Tezaab

1980's was the decade when Hindi cinema had touched an abysmal low. The severe menace of piracy had robbed the sheen out of the films of those times. Due to a shrinkage in market, producers indulged in cost-cutting techniques resulting in substandard productions. Poor picture quality, inferior production-values and cheap disco-numbers took away the glamour quotient of the films. Facing a budgetary constraint, film-makers started focusing more on kitchen-sink dramas to woo the lower middle-class audiences. Even when there was some action, they were way below the 70's standards.

But from time-to-time, there were the big-ticket ventures like 'Karma' (1986), 'Mr.India' (1987), 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' (1988), 'Ram Lakkhan' (1989), 'Maine Pyar Kiya'(1989), 'Tridev' (1989), etc which offered some much needed respite from the constant nightmare of mediocrity. One of those films was N.N.Chandra's 'Tezaab'(1988).

When I saw the film 2 years back, I wasn't much impressed as I felt the script was quite wayward and overall not good enough. But after being exposed to some more regular 80's fare, I happened to watch this film recently again. And this time I was just blown away!

I have realised that I wasn't being fare to this film by judging it solely on the basis of it's script; as compared to the regular 80's fare, this film offered so much more! First of all, this was a big- budget film. From the picture quality, sets and locales to its hard- hitting action, the film was shot on a huge scale. The film has a sort of grandeur which is bound to be a breath of fresh air for cine-goers of those times.

But for me, the 3 assets of the film are its dialogues, editing and background music. The dialogues are extremely hard-hitting and create a severe impact. The editing is extremely fast-paced and makes a solid impact from the opening scene itself. In fact it could even compete with any film of the mid-2000 period. On this front, the film was clearly way ahead of its time! And Laxmikant-Pyarelal seem to have given their all in creating a high-voltage background score that turbo-charges the film non-stop for the entire duration. That's not to say, they fared any worse when it came to the songs. 'Kehdo Ki Tum'and 'So Gayi Yeh Zameen' deliver the goods with 'Ek Do Teen' remaining a timeless classic till now!

Performance is another strong point for the film. Almost the entire cast comprising of Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Kiran Kumar, Annu Kapoor, etc deliver some power-packed performances. But it's Suresh Oberoi who stands out as the righteous and sympathetic cop, who ensures justice is finally delivered at the end. Even Chunky Pandey delivers a surprisingly heart-felt performance which is probably his best act till date. This was one of Johny Lever's earlier films and he is as usual wonderful; especially in the Telugu-mouthing Arabian act! Mandakini appears in a small cameo in what is probably the only poorly etched out character.

Many might consider the 'Ek Do Teen' number to be the highlight of the film; but for me the highlight was the demolition sequence of Lotiya Pathan's empire. With explosions, car-crashes, collapsing towers this was one of the most expensive action-sequences back then and clearly takes one's breath away! Even on the 1st occasion when I didn't like the film, I was still blown away by this particular sequence. In fact the sequence is so good, that I expected this to be the grand-climax for the film. But I was quite surprised to see that the film still went on for another half-an-hour. Still after watching a sequence like this, one expected the climactic battle to be even more stunning. But the final confrontation, filmed aboard a ship, simply drags on and falls way below expectations. This leaves a sour taste to an otherwise gripping drama.

The title (meaning 'acid') and the tag-line ('A Violent Love-Story') suit the film to the tee. The script might be a bit wayward; but the performances, dialogues, music, production quality, action and above all the editing make it a riveting experience for the viewers. This high-voltage concoction generates a heavy reaction on the viewer's psyche. Although it's nowhere near Anil Kapoor's best works, it's still one of the better films of the 1980's. Overall it's a spicy potboiler that is delicious for the regular Bollywood fans; but could give 'acidity' to those who aren't accustomed to stuffs like these!

It's the movie which turned Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit into superstars of Hindi cinema. The song - Ek Do Teen Chaar Paanch Chhe Saat Aath Nau Dus Gyaarah Baarah Terah used to echo in the streets of India throughout the day when the movie was released. Madhuri Dixit became the dancing queen of Bollywood overnight and thereafter her on-screen magic lasted for over a decade.

The tagline of the title of the movie is 'A Violent Love Story' which is quite apt because despite being a love story, it's full of violence and action and therefore, it was liked by the romantic movie audience and the action-lovers alike.

Tezaab (acid) is a combination of two different stories of two protagonists of the movie - Mahesh or Munna (Anil Kapoor) and Mohini (Madhuri Dixit). Mahesh is a honest boy from a simple family having a genuine sympathizer in the world in the form of inspector Gagan Singh (Suresh Oberai) whereas Mohini is the daughter of an alcoholic father - Shyamlal (Anupam Kher) for whom nothing is more important than liquor. The love story of Mahesh and Mohini takes place in the college on the premise of heartbreak of Nikita (Mandakini). Once their love story takes off, love prevails everywhere for them but this blossoming of their love is marred by framing of Mahesh by a corrupt police inspector (Mahavir Shah) under a false charge and finally being termed as a known bad character (goon) is made TADIPAAR (debarred from entering the city) for one year. Now a straight boy who has been a patriot and wanted to serve his country become a criminal, known as Munna and he has his own gang with Babban (Chunkey Pandey) as his main sidekick.

On the other hand, Mohini is all alone now with his alcoholic father - Shyamlal who is such a shameless person that he has no problem even if his daughter becomes a cabaret dancer or even a call-girl provided he gets his regular quota of liquor. The owner of the club where Mohini is forced to dance - Saxena (Tej Sapru) wants to marry her but she is still awaiting for the return of the love of his life - Mahesh amidst all the turmoil and loneliness in her life. A big gangster - Lotia Pathan (Kiran Kumar) abducts Mohini from the club itself for the sake of his money owed to him by those who are interested in the life of Mohini. Now it's time for Mahesh (or Munna) to come back from his city-debarredness and not only save the life of Mohini but also settle some old scores.

The title of the movie refers to the anguish and stuffiness in Mahesh which make him feel like filled with acid in his personality. And the ending scene is not very very impressive but also justifies the title when the sympathetic police inspector Gagan Singh allows Mahesh to vent out all that acid from his personality by throwing it over on a criminal who is already going to be sentenced by the court of law.

This is easily one of the best movies of N. Chandra who has now slipped into B grade movies. The direction is topnotch and the screenplay is aptly presented through flashbacks. Right from romance to glamour to action to sentiments, in every aspect of the story, the movie scores with distinction. Art direction and other technical aspects are very good. Editing is also pretty good except for the fact that the movie is too long with an overdose of violence. Dialogues are also very impressive.

Laxmikant Pyarelal composed very good music using the lyrics of Javed Akhtar. Other than the female version of Ek Do Teen, its male version (sung by Amit Kumar), So Gaya Ye Jahaan (sung by Nitin Mukesh), Keh Do Ki Tum Ho Meri Varna (Amit Kumar-Anuradha Paudwal duet) and Hum Tumko Dilbar Kyun Maane (Anuradha Paudwal-Sudesh Bhonsle duet) are also very good. The last song was inserted in the movie after its release and box office success.

Tezaab has a great repeat value and can be watched many times. I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to both the romantic movie audience as well as the action movie audience. It's wholesome entertainment. Just bear with the excessive violence.

Tezaab is an awesome powerful love story. Though it is inspired from some other film, Tezaab is memorable mainly due to brilliant performances of Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. The other suppoting star cast are also good in their respective characters. Madhuri became an overnight sensation after this film. Tezaab is a great film with great performances.

Tezaab- The best rip-off ever made in Bollywood

Tezaab completely blew me away when I saw it in the theater back in 1988. This movie presents a unique Hindi movie experience - mainly due to its breakneck pacing, tight editing, Anil Kapoor's raw performance as an ex-patriot and the phenomenon called Madhuri Dixit that got unleashed on the unsuspecting Indian audience. Chandra did a great job in brewing this violent love story with choicest set-pieces lifted straight from Hollywood and Hong Kong movies such as Streets of Fire (main story), The Untouchables (bank robbery scene) and Jackie Chan's Police Story (the destruction of the villain's lair using multiple cars as weapons of choice). Interestingly, in hindsight, it is hard to imagine Tezaab without any of them. Typical Bollywood elements are also in abundance here such as boy meets girl, the sleazy father beats girl, girl fights boy, boy ridicules girl, villain eyeballs girl, boy threatens the social order, and corrupt police whup boy's ass. In other words, the storyline is as old and only as engrossing as a dormant volcano, which, by the way, could explode in any century or minute. As one reviewer mentioned - It is the execution that separates Tezaab from the junk routinely made by Bollywood. Rest of the usual shenanigans are covered under measured doses of misunderstood love triangles, the inevitable hero's sidekick (an outstanding Chunkey Pandey here) and his minions, lilting music, songs, dances, and the ubiquitous ugly comedian - Johnny Lever. It is all there. So what is not to like? Well, there is one thing that sometimes troubles only the Coen Brothers - and that is originality. Not a single scene in this movie is original by any standard, but it worked in those days. And it still works in Bollywood because the majority of its audience are neither connoisseur of international cinema nor avid readers of psychology. Why psychology you ask? Well, in the movie Anil Kapoor's character attempts suicide to prove his love to the leading lady Madhuri Dixit. Now her character is a student of psychology and if the screenwriter had done some research on psychology, he would have found out that a psychology major would be extremely cautious around a person who professes his love by threatening suicide by jumping off a building. Nevertheless, Indian filmmakers routinely apply to their creation- Oops! Did I say creation? I mean inspired creation- the logic of Looney Tunes, and that is why no matter how loony the hero maybe, the heroine always tunes into his call. Notwithstanding the flaws, Tezaab also scores mainly due to its smart editing, as mentioned earlier. The movie jumps back and forth in timelines at various crucial moments in the movie and this, in my opinion, is the most original aspect of this movie. It is put to use very effectively to convince the viewers of Kapoor's character's transformation from a patriot to a criminal and to establish grounds for his volatile love affair with his girlfriend. Most of the characters have violent proclivities- notably Annu Kapoor as a chaiwallah with lofty aspirations and Suresh Oberoi as an incorruptible cop who acts as Anil Kapoor's conscience. The director spends just enough time with these characters to let them justify their brand of violence. They come in and out of the flashbacks at the most crucial moments and truly propel the story to the next set-piece. Despite some obvious drawbacks, Tezaab remains one of the most memorable action flicks from the '80s that even women liked. Watch it, and you just might smell the acid that the director so skillfully distilled for us to enjoy.

Teezab - means Acid

Story of how an ideal college school student's life turns towards acid path of crime.

This is the movie which ripened Madhuri's performance, especially with the popular number Ek, Do, Teen, and the rest is history.

The story starts with that song followed by her kidnapping, by Kiran Kumar's extraordinary portrayal of Lotiya Pathan. So Anil Kapoor, who is banned from the city limits, is informed and he is coaxed by his friends to go and rescue her.

And so we go in the past of how Anil & Madhuri fell in love in their school days. How their college life is progressing and what makes the hell break loose on them.

The other numbers in the movie So Gaya Yeh Jahen ., and Kahe Do Ke Tum Ho Meri Varna . are good.

Chunkey Pandey, playing Anil's sidekick and Anupam Kher playing Madhuri's father also bring out and outstanding performance.

Again being a N. Chandra movie, it is pretty violent at times. Highly recommended for very less nonsense and sticking to the story plot.