Aankhen

This movie has a lot of firsts. Although David Dhawan and Govinda had worked together before this was the first comedy the 2 made together which would be followed by all those hits. This was the first (and it happened only once more) that the competitors of those days Govinda and Chunky came together in a movie. Of course Govinda ate Chunky alive in his dual role. Finally this is one of the first times that a remake is actually better than the original which is a classic itself. AANKHEN is a remake of S. Raamanathan's DO PHOOL with Mahmood in Govinda's role and Vinod Mehra in Chunky's role. The heroine of the movie was Anjana Mumtaz, nowadays better known as the screenmother of Akshay Kumar. Kadar Khan in a dual role is also good as usual but (except for Govinda of course) the best in the movie is Sadashiv Amrapurkar in his FIRST comedy role. Raj Babbar is oke and Ritu Shivpuri (daughter of Om Shivpuri) is watchable. From the heroines Shilpa Shirodkar is the best. With the hitsongs LAL DUPATTE WALI AND ANGANA MEIN BABA

When David Dhawan started his career, he had a few ups and downs...well mostly downs. His first 4 films bombed but he gave 2 hits in Shola Aur Shabnam and Bol Radha Bol. However, his first monster hit came in Aankhen.

Hasmukh Rai is a very wealthy man but is always upset with his buffoon sons, Munnu and Bunnu. (Chunkey Pandey-Govinda) The boys are good hearted but big troublemakers. They are spoiled brats who see the dark side of life when they witness a shootout. A shootout they have nothing to do with but a shootout that changes their lives.

Aankhen is a film that works with an interesting plot but scores due to other things working out more than the plot. The comedy in the first half and parts of the second half is still memorable to me. The chemistry of the two lead actors is first rate. Not to forget their chemistry with Kader Khan. There is even more comedy with a twist in the second half.

Also, the sequences featuring a minor love triangle between Kader Khan, Bindu and Saadishiv (Pyare Mohan) is thoroughly enjoyable. Not to forget the double role portions.

Flaws? The film does dip in pace a bit in the second half.

Music is fantastic. Love all the songs.

David Dhawan's direction is excellent. One of his best works.

The film belongs to Govinda and Chunkey Pandey. Especially Govinda in the second half. They make Aankhen what it is. Kader Khan is as always, fab! The villains in the movie are awesome. Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover and Raj Babbar are perfect.

Rest of the cast is great.

Overall - A film that never bores you when its on and one of the David Dhawan's most underrated flicks. Superb!

Aankhen review :

Heck ya, whats this double role ka overdose... Govinda Govinda Kader Kader Babbar Babbar But only one Chunky?

No, there is a monkey too!!

Such was the joke going around Aankhen - a hardcore masala entertainer which had a lot many double roles as much as it had plot twists. But director David Dhawan proved his mettle by executing the almost unbelievable screenplay at such a racy pace that the audience didn't bother to notice its loopholes at all and accepted it wholeheartedly. Just like they would embrace Manmohan Desai hits of the '70s. Yup, you can call this the MKD treatment of the '90s and the legendary filmmaker himself magnanimously acknowledged Dhawan's blockbuster as 'his kind' of cinema in print. Wow!

Newcomers Ritu Shivpuri and Rajeshwari were cast opposite Govinda and Chunky Pandey, respectively. The uber chiquè Ritu didn't quite suit the rustic Govinda but she looked extremely sexy in her seductive number 'Ek tamanna jeevan ki'. On the other hand, the voluptuous Shilpa Shirodkar complimented Govinda perfectly and their sexual innuendos in the Bhojpuri touch wala 'Angna mein baba' song met with loud ceetis at Chitra Cinema, Dadar where I saw this movie in its first weekend.

Aankhen arrived at a time when the country was reeling back to normal after the 1992 riots and the serial bomb blasts which devastated Bombay (now Mumbai) in March 1993. Quite a few biggie movies like J. P. Dutta's Kshatriya and Rakesh Roshan's King Uncle had flopped in this period and the audience needed a true blue stress buster to relieve themselves. This film was the perfect dose for them!!!

Aankhen became a blockbuster hit breaking all prior records. At Metro Cinema in Mumbai, the current booking windows didn't open for first fifty days. It celebrated a silver jubilee here. The film gave a big boost to Pahlaj Nihalani as a producer, David Dhawan as a director and most importantly, Govinda as a star. But Chunky as the second hero didn't benefit at all. Just like Bajrangi the monkey!!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

This movie is a typical David Dhawan fare. Be sure to turn off your brains while watching the movie. After that well the movie is pretty enjoyable and the gags are rather effective. Chunkey and Govinda are in a double role; as a result comedy of errors follows and hence laughter ensues. The supporting cast also fits in to the fullest. Kader Khan is at his best. The villains are pretty much dirtiest type a comedy can have and are rather menacing. Overall its a fun filled 3 hours ride, I would recommend it to anyone who can digest and enjoy Govinda-David Dhawan brand of humour. And yes look out for the monkey who's the third most important member of the cast.

Aankhen features Hasmukh Rai (Kader Khan), who sons Munnu (Chunkey Pandey) and Bunnu (Govinda) are spoilt, irresponsible youngsters whose only aim in life is to have fun at all costs. In the meanwhile Natwar Shah (Gulshan Grover) is a share broker who is behind bars for masterminding a massive stock market scam. Natwar's brother (the late Mahavir Shah) hires a gangster called Tejeshwar Singh (Shakti Kapoor) to help remove Natwar from jail and smuggle him abroad.

Munnu and Bunnu inadvertently find themselves entangled in the crosshairs of a diabolical conspiracy to replace the existing state chief minister (Raj Babbar) with his lookalike, who happens to be a member of Tejeshwar's gang. Their misadventure ends with Bunnu gone missing and all evidence pointing towards Munnu, even as the plan to replace the chief minister comes off.

Can the brother get to the bottom of it? Will they manage to thwart Tejeshwar and co? Will Natwar manage to escape the long arm of the law, or will justice catch up with him?

Unlike what the synopsis above might suggest, Aankhen is a comedy movie that never takes itself seriously. The performances are brilliant across the board, not least those of Govinda and veteran actor Sasadhiv Amrapurkar. There's also the small matter of 3 different characters having a doppelgänger- highly unusual even in a David Dhawan movie.

The highest grosser of 1993, Aankhen is a brainless caper which keeps you entertained from the first scene to the last. Leave your brains behind and watch this movie- its a hilarious little caper.