Disco Dancer (1982)

admin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:08:16 +0000

Mithun Chakraborty in Disco Dancer (1982)

Disco Dancer is one of those films that I had known about for years before I saw it. People often quoted it as a truly kitsch film and I had heard the songs (by Bappi Lahiri, ‘the R. D. Burman of the B-movies’ according to the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema) and seen them as clips on television featuring Mithun Chakraborty, dressed in white trousers and lame, certainly a different image from that I knew from his work in ‘art’ cinema. He has subsequently become king of the B-movies, taking only the occasional small role in mainstream films. The songs were catchy enough but already dated when I heard them, the disco era being well and truly over in London by the 1980s. Aware of the film’s cult status as a B-movie, I initially viewed it to consider it as one of the few items for inclusion that are not from the A-list.

The film’s story is by the respected Dr Rahi Masoom Reza, whose credits include B. R. Chopra’s television serialisation of the great epic, the Mahabharata, as well as several other films. Following the revenge theme of many post-1970s’ movies, the child Anil, a budding musician, and his mother are framed for stealing by a wealthy neighbour, Mr Oberoi (Om Shivpuri). Anil vows to exact his revenge through his music and as an adult (Mithun Chakraborty) soon displaces Oberoi’s son, Sam, as the King of Disco. He meanwhile falls in love with Oberoi’s daughter, Rita (Kim), with whom he played as a child. His manager David (Om Puri) changes Anil’s name to Jimmy and he becomes a national phenomenon. Oberoi keeps trying to have Jimmy killed but Jimmy is also a kung fu (if his moves can be called that) expert. When Jimmy’s mother dies, electrocuted by a guitar intended for him, he gives up his music (he is said to be suffering from ‘guitar phobia’), but his uncle (a guest appearance by 1970s’ superstar, Rajesh Khanna) persuades him to take it up again and he and Rita dance into the future.

After the titles play out on a glitter ball, the songs include Kishore Kumar’s ‘Ae oh aa zara mudke’ and the memorable ‘Auva auva koi yahaan nache’ (sung by Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri), with Kalpana lyer shimmering in shorts, ankle boots and what only can be described as Christmas-tree tinsel. The picturisations are nearly all set in discos with underlit floors and feature ungainly backing singers, while the lead dancers also make some odd moves. The title track, ‘I am a Disco Dancer’, is better seen than heard, with Mithun dressed in a very strange outfit (part-Donny Osmond, part-Elvis) performing fancy footwork. In ‘Krishna dharti pe aa jaa tu’, the male and female dancers appear to be dressed as angels for a school Christmas pantomime.

There are some strange touches, such as the depiction of the romance between Rita and Jimmy as a series of photomontages and the scene showing how, when Jimmy’s mother dies, his photograph cracks and dissolves to the burning of her pyre.

So is this film more than just a piece of 1970s’ (even though made in the 1980s) nostalgic kitsch? I think it typifies a move into the low-budget B-movie that finds its own audience during the 1980s, as the middle classes leave the cinema halls for the VHS and color television. It is also worth watching for Mithun. Initially a serious actor, and one who could have pursued a successful career in A-grade Hindi movies (he landed major, though supporting, roles in films such as Agneepath [1989]), he chose instead to live in Ooty (Ootacamund, a hill station in south India) and appear in low-budget movies that produce good returns from the B-circuit. He turns in a good performance in the film and possesses a physique that makes him a convincing dancer and fighter.

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1982, Genre – Drama/Musical, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – B. Subhash, Director – B. Subhash, Music Director – Bappi Lahiri, Cast - Geeta Siddharth, Om Shivpuri, Mithun Chakraborty, Kim, Om Puri, Kalpana Iyer, Rajesh Khanna

Baiju Bawra (1952)

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:03:40 +0000

Meena Kumari and Bharat Bhushan in Baiju Bawra (1952)

The greatest strength of this historical film about Baiju Bawra (Bharat Bhushan), the musician who challenged the court musician Tansen to a musical duel (a jugalbandi; performed here by Ustad Amir Khan and Pandit D. V. Paluskar) to avenge the murder of his father, is not surprisingly the outstanding music composed by one of Hindi cinema’s most accomplished composers, Naushad Ali. Naushad, though one of the first composers to bring the western orchestra, in particular the large string section, to film music was able to move seamlessly between classical Indian ragas and western dramatic music in a way that no other composer has done. Although the subject matter of this film requires classical music, Naushad was able to blend this with light classical and contemporary music in a way that marks him as one of the finest exponents of the whole range of music essential for the Hindi film, a quality that can also be seen in his other scores for films such as Mother India and Mughal-e Azam. This film includes the popular songs, ‘Tu Ganga ki mauj’, ‘Mohe bhool gaye sanwariya’ and the bhajan, ‘Man tarpat hari darshan’.

One sequence alone would ensure this film’s inclusion in most lists of 100 best films. This is the astonishing depiction of the ragas or melodies, where they are embodied in a manner drawing on the classical paintings of ragamalas that illustrate the moods associated with ragas. The combination of visuals and music in this sequence overwhelms the viewer as much as it does Baiju Bawra himself in the film. Raga Lalita appears as a beautiful woman, while Gaur Malhar brings the rain; Shri is erotic, while Puriya is regal. This is one of several miracle sequences in the film, such as the statue that weeps when Baiju sings in sorrow ‘O duniyaa ke rakhwaale’.

These miracles and the other strong religious elements of the film are not surprising, given Vijay Bhatt’s earlier films of Ramayana stories. Baiju Bawra, a disciple of Swami Haridas, lives in a pastoral idyll on the banks of the Jumna, where he sings to his beloved Gauri (Meena Kumari, in her first major screen role), who is seated on a swing in a bower of flowers. This reminds the viewer of Vrindavan, on the banks of the Jumna, where the young Krishna lived, playing his flute to enchant the world. There are many references to Krishna in the film, linking the innocent Baiju to him. There are striking location shots of the river, which also flows through the cities of the Mughal court (Delhi and Agra), thus linking these worlds of the Mughal, Muslim court and the Hindu Vrindavan, originally in revenge and anger, but after Tansen is defeated in music, in respect and the spirit of reconciliation.

Baiju Bawra is simply an outstanding film and of significance in the history of Indian film music – Rachel Dwyer

Cast and Production Credits

Year - 1952, Genre – Musical, Country - India, Language – Hindi, Producer(s) – Prakash Pictures, Director -Vijay Bhatt, Music Director - Naushad, Cast - Meena Kumari, Bharat Bhushan, Kuldip Kaur, Rattan Kumar, Surendra, Bipin Gupta, Radhakrishna, Krishna Kumari, Manmohan Krishnan, B. M. Vyas, Kesari, Tabassum

Cineplot.com » Musical

Disco Dancer (1982)

Cast and Production Credits

Baiju Bawra (1952)

Cast and Production Credits