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Culture

Mr. India - 20 years later

By: Santosh :+: Under: Culture, Desi Ishtyle, Entertainment, Trivia
On: ⋅ May 25, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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May 25, 1987. Release of a high-budget (by Indian standards) comedy-sci fi-action flick named Mr. India, directed by a film maker who was better known for slow moving serious cinema at that time.

Invisible pimp daddy circa 1987, Mr. India
img: via Wiki

Industry insiders were skeptical about its success because in a movie industry dominated by movies with romantic and/or revenge storylines, never before had a movie with a science fiction theme tasted success. But, defying expert predictions, the movie went on to become a box-office hit of epic proportions and, perhaps, one of the most successful Bollywood movies of all times.

20 years later this movie continues to be popular as ever and unparalleled in Bollywood history with no successful remakes, sequels or copycat movies,
at least not yet.

The reasons for this movie’s success are as numerous as the colorful characters in this movie:

Shiver me timbers, Amrish Puri as Mogambo
img: via Rediff

1. The protagonist, Anil Kapoor, who plays Mr. India. An up and coming star at that time he landed this role when Amitabh Bachchan turned it down. Perhaps the movie was so successful because his hirsuitness was invisible for a good part of the movie.
2. Femme fatale circa 1980s, uber “Thunder Thighs”, Sridevi, romping in the rain in a see-thru sari.
3. A supporting cast of annoying but loveable kids but an even more annoying but loveable cook, Calendar. This movie was the launching pad for a couple of these kids, the most prominent among them being Aaftab Shivdasani.
4. Annu Kapoor, playing the perpetually hassled editor of a news paper who is constantly harassed by people dialing incorrect phone numbers, which kept getting connected to his office line.
5. The villian’s cronies with colorful names, Daaga, Teja and Captain Zorro. There was also the “phoren” influence - Bob Christo as Mr. Wolcott, who gets hammered by a flying Hanuman statue.
6. And above all, the indomitable Amrish Puri as larger than life villian Mogambo (pictured left). Any villian who refers to himself in the third person is uber cool, case in point when Mogambo says “Mogambo khush hua” (translation: Mogambo is happy). It doesn’t get better than that in villiandom. Amrish Puri coming off his international success as “Mola Ram” in the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, potrayed yet another larger than life villian and became the most fearsome villian in Bollywood, perhaps second only to Gabbar.

The script was simple and effective. It’s all about the bling bling. The good guy, Anil Kapoor, who runs an orphanage of annoying kids, comes across a secret bracelet/formula (bling bling) that makes you invisible to human eyes but visible against wet red saris. Mogambo also covets the same trinket because for some reason, it would help him in his ultimate goal of world control, à la, Dr. Evil. For that he would literally kill anyone in his way to get his grimy paws on the bling bling. They clash resulting (ultimately) in the victory of good over evil. And, in case I forgot to mention it, there’s the annoying Sridevi in a wet sari.

Of course, no Bollywood flick is successful without a great soundtrack and this one was no exception. From the annoying “Hawa Hawai” to the medley of song parodies by the kids, the music held its own against a lively script. Did I mention that number with Sridevi in the rain?

In a age (the 1980s) of mindless dishum dishum movies and cheesy romantic fares, Mr. India dared to different and became a classic. If you never had the pleasure of viewing this Bollywood classic, go rent the DVD this Memorial Day weekend instead of watching a heavily censored “Saving Private Ryan” for the umpteenth time on TBS. Hail Mr. India and Hail Mogambo.

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