मुक़द्दर का सिकन्दर

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.

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.

Amjad Khans best Role after Gabar Singh.

Everyone is top Notch in this Music is brilliant, they don't make em like this anymore. It's a modern re telling of Devdas.

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 review :

Prakash Mehra's interpretation of the classic 'Devdas'; Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was an intense love saga where each of its key characters is madly in love with someone who doesn't love him or her.

Amitabh Bachchan loves Rakhee Rakhee loves Vinod Khanna Rekha loves Amitabh Amjad Khan loves Rekha.

Mehra's execution was extraordinary as he beautifully blended the hearttouching characters with superlative songs.

"Rote hue aate hai sab Hastaa hua jo jaayegaa Woh Muqaddar Ka Sikandar Jaaneman kehlayega" sings Amitabh racing down Marine Drive in Mumbai on his bike setting the tone of the film.

"O saathi re" and "Pyaar zindagi hai" are ever memorable tracks while Rekha's mujra number "Salaam-e- ishq" has attained cult status today.

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is as much Amitabh's film as it is Mehra's. The superhit actor-director jodi had truly reached a creative crescendo with this venture. I simply love Amitabh's expressions while seeing his love Rakhee dancing with Vinod Khanna in the "Pyaar Zindagi" song. Admittedly, Vinod Khanna was a formidable angle to this love quadrangle and he impressed me with his swag even in a somewhat underwritten role. Trust me, any other actor wouldve fallen flat in this role and it is to the credit of Khanna that he could stand strong in front of the unbeatable Amitabh. Rekha looks alluring as the kind hearted courtesan and this is one of the finest performances of her illustrious career.

Amjad Khan, as Dilawar, was another brilliant character and his climactic encounter with Amitabh is a major highlight of the movie. Both are fighting for their love willing to risk their life for it...Super!!

Rightfully, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, a 1978 Diwali release, took the biggest opening in history of Bollywood. It remains the biggest hits of that year and one of the top grossers of the '70s decade. Many films tried to replicate this theme later including Sajid Nadiadwala's Jeet (1996) but Sikandar remains special. And immortal like the great Alexander from whom its draws its name!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.