And the next day, I woke at 10:30am to jump right into rewatching some Shaan.
Having experienced a very surreal 24 hours (as stated above), it seemed right that my review be as loopy as the state of mind it was written in.
Title: Shaan
Cast: Amitabh Bacchan, Pravin Babi, Shashi Kappor, Sunil Dutt, Rakhi, Shatrughan Sinha, Bindiya Goswami, Johnny Walker, Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
Some Bond-style credits later,
we find out that Sunil Dutt is a cop,
married to Rakhi (looking really pretty here, by the way), and a adorable little daughter.
He has 2 brothers, both con men: Amitabh and Shashi.
Note that there is absolutely no family resemblance between the three brothers- me thinks they were all adopted or had different dads, or SOMEthing.
Amitabh falls in love with Pravin, a con artist (who wouldn't? my husband has had a major crush on her since babyhood- which is cool, since I have had a girl-crush on her since the same time. You have to be already blind to not to be blinded (heeh) by her awesomeness!)
Shashi is in love Bindiya, also a con artist- who is cute, and wears amazing 80s fashions, but is rather overshadowed by Pravin and Rakhi.
Bindiya's uncle is Johnny Walker, who really doesn't get enough chance to exhibit his own awesomeness to the max- with a cast this humongous, it was hardly likely.
Lurking in the back, is the pre-Mogambo, the amazing- SHAKAAL... who keeps sharks floating behind him, and crocodiles beneath him!
Sunil crosses Shakaal, and gets shot for it.
The brothers are joined in their revenge mission by Shatrughan Sinha,
... who seriously is the most macho dude in Bollywood- look at him glower...and glower some more. I really do believe I love him.
... who seriously is the most macho dude in Bollywood- look at him glower...and glower some more. I really do believe I love him.
So what happens? Do the brothers get their revenge? Do they end up with their pretty girlfriends?
While we are waiting to find out, how about one last dance with the heart-stopping Helen.....
Watch out for:
2- The chemistry between Amitabh and Shashi, esp. during the initial con scenes, as well as during the car=girl comparison (derogatory, but wth).
3- Sharat Saxena, in a brown leather outfit- I love him, inexplicably. This movie was FULL of my fav character actors, and much fun was had spotting them all.4- The Shaan song by Pravin- OMG- just look at the woman. Mind-blowingly gorgeous. Who was the idiot who dubbed her "The poor man's Zeenat"???? They must have been on serious drugs :/
Surreal imaginations:
I can help but wonder, what if:1- Rakhi was eaten, sari and all, by Shakal's crocodile?
2- Amitabh and Shashi decided they had more than brotherly feelings towards each other, and ditched Pravin and Bindiya... for each other?3- Shakal and Pravin got married, and settled to domesticity- he became a shark-farmer.
4- Bindiya and Johnny took over Shakal's empire.5- Rakhi's daughter was bought up by Amitabh and Shashi, and grew up to accidentally meet Shatrughan, and wooed and married him- Lamhe (1991) style.
Disclaimer: The Surreal Imaginations above are merely that, and no, I do not indulge in drug abuse :D
11 comments:
Tsk tsk tsk. Your surreal imagination will turn a *serious action movie* into a more interesting comedy! lol
Agree with you about Parveen. She is luminous - its too bad her life had to turn into a bigger tragedy than Meena Kumari's.
I remember R D Burman said in an interview about the Yamma yamma number that it was recorded with his voice as a temporary measure. Kishore Kumar couldnt make it to the recording and they needed the song for the shooting. It was to be re-recorded later but Rafi's untimely death made that impossible. So, we have Pancham da singing for AB!
Shaan was totally OTT for me. For some reason, it kept reminding me of Mike Myers Gold Member something.
I've only seen bits and pieces of this movie online, without subtitles. I have it in my queue, though--Shashi looks hot in this one!
I'm not as big a fan of Shaan as some. I think it goes way off the rails about halfway through. Should have either been a con artist movie, or a James Bond movie, but both together was just unwieldly. Of course, that's what masala is all about, but it just didn't work as well for me as others of its kind have...
The watch-along was fun though, and we missed you :-)
Bollywoodfan: Ah thats where we differ- I prefer him as the evil Shakal to the subdued Raja Puran Singh :D
Divya=Aishwariya? seriously? I havent seen much of Divya at all, but I still dont find them alike...I dont know why paparazzi make these weird comparisions :)
Bollyviewer: That is SUCH a nice story about RDB- thanks! I love his songs and singing- so wht if he copied a bit from here and there- he did truly made the songs work, and in case of the copies- work much better than the originals.
Nicki: That makes sense- Shaan had heavily copied bits from Goldfinger and other Bond movies, and since the Mike Myers movies spoofed Bond as well, they'd look similar.
Ajnabi: Shashi looks beautiful- but I do beleive he gets less screen time than Amitabh- which never sits well with me- we need some Equal Opportunity for all heroes!
Memsaab: Oh thank you- I'm hoping I will catch up you in another watch along soon! Shaan is almost like animation for me- the OTT caricatured characters are unrealistic ... but probably because of the huge canvas of the movie- they are so much fun! Plus Pravin. Plus Sharks and crocs in green water- an 80s child could not ask for much more :)
This was my second Shashi movie ever, I think, and I was pretty confused as to why he didn't demonstrate as much oomph as Amitabh. I agree with Shweta that he had to play second banana here, quite drastically, and although I might get disbarred for saying so, Ajnabi, this is not his finest hour, looks-wise, in my opinion. You are much better off with Do aur Do Paanch - not only for his lovely curls, but even more for his zest and equitable role with Amitabh.
Shweta, I love you for saying "What if..." re: Shashi and Amitabh. I was pondering that the other day, and someday when I write the authoritative fan treatise on Shashitabh (before which I must watch all of their movies, oospy, best get a move on!), I hope to investigate it properly. :) They're just such an excellent pair - it's hard not wonder what they'd be like in all the possible settings for two male characters (lord knows the movies sufficiently covered brothers and colleagues). Wouldn't they have been great as father and son, for example?
The watch-along missed you, but my stars you had quite the day! :)
PS I'm of the "Zeenat before Parveen" school myself.
Beth: I noticed the same thing though- Shashi seems to be suffering from adult acne here (he did too! I found out while going through my screen caps!) But his hair was in all his shampooed glory. I wonder if there is ANY shashitabh movie out there which has Shashi bagging the more prominent role...
I love Zeenat- she is brilliant in many many movies- but I just dont see why she and Pravin are compared to each other- they look different to me! :)
Who was the idiot who dubbed her "The poor man's Zeenat"???? They must have been on serious drugs :/
So much WORD!!! I looved Parveen, but was never too fond of Zeenat and couldn't understand the comparisons.
And I heart this movie ♥♥♥ There are no words to describe its awesomeness!
Mimi: Zeenat was cool too- Don and Hare Rama to name a few- but yeah-Pravin stood her own ground in her movies, and I do find the latter prettier, while the former just got more kick-ass roles, I think :D
btw- saw nani's pix- devastated. I shall email u some of shaymli and our house's- pls show her- it'll make her happy.
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