Disco Dancer

Disco Dancer review :

1982 was the year of Asian Games. 1982 was year of Carlos the Jackal .... .... And most important, 1982 was the year of 'Disco Dancer'

A film which introduced pop culture to Bollywood, made Mithun Chakraborty an overnight dancing sensation and took Indian cinema international from south east Asia to Russia.

I kid you not!! I visited Russia recently and was pleasantly surprised to know that while the older generation Russians associate Raj Kapoor with India, their next gen know us as the land which produced Disco Dancer.

Prabhuji (which means God), as Mithunda is still referred to in the interiors of North India, started his illustrious career with the offbeat 'Mrigaya' (1976) for which he won his first National award but hit real box office gold with this B. Subhash directed musical.

Disco Dancer had some superlative tracks by Bappi Lahiri. 'Krishna dharti pe aaja', 'Koi Yahan Nache Nache' and of course the title song ' I am a disco dancer' is still potent enough to influence Rohit Shetty to do a parody of it with the older Mithunda in 'Golmaal 3' (2010). Superstar Rajesh Khanna was roped in a special appearance to hum 'Goron ki naa Kaalon ki, Duniya hai Dilwalon ki'. Remember this was almost a decade before Michael Jackson told the world that it doesn't matter if you are black or white.

The story was simple - a street urchin turns big when his talent is identified and groomed by a manager of a fading arrogant dancer. The rag to riches disco dancer manages to settle score with the baddie who had insulted his mother but loses a lot of his own in the bargain.

Today, the plot may appear clichéd; almost laughable but the movie hasn't lost its spirit and spunk.

Kim played the heroine to Prabhuji but I personally loved the sexy Kalpana Iyer who made her presence felt in the one song and few scenes she appeared in. The portly Om Shivpuri played an unconvincing villain while Karan Razdan was the unintentional comic relief.

I revisited 'Disco Dancer' on DVD last night. It brought back pleasant memories of an era best known for films of "so bad they are good" type. The great grand excessive 80's we know of. Sometimes I actually miss those unpretentious times.

Koi lauta de mere woh beete huye din...

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

This movie earned Rs 113 .20 crore at the worldwide box office. The movie had some flaws like each and every movie. It has a good storyline. Great Songs , music and dance performances. Direction is good. The only problem is its editing. It had great climax scene. Acting wise Mithun, Om Puri and Om Shiv Puri were excellent and rest are good. It was the first Indian movie to enter into 100 crore club. A must watch movie before you die.

After 40 years still the songs of " Disco Dancer " are fantastic, but the script is awful and such a cliché. If you don't watch " Disco Dancer " you don't miss anything at all, but I recommend you listen to it songs.

I gave this movie 10 out of 10 after strong and long consideration. The matter is - that I have seen it lately... again... I have laughed all my way through it, and the same time I felt very much nostalgic. I was about to give it 3 or 4 out of 10, but ... It was like I was laughing at my innocence or naiveness. By than, in 80-th, in USSR I watched this movie 12 times. I can not remember any other title I have seen so many times. I always cried. All the second part I was crying my heart out even when I watched it for 12-th time. Everything was so vivid, so alive... I believed in every word, every gesture, every move. And I was in love with the actor or it would be more precise to say with Jimmy. There is definitely something in that movie! And I feel so much pity that now I am too adolescent and cynic to see it any more.

This is the incredibly silly story of a heroic Disco Dancer and his mother trying to restore their good name and defeat the evil Disco Dancer and his rich, evil father. The evil Disco Dancer has a goofy Freddy Mercury mustache and rips off the 80's song Video Killed the Radio Star. The good Disco Dancer snaps his fingers when he fights like an extra from West Side Story. The main bad guy employs that big goofy looking bearded white guy who was in so many Indian movies of the era as a heavy. The musical numbers are the reason to show up - they are frequent and hilarious.

I definitely recommend this movie. Very goofy stuff, great singing and dancing, mega-retarded plot. My girlfriend, who generally can't stand silly movies, had the "I am Disco Dancer" song stuck in her head for a week. Go crazy!