Laawaris (1981) :
Brief Review -
Amitabh Bachchan goes bonkers in Prakash Mehra's emotional rollercoaster that has come a long way amidst the mass cinema wave. Just imagine this is 1981; you enter the cinema hall to watch Laawaris with the mindset that Amitabh Bachchan is a big superstar and Prakash Mehra is one of the best directors in mainstream commercial cinema, and Manoj Kumar's Kranti has already taken the nation by storm, and you are seated for a mainstream Indian drama expecting all masala elements. You start with an evergreen song with evergreen lyrics, and Rakhee is dancing to it in a black saree. Amzad Khan, the Gabbar, is a bad light in the first 15 minutes and then is seen helpless throughout the film. Amitabh Bachchan enters in style, saying, "Yeh apna style hai." He is frustrated after knowing that he is an orphan, but he is speaking on behalf of every orphan who has been a victim of some rich people's sexual desires. Laawaris actually tries to speak a lot on this issue instead of trying to be a typical Indian masala flick. Bachchan can speak multiple languages in the film, and he also dons 5 fancy dress types in "Mere angne mein," including female ornaments and sarees, frocks, etc. In one action scene, he fights with 5-6 people who belong to different casts, and he speaks with them in their mother tongue. He takes Zeenat Aman to his hut and introduces himself as her childhood friend. The next they are in a hug, and "Kab Ke Bichde Hue" begins in Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle's voice. I was like, I want to freeze this moment. Believe me, a similar moment in today's films, and I'd use the fast forward button and skip the next 5-6 minutes to save my worthy time. I couldn't do that here despite having seen the same song and same scene multiple times on TV. That's magic. Mehra's commercial blockbuster refers to multiple serious issues and solutions that most 80s people wouldn't understand. They might, today, I guess.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
