Saudagar

Riding on their past reputations the two Kumar giants nullified what could have been an excellent film.The story is well contrived like most rip-offs of Romeo and Juilet.The script and photography is above average.The casting is the weak link.The director would have been better advised to cast younger actors for the roles of the young Veeru and Raju instead of two old men who do more justice as grandfathers later in the film.Manisha and Vivek resemble each other too much to be plausible as lovers!Raaj Kumar's appalling physical state berefts him of his usual commanding performance though his speech is great as ever.Dilip Kumar excels but the the thunder is stolen by one Amrish Puri!A very average film most suitable for hard core Kumar fans but overall nothing new.I always felt that after Gunga Jumna Dilip Kumar didn't do justice to his talents due to his youth fixation Saudagar is another case in point.

When I think of Subhash Ghai's Saudagar two things come to mind. Firstly is the immensely popular song Ilu Ilu, secondly is the coming together of two titan of Bollywood, Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar. Dilip Kumar had previously acted by Ghai's Karma and Vidhaata. Saudagar came out in 91 where Subhash Ghai was still a trusted director that churned out hit after hit,Karz, Hero,Meri Jung and Ram Lakhan. The story of Saudagar goes like this. Two childhood friends fall out due to a misunderstanding created by Amrish Puri. Decades pass and they are now sworn enemies. Then their grandchildren(newcomers Vivek Mushran and Manisha Koraila)meet and fall in love without knowing their families legendary dispute and they conspire to make their grandparents friends again. Subhash Ghai always had a good ear for music and out of all his movies in my opinion Saudagar had the best music. All the songs are simply sublime, my favourites are Ilu Ilu and Teri Yaad. Subhash Ghai even managed to assemble a great cast together(most of whom are veterans of Subhash Ghai movies). The cast consisted of Jackie Shroff(in a special appearance)Deepti Naval,Amrish Puri,Dilip Tahil, Anupum Kher and many many more. Saudagar is very long but with a movie as entertaining as Saudagar I say the longer the better. Watching Saudagar is a sad reminder of how Mr Ghai's career has taken a turn for the worse over the past couple of years.

. . .two giants of the Hindi film industry Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar together on a screen. This movie also introduces Manisha who went on to become one of the most talented actresses of 90's. The story is not original but the music, dialogues and photography compensates for it.

What an amazing movie, Subhash Ghai has done and outstanding job with this film. I really loved, especially the meeting of two huge Bollywood stars, Raaj Kumar and Dilp Kumar, when they both got on screen you could feel the intensity and raw talent coming from both actors. Such an evergreen movie shouldn't be overlooked by Bollywood fans and viewers alike, I recommend you go out and watch this movie now it is really great. I also liked the music, particularly the song "Ilu Ilu", great song and this film helped launch the career of one Bollywood's most talented actresses, Manisha Koirala. Vivek Mushran was good in the movie also but I believe one Amrish Puri did steal the show. All in all a great film, I give it a 10/10, I would've given it a 9 but the song "Ilu Ilu" made me give it a higher score. I really loved this movie. R.I.P to Raaj Kumar, a really talented legend, movies like this are why he should never be forgotten.

Its disappointing to see a Subhash Ghai's film containing almost nothing and wasting actors such as Dilip Kumar, Raj Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Deepti Naval, Manisha Koirala. He really had nothing to talk about in this film. The music was below par. If you compare the music of this film with Kalicharan, Karz, Pardes or Hero it was a disgrace. Only the title song Saudagar is where the music director made his best attempt to create melody. The music may have become popular and sold many albums, but that could have many reasons, including good marketing and inducement. The reason for the dushmani was a simple misunderstanding but it was made so complicated with so many characters. Only the dialogs between Dilip and Raj were good to some extent. The scenes were literally written for the dialogues and situations created so that the dialogue can be said. Subhash must have thought that in each scene have lots of people standing and that would make a good scene or a good movie. Subhash had made some good movies like Kalicharan, Karz, Pardes. After Pardes his movies only looked grand but lacked a story and soul. Dilip Kumar was so good in Mashal, Vidhata because he had a good role. The ending also was senseless, where there is no use of brain power on the part of Dilip Kumar or Raj Kumar. The Villains use brain power and the heroes lack it.