Movie Review: Jaanbaaz (The Bravehearted?) (1986)

This is another of Feroz Khan’s flicks: a story modest in its ambitions, lush locales, female stars exploited as far as the Indian censors permit (i.e. attractive women suitably undressed (or under-dressed)) big budget, foreign shoots, visually stimulating, above average music, songs and photography, full-on masala flick.

At the outset let’s get the story outline done-with and out of the way: Feroz Khan and Anil Kapoor play brothers, the former a do-gooder police inspector, the latter a goon. Dimple is an illegitimate daughter of Kulbhushan Kharbanda who is killed by the drug-lord Teja. She arrives to roost at the house of a distant relative: Sushma Seth (whose hubby is the rougish Amrish Puri) and who is the mother of Feroz and Anil. Feroz’s ex-girlfriend too has been eliminated by Teja. Dimple falls for Anil, but he is of the wham-bam-thank-you-maam mentality. Ultimately they do come together at the house of a friend of Anil’s: Shakti Kapoor who is a lackey of Teja. And the entire story comes together in a gripping finale.

A good reason to watch the movie is for Dimple: the sensuous beauty. Not a great actress, certainly not blessed with a great dialogue delivery or command over the language. Her laugh is not engaging. So all-in-all many flaws fully smoothened away by her disarming beauty. She is there for providing us viewers with visual bliss.

The shapely, buxom Sridevi makes a guest appearance as FKs dead ex-girlfriend. She was the reigning queen of Hindi cinema (roughly in the 80s) before she retired and Madhuri Dixit replaced her (roughly in the 90s). Since then the throne is unoccupied. What people found attractive in her, I am not so sure (certainly not her squeaky voice), but you can check her out in this movie, she is at her seductive best (trust Feroz Khan to bare his heroines as best as possible).

In a sense Hindi films always act as a social barometer of the age they live-in. And the villains of different eras reflect accurately the key problems faced in that era. This film tackles the drug menace.

Teja is the (unintended) comic villain with his chemical laboratories on verandahs of bungalows, that manufacture drugs like cocaine. So in addition to the miscellaneous chemical paraphernalia like beakers with coloured water and small burners with a wick lamp arranged on a small table, lookout for the big fat books in the backdrop including a dictionary which he no doubt reads in his leisure time. Pretty literate drug-lord that.

The songs to watch-out for are

1. Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta (a hummable song in which you can watch FK stare unabashedly lustflly at Sridevi and u can perhaps you can understand his predicament)
   
   
   
2. Jaanejaana
   
   
   
3. Tera Saath Hai Kitna Pyara sung by the one-and-only Kishore Kumar
   
   

I have very little doubts that FK in his films offers tribute to the Penthouse / Playboy kind-of-influences. You can see that in many of the intimate moments in many of his films. And in this movie you see that between Dimple and Anil K. AK in his heyday got to get intimate with the top heroines of his time, I mean, they let him do that. What they found attractive in that hairy bear one doesn’t know but his virility led these top heroines to be very close-up with him

So this is a film which is juvenile in many respects: the dialogues, situations, characters etc. but one in true-blue masala tradition of Bollywood. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone as an initiation to Bollywood.

Starring

Feroz Khan

Anil Kapoor

Dimple Kapadia

Amrish Puri

Shakti Kapoor

Jagdeep

Kulbhushan Kharbanda

Sp.App: Rekha and Sridevi

Playback: Kishore Kumar, Manhar, Sadhna Sargam

Lyrics: Indeevar, Farooq Kaiser

Director of Photography: Kamal Bose

Dialogues: Madan Joshi

Written: K.K. Shukla

Music: Kalyanji Anandji

Produced, Directed, Edited by Feroz Khan

And btw, in deference to Bollywood symbolism: the rougish Hindu father (Amrish Puri) shows his subscription to syncretism by praying at the grave of a Muslim saint. Some things never change……………….