Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

For me, the most beautiful thing about 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar' is the song 'O Saathi Re'. It is a wonderful song and is sung beautifully by Kishore Kumar. Amitabh Bachchan does a good job of expressing the emotions of the song.

"Muqaddar ka..." is a tragedy (and a particularly tragic one), but it's a tragedy that manages to evoke just the right amount of sympathy, without becoming unduly weepy or maudlin. It's a tragedy done properly, with class, honesty and depth. Amitabh Bachchan is great as the lead character. I just loved him in this film, from start to finish (the little boy who played the young 'Sikandar' was wonderful too). Sikandar is at heart a good (even noble) man, but yet is a deeply flawed character, who feels deeply but is completely unable to express it. He's been hardened by his life, but he still has a very soft core, which few get to see. The scene at Memsahib's birthday celebration (when she's older), when Sikandar comes in with her precious gift, is breathtaking. It's a haunting echo of the experience Sikandar had at her 'younger' birthday party. A beautifully nuanced performance, definitely one of the Big B's best.

Vinod Khanna also does a lovely job as the young lawyer, Vishal, in this movie, and the rest of the cast does well, too ... with one notable exception: the lead female, Rakhee. By the time the film was over, I hated her character, and I'm not sure that was the intention of the film makers(or was it?). She managed to portray 'Memsahib' as extremely shallow, uncaring and fickle. It's difficult to see even what the character of Vishal sees in her (although Sikandar's love for her - being completely childlike, pure and unselfish, is perfectly understandable). Even her last-minute repentance rung hollow. I've seen Rakhee do loads better in other movies, so I won't hold it against her in this one .. although it does slightly retract from the overall quality of the movie.

Rekha, as Zohrabai, deserves a mention ... hauntingly lovely and tragic (which is what she does best), she puts in a very good performance. Her role is very stereotypical, but she pulls it off and makes it memorable. Watch out for the scene where she threatens to swallow the diamond.

All in all, this movie is simply unmissable Bollywood. Watch it, and I guarantee you'll be hearing 'O Saathi Re' in your head for a few days afterwards.

I love this movie for so many reasons, first and foremost for Amitabh Bachchan. How can anybody not fall in love with him?, then for the story- It's been portrayed very well, it touches every right chord of your heart. The movie and some amazing scenes resonate with you long after you have watched the movie and finall all songs. I love the sikandar drunkard scene outside his house, I love to listen to all the songs, but definitely love to watch one song in particular which is salaame ishq. There you see dual magic of Kishore Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. The end is of course my favorite.

I particularly want to appreciate the writer-director for the way they handled Amitabh's reaction when he learns of VK and Rakhee's love. Anybody would obviously feel betrayed and wounded.. so he kills VK but only subconsciously to realize later that it was never VK's fault. Then he goes to Rekha to console his feelings and when he gets defeated there too. He comes back to do the only thing he can and should which is to let go off the illusion of ever marrying Rakhee and have VK and Rakhee marry instead.

Over all this is yet another feather on Amitabh's well deserved victory hat.

When I first saw Muqaddar Ka Sikandar as a kid, I absolutely loved it and all I wanted to do is to watch it again, which I ultimately did the following day. Something in the film's emotional ingredients really moved me. Today I of course look at it differently, but I still enjoy it. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is a melodramatic and tragic fairy tale, and that's how I prefer to see it. The story of the film is actually fantastic, it is the script that often resorts to sentimentality. But as I said, if you see the movie from a clear perspective and take it as a fairy tale, there should be no problems. Some of the scenes in the movie are very good, particularly the one with the old man played by Kader Khan telling young Sikandar and his sister that the best way to deal with problems in life is to laugh when you want to cry and cry when you want to laugh. Never tried this tactic, but in the film it looked quite effective.

This is the story of a little orphaned boy who works as a servant in the house of a wealthy man named Ramnath. The boy develops a friendship with his employer's daughter Kaamna, but Ramnath notices this and fires him. All alone in the big city, he is found and adopted by a poor widow named Fatima, who names him Sikandar. When Fatima passes away, Sikandar remains all alone with the responsibility to take care of her daughter. Years go by and Sikandar grows to be a rich man. His only wish is to meet again Kaamna, who he has not stopped thinking of. They finally meet, but Kaamna does not love him the way he would want her to. He finds solace in a brothel where he often watches the dances of a beautiful courtesan names Zohra Begum. He befriends a young lawyer named Vishal, who actually later falls for Kaamna.

The story of the film looks quite complicated but it is actually very easy to follow. Despite being melodramatic, it is for the most part enjoyable and it often moves you with its impossibly tragic proceedings. Some scenes are really well done. The main character of Sikandar is a good one. He is tough, loving, selfless and caring, and sadly he fails to get what he longs for the most - Kaamna's love. And Amitabh Bachchan is there to portray it with utmost sincerity. Raakhee plays his love interest with a usual dignified and modest persona. Vinod Khanna does a very good job as Vishal. Rekha steals the show with a heartfelt portrayal of a courtesan who hopelessly falls for Sikandar, knowing she has no chance of being loved in return. One can see this role as a prologue to her all-time great performance as Umrao Jaan. No one could play such roles better.

The film's soundtrack by Anandji-Kalyanji is excellent. My favourite track is of course "O Sathi Re..." which is beautifully performed by both Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle in their individual versions. "Salam-e-ishq Meri Jaan" is also a nice song which introduces Rekha's Zohra Begum. The film's ending is tragic and a bit unpleasant to see, but as I said, this movie is better seen as fairy tale and so everything is acceptable in that context, even the melodramatic ending. Lovers of Hindi cinema and Amitabh Bachchan fan in particular will totally love this movie. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is a nice movie by Prakash Mehra, which is always good to see with the family.

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) : Brief Review -

The biggest Blockbuster of Prakash Mehra's Muqaddar for a reason. My father has seen this film in theaters 3 or 4 times and called it the most memorable masala entertainer of the 70s after Sholay. We have seen the film multiple times on TV, and since we all know the story and everything, I won't waste my and your time with that. I'll talk about cut-to and off-to elements. An orphan boy who starts with nothing in his hands ends up being a rich man with a golden heart and makes everyone cry over his death. "Rote hote aate hai sab, hasta hua jo jayega. Wo muqaddar ka Sikandar jaane man kehlayega" is how he starts. Big B with that sexy hair makes it the most handsome bike scene in Bollywood history. Period. The same lyrics hit differently in the last frame of Big B because Rafi's voice takes it to a whole new level. The girl he has loved since his childhood falls in love with his brother-like friend, and the girl who is in love with him is loved by someone else. So, there are two love triangles, and both have smartly written conflicts and misunderstandings that make the script and screenplay a rich experience. Kalyanji-Anandji gave 4 super hit songs, two of which have sad versions too. It's 2024, and I can still listen to Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Oo Saathi Re, Salaam-E-Ishq, and Dil Toh Hai Dil on repeat mode and never get bored. Oo Saathi Re has two versions, and both come in perfect situations. The same goes for the title track. I mean, those were the days when songs used to be part of the narrative and used to elevate the meaning of the scenes, unlike today, when there are no situations for songs but they are forced into them for commercial purposes. The dynamic personality of Sikandar ends up with a stature you can't just hate. More than a Sikandar, he is called "Farishta"-by his loved ones and the ones who hated him. Story, music, acting, dialogues, action, drama, heartbreak, emotions, and Mehra's direction-every single thing is "Sikandar" (conquering) in itself. Among the top 5 best commercial films of the 1970s.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Review By Kamal K

Nice movie ! I like Amitabh - his acting,style, dialogue delivery ! All the songs in this movie are worth remembering. Rote hue aate hein sab is tops the list ! Not to forget handsome Vinod Khanna, Ram Sethi as Pyarelal ,gorgeous Rekha as Zohra and of course Amjad Khan as Dilawar. All did their roles perfectly and a nice emotional movie .