Ram Balram

Jagatpal (Ajit) manipulates his sister-in-law (Urmilla Bhatt) to sign the estate away to him, which she does, and is subsequently thrown out, leaving two boys in the care of Jagatpal. The two boys have grown up to fear and obey their uncle, Balram (Amitabh Bachchan) is now a police inspector, and Bholuram (Dharmendra) is a motor mechanic. Bholuram and Balram continue to acquire wealth, by hook or by crook, for their uncle. In so doing, Bholuram incurs the wrath of Chandan Singh (Prem Chopra) and Suleiman Seth (Amjad Khan). In the meantime Balram has fallen for Shobha (Rekha), and Bholuram for Madhu (Zeenat Aman), little knowing that Madhu is the daughter of none other than his uncle, Jagatpal(Ajit)..Ajit one of the great stylish villain in the 70's. what an actor at that time..

Ram Balram (1980) : Brief Review -

Vijay Anand's mediocrity saved by Dharmendra and Amitabh's pair. It's hard to believe that Vijay Anand, who has made so many beautiful films for 3 decades, has to surrender to the masala era for this mediocrity. Not that Ram Balram is a bad film or a crappy affair, but it's outdated for 1980. The film runs on known formulas of lost & found and revenge theories and then adds an interesting concept of a thief and a cop being brothers. It's illogical to see them okaying these things and carrying on working in their particular fields when they have to live like brothers, if not together. It's also illogical to believe that none of the gangsters even found out about their relation with Jagatpal. As expected, he is exposed years later, be it about his relationship with these two brothers or his own daughter. The plot looks thin, and the screenplay is faulty as well. Too many things happened so quickly in the last quarter, right from Dharmendra's escape from the ship, kidnappings, Amitabh's raid, Ajit's hostages, and all that masala stuff that looked highly repetitive. You can't really waste two big villains like Prem Chopra and Amjad Khan, even though Ajit has done well as the main villain. Dharmendra and Amitabh's pair somehow saves the show, but even they couldn't match what they had created before in other movies. Zeenat Aman and Rekha play typical heroines, and Helen as a mother wasn't up to the mark. Like I said, it looks so formulaic that at one point you find all if it is forced. Vijay Anand played safe-actually too safe. Ram Balram is based on a ridiculous theory of having chor police combo at home, and I would have enjoyed it more if the father/uncle's role wasn't too brutal. Laxmikant-Pyarelal's "Ek Rasta, Do Rahi, Ek Chor, Ek Sipahi" tried to define the same, while the rest of the songs are below par. Overall, a fairly watchable film but didn't do justice to Big B & Dharmendra's pair.

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan unite in this Vijay Anand directed film as brothers. Garam Dharam is a mechanic-thief and Amitabh is a police officer, who are manipulated from childhood by their uncle -Ajit - and he uses them to fill his pockets. They fear him, but will their fear change when they realise that Ajit killed their father and mother? You'll have to see this action-packed melodrama to find out.

Ram Balram might not be as famous or iconic as Sholay, but it's very enjoyable, it's plot and characterisation has you immersed in its story, and the exciting action set pieces vary from a western-style shoot-out to a well-staged car chases. The production is top class,so are the songs (Ladki Pasand Ki Mushkil Se Milti Hai, Mil Gayi, Mil Gayi" is my favourite), and Zeenat and Rekha make great leading ladies. But it's Ajit who steals the scene as the evil uncle, who frankly is a child abuser. Amjad Khan and Prem Chopra guest star. An energetic and highly entertaining masala film.

Review By Kamal K

It could have been much better. Amitabh and Dharmendra were not utilized fully in the true action sense. The plot was weak and complicated. Poor direction I would say.

Amitabh and Dharmendra were the top stars of 70's-80's. Unfortuantely they came together in 3 movies-Sholay,Chupke-Chupke and Ram-Balram.Fortunately for their fans whenever they came together they formed an amazing team.Ram-balram is such a movie where u will love their chemistry and aided by fast pace and lots of action it becomes worth watching.

This film is special as it is the only Amitabh-Dharam film in which both of them have equal roles. Otherwise both in Sholay and Chupke-Chupke Dharamendra had a bigger role.The film is directed by Vijay Anand who is known more for his Guide and Jewel Thief than for action flicks like Johny Mera Naam.But he handles the action oriented,star-studded Ram-balram quite well.

The topic of 2 brothers on opposite sides of law became a common feature of soem Amitabh's movies like Deewar,Suhaag, Parvarish.But none of them were so cool and celebrated about it as this movie.Here there is no tension between the brothers for this reason.On the contrary they proclaim it loudly in a amazing song ''Ek Rastaa Aha haa...''