Disco Dancer

Disco Dancer review :

1982 was the year of Asian Games. 1982 was year of Carlos the Jackal .... .... And most important, 1982 was the year of 'Disco Dancer'

A film which introduced pop culture to Bollywood, made Mithun Chakraborty an overnight dancing sensation and took Indian cinema international from south east Asia to Russia.

I kid you not!! I visited Russia recently and was pleasantly surprised to know that while the older generation Russians associate Raj Kapoor with India, their next gen know us as the land which produced Disco Dancer.

Prabhuji (which means God), as Mithunda is still referred to in the interiors of North India, started his illustrious career with the offbeat 'Mrigaya' (1976) for which he won his first National award but hit real box office gold with this B. Subhash directed musical.

Disco Dancer had some superlative tracks by Bappi Lahiri. 'Krishna dharti pe aaja', 'Koi Yahan Nache Nache' and of course the title song ' I am a disco dancer' is still potent enough to influence Rohit Shetty to do a parody of it with the older Mithunda in 'Golmaal 3' (2010). Superstar Rajesh Khanna was roped in a special appearance to hum 'Goron ki naa Kaalon ki, Duniya hai Dilwalon ki'. Remember this was almost a decade before Michael Jackson told the world that it doesn't matter if you are black or white.

The story was simple - a street urchin turns big when his talent is identified and groomed by a manager of a fading arrogant dancer. The rag to riches disco dancer manages to settle score with the baddie who had insulted his mother but loses a lot of his own in the bargain.

Today, the plot may appear clichéd; almost laughable but the movie hasn't lost its spirit and spunk.

Kim played the heroine to Prabhuji but I personally loved the sexy Kalpana Iyer who made her presence felt in the one song and few scenes she appeared in. The portly Om Shivpuri played an unconvincing villain while Karan Razdan was the unintentional comic relief.

I revisited 'Disco Dancer' on DVD last night. It brought back pleasant memories of an era best known for films of "so bad they are good" type. The great grand excessive 80's we know of. Sometimes I actually miss those unpretentious times.

Koi lauta de mere woh beete huye din...

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

This is the incredibly silly story of a heroic Disco Dancer and his mother trying to restore their good name and defeat the evil Disco Dancer and his rich, evil father. The evil Disco Dancer has a goofy Freddy Mercury mustache and rips off the 80's song Video Killed the Radio Star. The good Disco Dancer snaps his fingers when he fights like an extra from West Side Story. The main bad guy employs that big goofy looking bearded white guy who was in so many Indian movies of the era as a heavy. The musical numbers are the reason to show up - they are frequent and hilarious.

I definitely recommend this movie. Very goofy stuff, great singing and dancing, mega-retarded plot. My girlfriend, who generally can't stand silly movies, had the "I am Disco Dancer" song stuck in her head for a week. Go crazy!

Hi All,

This is a breath taking piece of work as it is probably the strangest and funniest film I have ever seen. Although I suspect this was not the intention of the film. This is late night after the pub stuff. Just laugh your way through it. the big guitar disco dance number near the end is so absurd that you will wet yourself from laughing. The guy who reviewed it is absolutely on the money in his comments. But it is impossible to really relate how nuts it is. With extra mirror balls and disco dancers that spring up out of nowhere. A Killing guitar (literally it kills). Unhappy Indian disco dancing punters that take out their frustrations by throwing sandals- whats it all about?

Cheers

Damian

There's plenty of silly Bollywood films out there but this is the best of the lot! At times its hard to believe its not some genius spoof. There are some real 'I cant believe that just happened!' moments... whats the midget wedding all about!? Our hero Jimmy avenges his mothers humiliation by badman Oberoi by becoming a disco dancing star. On the way he sees off rival disco dancer who happens to be Oberois son, kung-fu kicks Oberois goons, ruins Oberois business and not only that he bags his daughter.. what a guy!

If you have a stupid sense of humour and can appreciate the early 80s naffness it'll put a big fat silly smile on your face. The music isn't so great when compared to other disco films like Star or Qurbani but makes up for in the bonkers department. Having said all that its not a bad little film underneath and Mithun puts in a great performance as Jimmy. The end climax is just classic. Sing Jimmy, sing!!

Turn off your brains, sit back and relax - that's the slogan for most Indian movies. I consider this one to be a masterpiece. "Jimmy, jimmy - acha acha acha!" - this song is still remembered throughout the former Soviet Union, though 20 years have passed since the film was #1 in national top. Indeed, Indian producers far outsmarted Walt Disney in silly-story-making, with far lower budget. Who knows what globalization issues will produce in the next few years? If Indians win the movie entertainment market, this film may hold the place of Casablanca. As a matter of fact, both Casablanca and Disco Dancers are full of clichés and national vision of the outer world, so in this point of view Disco Dancer is a masterpiece again.