the very worst I have ever seen in Bollywood. That disco dance is enough to make me want run away screaming. 
If anyone dares to watch it, I even saw it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU7K09vvkd8

[JenniferJanu]

And you are right, most of Thanedar's dancing and music is among the very worst I have ever seen in Bollywood. That disco dance is enough to make me want run away screaming. 
If anyone dares to watch it, I even saw it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU7K09vvkd8

If you are talking about 'Tamma Tamma Loge', I think it's actually kind of cool. Sanju isn't known for his dancing, but he does a good job in this one--especially during that Middle Eastern style sequence. Yeah, the song is hokey, but you have to give Madhuri props for doing those dance steps in 5 inch heeled boots!! Also, Madhuri's dance in 'Pehli Pehli Baar Aisa Thaneedar Aaya' is very good and I love the song. I haven't seen actual film yet, but those are the two songs I have on my Century of Sanjay Dutt DVD.

Gebruss, we can't consider you a TRUE Sanju Baba fan until you see ROCKY!!!  So get on it!   

BTW, I completely forgot to recommend Sahibaan (1992). There should be a review (and screen shots) on the Film Fair thread. Again, the biggest disappointment is that Rishi Kapoor plays Madhuri's love interest in the film, not Sanju (even though Sanju has a thing for her and happily has her kidnapped at one point).

[gebruss]

Just a quick one: Ele, I send you a PM, did you get that?

Also, I like Do Qaidi but then I belong to the minority who likes Govinda and I thought the songs were rather fun, apart from the family-bonding one. The end, however, is rather strange.

[Anamika]

Just a quick one: Ele, I send you a PM, did you get that?

I did, thanks  - my answer should be in your PM inbox by now.

Also, I like Do Qaidi but then I belong to the minority who likes Govinda and I thought the songs were rather fun, apart from the family-bonding one. The end, however, is rather strange.

Looks like I'm simply less tolerant towards some actors than you are (Pooja Bhatt, Govinda...) - I wish I could switch this characteristic off sometimes, so I could enjoy more films. But I can't ...  

[gebruss]

If you are talking about 'Tamma Tamma Loge', I think it's actually kind of cool. Sanju isn't known for his dancing, but he does a good job in this one--especially during that Middle Eastern style sequence. Yeah, the song is hokey, but you have to give Madhuri props for doing those dance steps in 5 inch heeled boots!! Also, Madhuri's dance in 'Pehli Pehli Baar Aisa Thaneedar Aaya' is very good and I love the song. I haven't seen actual film yet, but those are the two songs I have on my Century of Sanjay Dutt DVD.

I suppose we have to agree to disagree on the merit of "Tamma Tamma Loge", though you are right, technically -as far as the dancing is concerned- the song isn't bad. It is also odd in the context of the film as it is the only time Madhuri wears western clothes.

I have to admit I was pleasently surprised by Sanjay's dancing in some of the other early stuff I have seen, especially in "Mera Faisla". He sometimes looks as if he actually enjoys what he is doing and there is less of the he standing ramrod stiff while the female drapes herself around him which is common in more recent movies.

I really like Sahibaan as well, and the thread in the FilmFair is one of the funniest around.

ILooks like I'm simply less tolerant towards some actors than you are (Pooja Bhatt, Govinda...) - I wish I could switch this characteristic off sometimes, so I could enjoy more films. But I can't ...  

I might just as well come clean now and confess that I have high less popular actor tolerance levels. I genuinely like Rishi Kapoor, I have no problem with Twinkle Khanna, Anil Kapoor or any of the other actors frequently reviled on this forum. I find Johny Lever funny (well, not all the time, but he certainly has grown on me). The two people I have problems with are Salman Khan and Aishwarya, but even them I can tolerate in combination with actors I like, though I find it easier with Salman than with Aishwarya.

Anyway, before I derail the topic any further, another more obscure movie is Do Matwale (1991). The story revolves around Amar (Chunky Pandey) who comes to the city for medical treatment of his mother and promptly falls in love with the doctor. He also meets Ajay (Sanjay Dutt), a (surprise) small time gangster who is devoted to his sister who happens to be the aforementioned doctor. While the two men start of on a friendly basis this soon turns to emnity and the situation is not helped  by the fact that Amar starts working for some crime lords to finance his mother's treatment. Tragic circumstances conspire to push the two further apart. The story is fairly standard, but the three crime lords are interesting as they are not all equally evil. Two of them are your standard BW-villain, in this case with a repulsive attitude to women, but one is actually more funny and shows some character development. 

The song picturiasation are largely on the bizzarre end of entertaining, and there is a comic relief character who keeps popping up every time you thought you had finally seen the last of him , but it is also rich in depiction of male angst and longing or depressed looks which are rather attractive.

Then there is alsoMera Haque (1986) starring Sanjay Dutt -for a change- as an aristocratic landowner, Amar Singh, who returns from foreign parts to find himself not only unwelcomed by his family, but his stepmother (who smokes, drinks alcohol, and dances with strangers) and the manager of the estates actively try to kill him as they are opressing the local population and don't want him to interfere. The only person glad to see him is his grandmother, and a village beauty. In the end, the family seems to have suceeded, or have they? The story actually generates some suspense, there is the requisite comic relief in form of an uncle, and a very funny song involving scare-crows.

[JenniferJanu]

I wanted to order Mera Haque, but two things have prevented me: Anita Raj (from the aforementioned Adharm) and the music (I somehow managed to find the cassette at a dirty, dingy video store on Devon Avenue in Chicago, and was not too impressed). But I may just have to order it since my collection of unwatched Sanju films is dwindling. Besides, I heard that despite the fact that it's Anita Raj, there's a pretty hot scene between her and Sanju. Correct?

A few years ago I managed to get my hands on one of those black market song compilation video cassettes sold in Dubai from AA Video--this one called Super Duper Sanjay Dutt (yeah, nice title )  It has a lot of songs from obscure Sanju movies  like Johnny I Love You, Jaan Ki Baazi and others. It's too bad that the DVD market has obliterated these cheap, very cool compilations. I wonder if there are any others floating around....

Another Sanju film worth getting: Gumrah (1993), with Sridevi. Sridevi plays a pop singer and Sanju plays her biggest fan (and somewhat of a STALKER), but unlike Rishi Kapoor in his stalker roles, Sanju plays the character with a lot of humor, so it's not creepy (he's actually very funny and Sridevi isn't impressed by the stalking. She rebuffs him, so that's good). The second half of the movie is much darker, when Sridevi is arrested for allegedly smuggling drugs into Hong Kong (her boyfriend actually stuck the drugs in her makeup bag without her knowing). Sri is thrown in a Hong Kong jail, but guess who comes to her rescue? Yep, Sanju, who is much less stalker-ish and more compassionate. Check it out--good music, good humor, and good serious scenes as well, especially when Sanju is being beaten by the guards and Sridevi is forced to listen to it all.
The only drawback--and it's kind of a big one--is that Sanju and Sridevi do not have any chemistry at all. Could have something to do with an inteview I read once where Sanju claimed Sridevi was less than thrilled to be working with him, due to the way he used to act when he was using drugs. But who knows. Also, token white guy actor Bob Christo is annoying as the evil guard of the jail.

[gebruss]

I wanted to order Mera Haque, but two things have prevented me: Anita Raj (from the aforementioned Adharm) and the music (I somehow managed to find the cassette at a dirty, dingy video store on Devon Avenue in Chicago, and was not too impressed). But I may just have to order it since my collection of unwatched Sanju films is dwindling. Besides, I heard that despite the fact that it's Anita Raj, there's a pretty hot scene between her and Sanju. Correct?

I would think Mera Haque is worth a look especially if it is not too expensive. The heroine actually doesn't have all that much screen-time, if I remember correctly, plus there is one hot scene and while the music is nothing to get enthusiastic about it is not all bad either and at least some of the fun comes from the visuals. It also has the advantage of -in a way-including two Sanjays in one movie, as he is the upright and dutiful Amar, as well as a small-time crook complete with moustache .

[LolaRuns]

I love Sahibaan. It's crazy and I love it.

I actually liked Kabzaa, mostly for Alok Nath's character and the whole Ghandi message. And yeah, Vidhataa is a good one. I have a crazy crush on Sanjay's love interest in that one. Very, very, very pretty girl, looked great in simple, traditional outfits.

That crazy disco song actually gives a completely false impression of Thandedar which is actually mostly a village story and Madhuri as two great dances in village girl outfits (with Sanjay wearing a police uniform). It also has this totally cracked up song (I think) where Sanjay fantasizes about getting married to Madhuri and she'll turn into a total bitch and spend all his money. Thanedaar is mostly wasted opportunities though. It starts out *very* cute and funny. Sanjay is a thief, Madhuri is a bossy village girl who agrees to help him rob a jewelry store if instead he'll come and save her village, he gets there and gets declared chief of police...

But once the big action/revenge storylines starts it all pretty much falls apart and gets boring. Plus, some of the most hair raisingly bad cutting mistakes and inconsistancies.

I've since forever been trying to get Jaan Ki Baazi mostly because I once saw a rain song from I think this movie and it looks *awesome* (drunk, young Sanjay and his love interest fooling around in the rain).

Hmmm Mera Haque sounds interesting too. I'll see if I can get it.

Speaking of young!Sanjay, this is the most adorable facial expression ever: http://journey-archives.org/rocky/rocky_040.jpg

[JenniferJanu]

Speaking of young!Sanjay, this is the most adorable facial expression ever: http://journey-archives.org/rocky/rocky_040.jpg

eeeeeiiiiiii!!!!!  What a cutie!!!!!

And I don't care what anyone says--I love him in his overalls in Rocky, despite the fact that he's far too old to be wearing them....

LolaRuns: I haven't seen the rain song from Jaan Ki Baazi!!! I have 'Bombaya,' which has Sanju being tossed around by some guys and bothering some poor girl.

Is Mera Haque the only film where Sanju appears in a double role? I can't think of any others (Vaastav and Hathyar don't count since they are separate films).

[LolaRuns]

Hmmm, could it be Mera Haaq then? The song is I think both of them dressed in white, carrying around a huge bottle, getting drunk and stumbling around in the rain. Does anybody remember a movie with a song like that?

I must check, I think I still have the video clip of it lying around somewhere.

[Anamika]

Is Mera Haque the only film where Sanju appears in a double role? I can't think of any others (Vaastav and Hathyar don't count since they are separate films).

I can't think of another one, either, but there are so many films I have still not seen. The cast list on IMDB looks as if Khoon Ka Karz has him play a double role, but it might be one like in Thanedar, where he plays a thief who pretends to be a police inspector, so it's not really a double role.

BTW, has anyone seen that film Khoon Ka Karz? I'd like to know it it's worth watching at all, since I saw a very amusing but disheartening 'review' here:
"Khoon Ka Karz This may be more confusing than a David Lynch film. All we can tell you is three bad guys band together when they find they all came from the same orphanage. They are fighting the corrupt police, singing and dancing and creating mayhem while they earn money for their alma mater. It may have been made from snippets found on the cutting room floor, or perhaps the subtitles are from a different film. If you figure it out send us a review"

[gebruss]

I actually liked Kabzaa, mostly for Alok Nath's character and the whole Ghandi message.

It's not so much that I dislike Kabzaa, it has a good story, just that, IMO, the execution leaves somewhat to be desired and if someone asked me for a recommendation it is not the first one that springs to mind.

It also has this totally cracked up song (I think) where Sanjay fantasizes about getting married to Madhuri and she'll turn into a total bitch and spend all his money.

That is a very strange but highly entertaining song and it is indeed in Thanedaar. It is not so much that she is spending all his money, more that she has him doing all the housework and looking after their numerous children.

There are two more movies I actually started threads for in the FilmFair section some time ago Mohabbat ke Dushman and Armaanat which are both good fun.

It also has the advantage of -in a way-including two Sanjays in one movie, as he is the upright and dutiful Amar, as well as a small-time crook complete with moustache .

The words in bold are very important

[gebruss]

Please forgive the serial posting, but I thought this thread could do with some pictures.

These are from Mera Faisla



Showing that Indian police stations have rooms I thought were only found in Catholic churches;



as well as noticeboards with interesting alternative spelling and punctuation.


Meet our hero:










His grandmother:



His girlfriend:



and the substitute love interest:



Occssionaly the movie goes artistic:



There are some rather peculiar fashion choices:


admittedly form the obligatory bizzarre disco song


no excuse for this

And at one point our hero seems to be covered in jam or possibly tomato ketchup:




Unfortunately, neither Thanedaar norMera Haque wouldn't let me take screencaps (insert swearword of your choice here) but I am not very computer-knowledgable, so if anybody has advice please pm me.

[JenniferJanu]

OK, That's it--I've got to get my hands on Mera Faisla. That shot of Sanju in the tuxedo is worth every penny!!!!

 

[gebruss]

OK, That's it--I've got to get my hands on Mera Faisla. That shot of Sanju in the tuxedo is worth every penny!!!!

 

He does look very dreamy and I love the floppy hair. The formal clothes make a nice change from the more common dingy and sweat-stained look

I also appears with wide open shirts on several occassions, if you are interested in that sort of thing

[JenniferJanu]

He does look very dreamy and I love the floppy hair. The formal clothes make a nice change from the more common dingy and sweat-stained look

He also appears with wide open shirts on several occassions, if you are interested in that sort of thing

I just ordered Mera Faisla!!!!!! Eros is having a sale. Only 4.99. It's not an Eros release, however, so that could be good news. : ) I also ordered Shabd since the quality of my VHS tape is not up to par. You've GOT to watch the making love scene on DVD!