Gaddaar

I was about 15 yo when this movie was released. Yet, even today, I would rate Gaddar next, only to Khamosh and at par with Dhund. Powerful action-packed suspense, with magnificent performances by Late Pran and Late Vinod Khanna, snow-clad locations are etched in my mind, like few other movies. A must-watch for any Indian action-movie lover.

Gaddaar review :

One of the finest heist movies made in Bollywood; Gaddaar was produced and directed by Harmesh Malhotra who collaborated famously with Sridevi in the '80s for the super hit Nagina (1986) and couple of other duds like Sherni (1988) and Banjaran (1991). Anyway, coming back to Gaddaar, it had a unique plot for its time where all the key characters were negative or with grey shades.

Seven chors pull off a difficult heist but one of them turns traitor (or gaddaar as the title goes) and runs away with all the money. The other six try to track him down taking help from another thief who stumbles upon their secret.

Gaddaar is thematically similar to many future Bollywood hits like Kaante (2002) and Johnny Gaddar (2007). Infact, Malhotra remade the same plot as Choron Ki Baaraat in 1980.

Of the cast, Vinod Khanna was trying to change his image from villain to lead hero in those days and Gaddaar was perfect suit for him. Veterans like Pran, Anwar Hussain, Madan Puri and Ram Mohan delivered fantastic performances. The relatively younger Ranjeet left an impression as the hot headed Babu. The lusty Manmohan got his mandatory rape scene. The plot had no place for a heroine but Yogita Bali did the best she could in her short role. Padma Khanna oozed sex appeal in her cabaret number.

Gaddaar is largely forgotten today as it wasn't so successful at the box office despite having the merits. It certainly deserves a watch. Specially for those who are Quentin Tarantino fans. See it folks and you will understand why!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

I first came to know about 'Gaddar' through 'Avijaat Joshi's Book,When i watched it for the very first time,it blew me away,was not expecting anything special to come out from this Movie but after finished watching it,I could not stop myself from applauding each and everyone related to this Gem,Be it the perfect cast(Vinod Khanna,Pran,Iftikhaar,Madan Puri,Ranjeet,Yogita Bali),Music(Inspired from Dollars Trilogy yet fits the the situation perfectly),A unique way of Story telling and Direction by 'Harmesh Malhotra',everything was just 10/10,Being a Movie fanatic,it makes me kinda said that not many people are aware of this movie,I have never seen an Indian Critic talking about this 'Masterpiece' let alone regular Bollywood Lovers,This Movie deserves attention and admiration from Indian Movie Lovers and Critics,If you haven't seen 'Gaddar'then you are missing out on something Great,Buy It's DVD or VCD and WATCH IT ASAP.

Somebody told me Tarantino was inspired from Gaddar to make Reservoir dogs. In Reservoir dogs, one of the thiefs turns a police informant but we don't know who, in Gaddar, one of the friends escapes with all money and the film is about searching him. Apart from this, there is not any similarly between these two.

It's one of those rare Bollywood films without a love story. Yes, there's a girl. But still, there is no romance and no love song. I am saying this because that's the only thing you see in 70's Hindi films.

There's one item song almost at the starting. And that did put me off. The story starts holding only after 25 minutes into the film. I don't see any logic in it, I don't need to.

I would like a see a remake of this film, although, I am totally against them. I want to see a version without it flaws, in a modern setting.

Solid cast. Pran, Iftekar, Anwar Hussain, Madan Puri, Vinod Khanna, Ranjit all are good. The plot is good. Probably based on some English crime novel. Unlike a typical Hindi movie, there are no clear heroes and villains. There are shades of gray which is unusual and makes the movie worth watching. Also, every character seems to have something special in him in spite of so many of them. Snowy locations are rare in Hindi movies and are spectacular in this.

They have blatantly plagiarized the title music of For a Few Dollars and used it a lot. I am not sure if they gave credit to the original music director. But that shows lack of originality. Although the music suits the movie quite well.

The plot is not easy to guess and makes the movie interesting.