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27 Years of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar; (22/05/1992).

The movie was directed and co-written by Mansoor Khan, produced and co-written by Nasir Hussain. The film stars Aamir Khan, Ayesha Jhulka, Deepak Tijori, Pooja Bedi, Mamik Singh, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda, whilst Aamir’s brother Faisal Khan makes a special appearance. The music was by Jatin Lalit. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar won two Filmfare Awards, including Best Film.

It became a trendsetter and inspired many movies like the Telugu film Thammudu (1999), the Tamil film Badri (2001), the Kannada film Yuvaraja (2001) and the Bengali film Champion (2003). The movie is based on the 1979 movie Breaking Away.

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NAAM (1986)

What can I say about this gem of a movie? It is a tough task, a very tough task. This movie makes one feel a gamut of emotions and leaves one in tears. This movie was a big hit back in the day, however I still feel it is grossly underrated as there is an entire generation who has not even watched the movie. That is probably because the movie was quite depressing, and the movie was not the typical Bollywood film, however that is what makes it all the more special.

Naam (1986) is an unconventional Bollywood film, aka it is a typical Mahesh Bhatt film. It has a pretty flawed protagonist, no prices for guessing that the flawed protagonist is Sanju, because it is a crime to show him non-flawed in a movie. LMAO, and why not? only Sanjay Dutt can pull off flawed yet innocent so well. Because this is exactly who is in real life too; flawed yet innocent.

Early in the movie when Kumar Gaurav’s character Ravi introduces Vicky (Sanjay Dutt), he says “Vicky mein gussa aur becheni toh bahut thi lekin nafrat nahin (Vicky was rough around the edges but had no hate in his heart)” and I have not seen a character been summed up so well in a sentence. This is what being Vicky aka being Sanjay Dutt is all about. There is no wonder that Mahesh Bhatt strictly told Sanjay Dutt to not play a character onscreen but be himself. Full marks to Mahesh Bhatt in shaping Sanju to being the actor he is today, this was Sanjay Dutt’s breakthrough performance. And quite obviously his personal experiences, traumas and his personality made for a perfect fodder for this character. 

The fact that Sanju’s very close friend and brother-in-law, Kumar Gaurav played the character of his brother in the movie was also icing on the cake. Talk about art imitating life, Kumar Gaurav has always been with Sanju through thick and thin, and asked his father to produce this movie so it could help his career and help him stand on his feet. This is exactly on the lines of his character Ravi who does everything possible to help his brother stand on his feet.

The relationship that Vicky and his mother (Nutan) share in the movie is  emotional. it mirrors the relationship Sanju shared with his father at the time. Sanju was constantly trying to win his father’s approval but was not really making headway, he came back to Bollywood after rehab on his insistence, but couldn’t really make him proud. This is the same case with Nutan’s character in the movie, she is tired of being disappointed by Ravi and has stopped trying, she gets angry at Vicky and discourages him at almost every given opportunity. 

Vicky also gets restless to prove his worth to his Mother.  It is pretty sad when he tells his Mother that he knows she has given up on him and he does not blame her for that.

Sanjay Dutt is flawless as Vicky. It is hard to believe a 27 year old can give such a natural performance. Sanjay Dutt truly makes one feel every emotion in the book. You cannot help but root for Vicky with all your heart. His trauma slowly becomes the audiences’ trauma. He takes the audience through a very rough journey in this movie. After Naam there has been no stopping Sanju, this movie brought him into his own.

This movie also belongs to Kumar Gaurav, who himself is a fantastic actor, it is a shame he didn’t do too well in Bollywood. The rest of the supporting cast comprised of Nutan, Amrita Singh and Paresh Rawal and all of them were amazing. 

A special mention to the scene when Amrita Singh’s character Rita cries inconsolably in front of Ravi and says that Vicky is innocent and begs for his help. Amrita Singh acted brilliantly in that scene. Interestingly, Amrita Singh is also pretty close with Sanju, and till date Sanju mentions her as his favourite costar. 

Talk about life imitating art, we all know that Sanjay Dutt did get into trouble with the law, just like shown in this movie. I can’t help but feel sorry for him and his near and dear ones, just like Ravi, all they could do is helplessly watch the tragedy and do nothing more. Kumar Gaurav stood like a rock behind Sanjay Dutt during all these ordeals just like how a brother should. 

Naam is a tragedy which makes one feel helpless, but it also provides important lessons. It provides the lesson of not being careless with one’s life, your family cannot save you every time, just like how Ravi couldn’t save Vicky in the end. It also teaches parents to be less harsh with their kids, if they are less harsh and less skeptical, it can truly save bad outcomes. 

Naam is a soul-stirring saga which is recommended to everyone who love this kind of cinema. For me it is a 5/5.

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LAMHE (22nd November 1991)

So today I am going to review a movie which released 4 months after my birth, since my parents and I have been big movie buffs this movie has been a staple movie of my childhood, I have watched this movie countless times. 

So here is some trivia before we begin. Yash Chopra on record has said that this movie of his is his absolute favourite. Yash Chopra knew this movie was bold, and he knew that there is a chance that this movie may not do well at the box office, hence he made sure he had a few big blockbusters on his hands before he made this one. This movie released alongside Ajay Devgan’s debut movie Phool aur Kaante. Phool aur Kaante ended up doing far better business at the box office at the time, however Lamhe ended up winning several important awards, the heart of the critics, and a cult film status as the years went by. 

Now for the actual movie review.

Lamhe (moments) is a movie that focuses on the idea of how certain moments in life can define the rest of our lives. Viren (Anil Kapoor), a young man who has lived in London all his life falls very deeply in love with a woman called Pallavi (Sridevi)

who he barely spent a few moments with. Those few moments thereafter end up defining his whole life. Viren falls in love with Pallavi, but his love does not get reciprocated. Pallavi marries another man and later dies leaving her daughter behind for Viren’s nanny to look after. Viren does not seem to get over Pallavi. 

Pallavi’s daughter Pooja (also played by Sridevi) is no less when it comes to immersing herself in love. Viren becomes Pooja’s mini-celebrity, she knows everything about him and is infatuated. When Pooja grows up, her and Viren’s paths cross and things unravel. 

No prices for guessing that both Pooja and Viren fall in love with each other. How this is handled, considering Viren is older to Pooja, and was in love with her mother is the interesting part; especially since Pooja looks exactly like her Mother. I mean come on can it get weirder than that? it can very well be passed off as a comedy. But thats the magic of the direction, acting and screenplay of the movie, not once does this movie feels ridiculous, as a matter of fact one feels deeply for the characters and root for them till the very end. Thats why the movie is a cult classic. 

Since this movie is so old, I have the liberty to share the gifs of the end scene, which is the most beautiful part of the movie, and is the perfect ending scene.

Watch this movie for amazing direction, acting, cinematography, screenplay and music. It is Yash Chopra’s best work, and we all know Yash Chopra as the legend of Hindi Cinema.