Tezaab

It's the movie which turned Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit into superstars of Hindi cinema. The song - Ek Do Teen Chaar Paanch Chhe Saat Aath Nau Dus Gyaarah Baarah Terah used to echo in the streets of India throughout the day when the movie was released. Madhuri Dixit became the dancing queen of Bollywood overnight and thereafter her on-screen magic lasted for over a decade.

The tagline of the title of the movie is 'A Violent Love Story' which is quite apt because despite being a love story, it's full of violence and action and therefore, it was liked by the romantic movie audience and the action-lovers alike.

Tezaab (acid) is a combination of two different stories of two protagonists of the movie - Mahesh or Munna (Anil Kapoor) and Mohini (Madhuri Dixit). Mahesh is a honest boy from a simple family having a genuine sympathizer in the world in the form of inspector Gagan Singh (Suresh Oberai) whereas Mohini is the daughter of an alcoholic father - Shyamlal (Anupam Kher) for whom nothing is more important than liquor. The love story of Mahesh and Mohini takes place in the college on the premise of heartbreak of Nikita (Mandakini). Once their love story takes off, love prevails everywhere for them but this blossoming of their love is marred by framing of Mahesh by a corrupt police inspector (Mahavir Shah) under a false charge and finally being termed as a known bad character (goon) is made TADIPAAR (debarred from entering the city) for one year. Now a straight boy who has been a patriot and wanted to serve his country become a criminal, known as Munna and he has his own gang with Babban (Chunkey Pandey) as his main sidekick.

On the other hand, Mohini is all alone now with his alcoholic father - Shyamlal who is such a shameless person that he has no problem even if his daughter becomes a cabaret dancer or even a call-girl provided he gets his regular quota of liquor. The owner of the club where Mohini is forced to dance - Saxena (Tej Sapru) wants to marry her but she is still awaiting for the return of the love of his life - Mahesh amidst all the turmoil and loneliness in her life. A big gangster - Lotia Pathan (Kiran Kumar) abducts Mohini from the club itself for the sake of his money owed to him by those who are interested in the life of Mohini. Now it's time for Mahesh (or Munna) to come back from his city-debarredness and not only save the life of Mohini but also settle some old scores.

The title of the movie refers to the anguish and stuffiness in Mahesh which make him feel like filled with acid in his personality. And the ending scene is not very very impressive but also justifies the title when the sympathetic police inspector Gagan Singh allows Mahesh to vent out all that acid from his personality by throwing it over on a criminal who is already going to be sentenced by the court of law.

This is easily one of the best movies of N. Chandra who has now slipped into B grade movies. The direction is topnotch and the screenplay is aptly presented through flashbacks. Right from romance to glamour to action to sentiments, in every aspect of the story, the movie scores with distinction. Art direction and other technical aspects are very good. Editing is also pretty good except for the fact that the movie is too long with an overdose of violence. Dialogues are also very impressive.

Laxmikant Pyarelal composed very good music using the lyrics of Javed Akhtar. Other than the female version of Ek Do Teen, its male version (sung by Amit Kumar), So Gaya Ye Jahaan (sung by Nitin Mukesh), Keh Do Ki Tum Ho Meri Varna (Amit Kumar-Anuradha Paudwal duet) and Hum Tumko Dilbar Kyun Maane (Anuradha Paudwal-Sudesh Bhonsle duet) are also very good. The last song was inserted in the movie after its release and box office success.

Tezaab has a great repeat value and can be watched many times. I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to both the romantic movie audience as well as the action movie audience. It's wholesome entertainment. Just bear with the excessive violence.

N Chandra used to make great films in the past, this film is his most memorable film ever and also was a big hit

The film also is remembered as Anil's one of best performances and also made Madhuri a sensation

The film may sound ordinary today but was different those days the film does have lot of clichés and the initial college scenes and the entire jumping form top scene of Anil is too amateurish but it's okay for it's time

The film successfully portrays a violent love story which falls due to circumstances

The scenes between Anil and Madhuri are pure magic while the transformation of Anil should be seen to be believed The pace is hampered at times and also there are too many stupid scenes in the middle plus the ingredients of commercial film yet the film stands out

N Chandra does a great job Music was a big hit

Anil Kapoor stands out, his walk, talk all make you feel he is a real tapori which he had played before in MASHAAL but here his role became most memorable He kept playing goon roles later in THIKANA and other films Madhuri Dixit was good in her part Anupam excels and evokes more hatred then Kiran Kumar Kiran Kumar irritates as the villain Annu Kapoor is good

A violent love story as the director promised. Action,emotion,drama,music,dance,comedy and what not? The songs are absolutely fantastic the dance number "ek do teen" was a smash hit in those days other songs were equally good. The comedy by Johny Lever and Chunky Pandey was very good. Especially the scene when Chunky poses as an Arab business man in a gambling den. All the casts were perfect fit in this film except Anil Kapoor. Although he was the lead roll he looked too old to pass as a collage student. Madhuri Dixit looks absolutely beautiful in this movie. This was the movie when she became a star overnight. This is a really good movie. I have seen it more than 10 times.

The story drags a lot. The story has many angels. Several stories stitched one. A remake of a Hollywood movie. The songs are very good. Especially, So gaya yeh jahan, so gaya asman... I didn't like the ending and some of the parts of the movie. Anil Kapoor, Madhuri, Anupam Kher did very very well. Chunkey Pandey, Johnny Lever, were also good. Recommended 60%.

Tezaab- The best rip-off ever made in Bollywood

Tezaab completely blew me away when I saw it in the theater back in 1988. This movie presents a unique Hindi movie experience - mainly due to its breakneck pacing, tight editing, Anil Kapoor's raw performance as an ex-patriot and the phenomenon called Madhuri Dixit that got unleashed on the unsuspecting Indian audience. Chandra did a great job in brewing this violent love story with choicest set-pieces lifted straight from Hollywood and Hong Kong movies such as Streets of Fire (main story), The Untouchables (bank robbery scene) and Jackie Chan's Police Story (the destruction of the villain's lair using multiple cars as weapons of choice). Interestingly, in hindsight, it is hard to imagine Tezaab without any of them. Typical Bollywood elements are also in abundance here such as boy meets girl, the sleazy father beats girl, girl fights boy, boy ridicules girl, villain eyeballs girl, boy threatens the social order, and corrupt police whup boy's ass. In other words, the storyline is as old and only as engrossing as a dormant volcano, which, by the way, could explode in any century or minute. As one reviewer mentioned - It is the execution that separates Tezaab from the junk routinely made by Bollywood. Rest of the usual shenanigans are covered under measured doses of misunderstood love triangles, the inevitable hero's sidekick (an outstanding Chunkey Pandey here) and his minions, lilting music, songs, dances, and the ubiquitous ugly comedian - Johnny Lever. It is all there. So what is not to like? Well, there is one thing that sometimes troubles only the Coen Brothers - and that is originality. Not a single scene in this movie is original by any standard, but it worked in those days. And it still works in Bollywood because the majority of its audience are neither connoisseur of international cinema nor avid readers of psychology. Why psychology you ask? Well, in the movie Anil Kapoor's character attempts suicide to prove his love to the leading lady Madhuri Dixit. Now her character is a student of psychology and if the screenwriter had done some research on psychology, he would have found out that a psychology major would be extremely cautious around a person who professes his love by threatening suicide by jumping off a building. Nevertheless, Indian filmmakers routinely apply to their creation- Oops! Did I say creation? I mean inspired creation- the logic of Looney Tunes, and that is why no matter how loony the hero maybe, the heroine always tunes into his call. Notwithstanding the flaws, Tezaab also scores mainly due to its smart editing, as mentioned earlier. The movie jumps back and forth in timelines at various crucial moments in the movie and this, in my opinion, is the most original aspect of this movie. It is put to use very effectively to convince the viewers of Kapoor's character's transformation from a patriot to a criminal and to establish grounds for his volatile love affair with his girlfriend. Most of the characters have violent proclivities- notably Annu Kapoor as a chaiwallah with lofty aspirations and Suresh Oberoi as an incorruptible cop who acts as Anil Kapoor's conscience. The director spends just enough time with these characters to let them justify their brand of violence. They come in and out of the flashbacks at the most crucial moments and truly propel the story to the next set-piece. Despite some obvious drawbacks, Tezaab remains one of the most memorable action flicks from the '80s that even women liked. Watch it, and you just might smell the acid that the director so skillfully distilled for us to enjoy.