As Algemas

My dad made me see this when i was a kid. Obviously it is outdated but some of the 70's era clothes n hairstyles are hilarious. The zoom shots to an actor's face is funny and the editing is lousy. It is slow at times but hang in there. Bachan is excellent. His angry n serious facial expressions, dialogue delivery n above all his screen presence is awesome. Bachan displayed the character's internal turmoil very well. The action choreography is again lousy. Also noteworthy is Pran, another magnificent character actor. He was solid as the fearless Pathan n his song about friendship is memorable. The villain, Ajith was good too.

This hard-hitting film is my favourite for many reasons: -powerful performance by amitabh (laughs twice in the movie) -train murder scene which deserves putting Prakash Mehra up there with the all time director greats. Also Mehra has a penchant for location shooting and you get to see some of the dark sides of the mumbai locale. -esoteric motifs and hints strewn all over the movie('Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool') -Teja the bad guy is convincingly portrayed by Ajit -The unending quest for justice and it's bittersweet resolutions -The theme of love vs. revenge All these were amplified in Mehra's second classic 'Muqaddar ka Sikandar' In short it is rewarding viewing!

Zanjeer review :

"Jab tak baithne ko na kaha jaye, sharaafat se khade raho. Yeh Police station hai, tumhare BAAP ka ghar nahi"

When Pran Saahab's Sher Khan had to eat humble pie to a lanky police officer whose eyes spoke volumes, a super star was born.

Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer gave India its first angry young man. Playing an upright cop who is battling his troubled childhood memory, Amitabh Bachchan was just the kind of the hero the aam junta of that time was looking to celebrate. After all, he epitomised their frustrations and angst against the system.

Salim Javed's script may seem tailor made for Bachchan today but Zanjeer was a film rejected by many reigning superstars from Rajkumar to Dev Anand before landing in Amitabh's lap.

Ajit played the sophisticated Teja whose Mona darling jokes are still popular. I am particularly fond of the restaurant scene where Amitabh goes to meet Teja and Mona (Bindu) having their dinner.

"Khana khate waqt cigarette peena bahut buri baat hai"

Punchy dialogues, perfect plot and an angry Amitabh. Thats the immortal Zanjeer!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

This movie is lots of fun. It has EVERYthing in it - car chases, dance numbers, action, crime, revenge - like many Bollywood films - there's something for everyone. The film cant help but be dated - some of the 70's era clothes are hilarious. Some of the cliché zoom shots to an actor's face and yes, the movie is long - 145 minutes - it is slow at times but hang in there - it is worth it. The fact that Bachchan became a huge superstar after this also makes it a must-see. He supposedly found the seeds here to start his "angry young man" act. And the gypsy knife sharpener girl became his future wife in real life. I loved her first dance number where she gets customers to come out of their homes and bring her their knives to be sharpened. One thing about the copy we watched on DVD - it was subtitled but the SONGS WERE NOT. Frustrating.

Music,Acting, Mona darling dialogue excellent, Ajit, Bindu, Prakash Mehra direction all superb, seen this movie many times, but, never felt bored, Pran character of pathan specially after Upkaar was very good.