Ram Balram

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 Not that Ram Balram is a bad film or a crappy affair, but it's outdated for 1980.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.

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.

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.

Another one of the Dharmendra-Amitabh hit movies with a lot of action packed with good dialogues and comedy. They play the role of orphaned brothers Ram and Balram brought up by a nasty fake Uncle Jaggu. One brother becomes a mechanic and another a police-inspector. They don't know the truth about Jaggu's relationship with them until Jaggu's old girlfriend returns to town. Thrown in-between are some catchy songs 'Ek rasta...do raahi', 'Yaar ki khabar mil gayi..gayi', 'Ladki pasand ki mushkil se milti hai' and 'Balram ne bahut samjaaya'. Amitabh has perform many stunts himself in this film esp. riding the motorbike in the dockyard. A must-see for all Amitabh & Dharmendra fans!

Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra team up together after SHOLAY(1975) and CHUPKE CHUPKE(1975)

Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha are paired after MR NATWARLAL(1979) with Dharmendra and Zeenat Aman paired after SHALIMAR(1978) Ajit plays their mean uncle.

The film is mainly about Ajit's plan to use Dharmendra to kill the smugglers and Amitabh to save him But Amitabh has a plan of his own The climax is done-to-death

The film may not have reached the status of SHOLAY but is still very entertaining Above all the cast, Dharmendra-Amitabh are a perfect combo and have very good chemistry Zeenat Aman looks ugly with Dharam but is okay Rekha looks beautiful for Amitabh and both make a good pair Amjad Khan, Prem Chopra are typecast Ajit impresses with his evilness