Ep 264- Meri Jung- 80s Dhamaka Series

[00:00:00] Dhamaka Dhamaka Dhamaka My name is Blackhand Where you are standing, start with wine

[00:00:20] Hi and welcome to a new episode of Khandaan Podcast. My name is Asim Burney and I'm joined with my lovely co-host Amrita and Sujoy. Hey Amrita, hey Sujoy. Hey everybody, including Thakral. Welcome to the show.

[00:00:40] I think this is, so we're talking about Meri Jung in this episode, a movie which I feel I have manipulated the whole entire situation and created this series only to talk about Meri Jung. This is basically what's happened. And I feel it's also the kind of movie where I should only address you guys with your full names. So Amrita Rajan, Sujoy. You know, that's the kind of movie this is.

[00:01:10] Guys, I'm so excited to talk about Meri Jung. I, after Kalia, I was nervous. Yeah. I was really, really nervous because on Kalia we were like coming in high, we were like, this is going to be amazing. And Meri Jung got me worried because I realized watching it, I hadn't seen it in a while. And I was like, man, maybe this movie won't hold up. Maybe it's not going to be as good. Boy, I was wrong. This is the best movie ever made.

[00:01:38] I wouldn't say that, but all my worries just evaporated away. The moment the opening credits happened and it said, written by Javed. Yeah. Which is Javed of Javed up there. And I was like, yeah, we are in safe hands, man. Yeah. It's back in the day where he was just like, you know, Cher, like on the first name base. He was Beyonce. You're a seal. Yeah, exactly. He was McLovin. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:02:07] I just, I can't even comprehend how this movie hit me. And I will disagree with you. This is, this is what for other people Satya Cheet Re is. This is for me, Meri Jung. This is what this is. You know? This is what Citizen Kane is. For other people, this is what Meri Jung is for me. I will go to war for Meri Jung. This is your war. This is Meri Jung. This is her kadam.

[00:02:36] We will win. Guard. Guards. Oh, guards. Amrita, let's start with a little summary. If you want to. What's Meri Jung about? Well, technically, it's about a lot of things. It is about a young man who witnessed his innocent father be hanged for a crime that he did not commit.

[00:03:06] Grow up to become a lawyer with the dream of reuniting his family and also to stand for justice for the innocent. And claim back his piano. And claim back his piano. So, Sujoy Man, when was the last time you saw Meri Jung? Oh, I haven't seen this in the digital era, I would say.

[00:03:34] Like, this is a very analog movie in my memory. I did not get to watch it at the cinema when it released because I was probably way too young. So, this is a proper VHS movie for me. Not only VHS, but a black and white movie for me because we had a black and white TV. Right? And we had, like, rented VHS player. And, like, one of those made-in-Burma imports. It was an Akai or a Funai, one of those.

[00:04:01] And then we used to rent the Meri Jung videotape every, I don't know, now and then. Because this was such an 80s high kind of a movie. And I remember re-watching it many, many years, like, when I was, like, 10 or something. You know, a whole year of just Meri Jung. And then it just disappeared from my life. Yeah. Like, other than the title track, which is just, like, a ghost in my life.

[00:04:30] You know, it always pops up of nowhere. Maybe not, like, Javed Jaffrey and his legacy of rock and roll came through during the Boogie Woogie period in the 90s when Satellite TV and Sony TV came into our life. And he came back into existence again. But other than that, Meri Jung has been, like, that analog VHS movie for me.

[00:04:56] It did not, I did not go back and re-watch it in color, which is weird because it's a cinema scope, 35mm, you know, short, really wide movie. And the restoration in the ultra print that is available on YouTube is pristine. Yeah. And, yeah, it was such a treat to re-watch it in that. Yeah. For me, it was one of those cassettes. I think one of my family members in Pakistan used to have it.

[00:05:25] I don't know if it was my nani's ghar or my tayya's ghar. Somebody had it on VHS. So every time I used to go to Pakistan, I used to watch it on repeat. And I never had it back home. And it's also one of those movies that I don't feel has been re-appreciated or re-evaluated or kind of gotten, you know, it's a classic, you know, like so many others. It's not one of those. So I had not even seen it in years, but this movie lives in me, which I realized. Amrita, what about you?

[00:05:54] What's your memory of Meri-Jang? Yeah, it's pretty much what Sujoy is saying as well. Like I remember this from the before times. Excuse me. This was very much a staple of like the cable TV era. I remember it was a favorite of the, we used to have like an intra network within the community where we lived.

[00:06:22] And, you know, the video tape parlor guy used to program it with whatever he wanted to watch. And he wanted to watch Meri-Jang quite a bit. So we saw that, I remember. He was probably... So George Kutti loves Meri-Jang. That's an inside Drishyam joke for a while. So this went on like maybe like late 80s, early 90s.

[00:06:51] Like it used to be on TV all the time. And I really, really remember the Bowl Baby Bowl track. That was something that I really remember. And then of course, like, you know, the piano and the Meri-Jang song. Like that is obviously something that I remember. But that's literally, I think, the only two things that I remember. So watching the movie, I was kind of going back and reading a bit about it.

[00:07:18] And I mean, you're saying it's written by Javed. But it feels to me at least that this was a clear Salim Javed movie, not a just Javed movie. And what the urban legend is supposed to be is that when they, Salim Javed split up as a writing duo, they just kind of like divided up, you know, the scripts one and one. Like basically that Akshay Kumar comedy sequence, Ek Tera Do Me He, you know, that kind of thing. That basically what happened.

[00:07:47] And they were supposed to make this with Amitabh. Ramesh Sipiw was supposed to direct it. And it was supposed to be called Shatranj. Amitabh went into politics. And Anil Kapoor kind of, you know, stepped into that, this role. He basically had this. He came off Mashal. He made this. And Mr. India, it catapulted Anil Kapoor to the star that he became, basically. It's clearly an angry young man movie, right?

[00:08:14] And yeah, but it is a young man, Anil as well. And so like, yeah, that energy of the anger and the volume, because Anil is so angry in this movie. Anil is on 11 the whole movie. Yeah. The whole movie he's on 11. And it's a great 11. It's an amazing 11. Stay on 11. Yeah. I also had forgotten that all throughout the 80s, for some reason, Anil Kapoor just looked sunburned.

[00:08:44] Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I don't know what that is about. It looks so cool. It looks so cool. I don't know what it is. Like, his hair is messy. He looks dusty as F. And it looks so cool. Right until like, Lame when he got there. You know? Yash Chopra got his hands on him. Like, cleaned him up. Yash Chopra was like, here is some moisturizer. First Dittol and then Moisture. Pani Pio. Pani Pio. Yeah. Because his look is very Joe Shile.

[00:09:14] You know, Joe Shile, that's the kind of look he had. And maybe he was shooting both of them at the same time. But there's two movies of this look that I really like. Because this is a look I like on Anil Kapoor. I like Joe Shile. And there was one where he got the Patata Bada one with Madhuri. Ah, freaking hell. What was that? I'm going to blank on the name. But those two. And I'm going to get to do this at the point later on. But Hifazad.

[00:09:45] Hifazad. That is like the peak Anil Kapoor sunburn dusty look. And it looks so cool. Especially when he was wearing sometimes brown leather jacket that was like all faded. It's just like these Anil Kapoor things that I like. I mean, yeah, I love Anil Kapoor. So this is supposed to be made as Shatranj. They didn't get it together. Anil Kapoor took over.

[00:10:10] And I love this movie because it is a legal drama written by people that have never stepped into court. And have any understanding of how the law works at all. Basically, how the law works for them is, Judge Saab, he did it. Judge Saab, he didn't do it. Judge Saab, he did it. And that's how you win a court. Which, in a way, shows you maybe that is actually how the law and the court system works, basically.

[00:10:39] There's two other things. At one point, we get to hear about the reputation of Thakral. Right? And he never loses. But when you see his process, he's pretty much cooking stories in front of the judge. He's basically Kaiser Soze in Usual Suspects. He's just looking at things and making up a story as he goes along, you know. Yeah, it's crazy.

[00:11:09] And then the second bit is lawyers kick ass. Like, not in a metaphorical way, but actually. The introduction of Anil Kapoor as we transition. From the young boy who is sitting outside being a peon. Then you see the B-roll of the books that he's reading. And then the next bit is he's wearing that black coat and he's being a lawyer. And he's, like, making arguments for the steel mill because he's Mazduroka representative.

[00:11:36] But also you see him actually beating up goons and handing them over to the police. Because he is law. He is the... I have the law. He is the law. He is a full-service lawyer. Like, when you hire, you know, Anil Kapoor as your lawyer, he will come, he will, like, beat up the goons for you. He will get them arrested. And then he will prosecute them. All your needs will be met.

[00:12:03] 360 degree service going on at Anil Kapoor's law firm. But honestly, as the kid... He's the Shadiq Mubarak of lawyers. But honestly, I watched Meri Jung and I wanted to become a lawyer. Like, that's not... I can wear a black coat and punch people. Like, this is the job. This is the best job ever. Maybe in a country like India, we do need, like, lawyers like him. That's what I'm saying. In a way, it shows what the justice system should become, you know.

[00:12:33] Like, justice. But obviously, any masala movie needs to start with tragedy, right? And this movie, sure, like, really gets into the tragedy of it. And man, I... This... The... The tragedy that these kids go through goes on for a very long time. Like, they are in misery for a very, very long time. It's not a cold open. It's a cold, cold, cold as fuck open. It's it. Exactly. So you have...

[00:13:03] So the kids lose their dad. They lose their mom. They lose their house. They lose their piano. They lose their piano. They're sitting on the street. They're, you know, like, begging for scraps. Also, the motif of a Bollywood tragedy is that there has to be AK Hangul in it. AK... I want to talk about AK Hangul separately because...

[00:13:28] Imagine all of this tragedy is happening and your hopes are pinned on AK Hangul saving you. How screwed are you? AK Hangul is the worst lawyer that has ever lawyered. Like, he shows up on screen. Like, so the movie begins with, like, Nutan running to the court with her children. And AK Hangul is like, Arei, behen, I'm aagahi.

[00:13:55] And immediately, you know, that, you know, her behen is going to lose her case. Because AK Hangul is not gonna win any case. Lawyer AK Hangul gives up the moment. Nutan says, what will we do? And I was like, I'm trying all I can, ma'am. I'm trying. I was like, how is this? Like, this is the first thing you're saying to this poor lady? So, he basically gives up before he steps into the court.

[00:14:22] Then he, in the court, he's just giving layups to Thakral. So, Thakral dumping it in, in arguments. Then he just, then he disappears. Like, Thakral is going on a monologue for 30 minutes. AK Hangul is not even in scene. He's not even objecting. He's not even saying anything. And then he goes outside and he says, I've made him admit to these false charges. Just please don't give him capital punishment, please.

[00:14:51] I was like, what kind of lawyering is this? And then when, like, the whole thing comes out and they realize that, you know, like, the father was innocent after all, he's like, you should be ashamed, Thakral, that you sent an innocent man to his death. And Thakral is like, eat this. And like, his life's off. And I'm like, yeah. What did you think was going to happen?

[00:15:19] So, after he begs Thakral to get a lesser sentence, he sees Newton. And Newton is like, what's going on? It's like, Bhagwani will do something. He's like, what? And then the final nail on the coffin, when Arun is like, you know, he figures out that he's screwed. Like, the kid is screwed as a seven-year-old. AK Angal calls him Urun. You didn't even know the kid's name? Urun?

[00:15:48] Urun is not even a name. AK Angal, man. The worst lawyer ever. AK versus AK. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. That was... I was just like, man. He was so bad. I was on Thakral's side. I was like, Thakral is making sense at least. You know, he's like, yeah. I'm going to win this court. My job is not to believe or not believe. My job is to prosecute this guy. That's...

[00:16:17] Didn't it make sense? Like, even later on, there's the doctor-sahab that comes to Thakral with his court case, right? Like, oh, my wife is a doctor and she poisoned this person and stuff like that. Can you... And Thakral is looking at the file. He's like, this is a ridiculous case. I'm not going to take this on. And I was like, yeah, Thakral, that makes sense. I wouldn't take this case on either. Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten that Girish Karner plays the damned. Like, that is not something that I remembered. Hmm.

[00:16:47] But he's literally there to die. Yeah. Yeah. What do you think of Newton, though? We... Yeah. So, this is the first movie I ever saw of Newton's. Oh. I know. So, for me, she has been frozen in this mom that goes crazy. And that moment, that sequence where she goes crazy has been burnt in my head. And I found that the most scary thing ever.

[00:17:17] Like, there was this thing about taking moms away in the 80s. And it just, like, messed me up. They did this in Kuli. They did this in here. They did this in... That... Remember that horrible... Um... Uh... Mithun movie where... Halwa Wala. I don't know. I don't know. It was Dan's Dance or something like that. Also, they kidnapped the mom after Zubi Zubi for, like, 30 years. And I was like, man, this is, like, the worst thing ever.

[00:17:43] And when she goes crazy, it was, like, one of the scariest things I had ever seen. So, for me, it was always very tough to go back and watch older Newton movies because I just could not see her as a young woman. She was just, like, always the old lady, you know, stuck in a mental institute. Which I... I was actually taken aback a little bit when I saw her because I... To me, like, she is a much older actress than Girish Karnath.

[00:18:12] Because, you know, like, I remember Girish Karnath from the 1970s. And I remember Newton from the 1950s. Yeah. But that's also a testament to just how young women are when they enter Hindi cinema. Not as much now, I guess. But even now, you do see a few kids who will be, like, 13, 14 years old and who have, like, a full-fledged career as a lead actress or something. Like, Tamana Bhatia was, like, 14 when she started.

[00:18:43] And I think that was true for Newton as well because she and Girish Karnath, they were, like, two years apart in age or something. Or, like, a year apart in age. So, it was actually really good casting. But it was just so... Like, it took me a little while. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, she's great, though. She's great in the pre... You know, in the younger part where she's kind of... You know, she's really...

[00:19:12] She's so desperate. Like, she has no avenue to save her husband at all for these trumped-up charges that they've, like, just, like, put piled on top of him. And even that sequence where... You know, that literal 80s sequence where she'll go to beg at the villain for mercy. And, you know, Thakral ka thadki jag jata hai, you know? It's like, maybe I should make a move here, you know?

[00:19:40] And then she switches off into this fury anger. So, yeah. I thought all of that was great. And then even that desperation where, you know, she's at the mandir and this guy that's actually given the false testimony admits to her, which is against... This is where Ravi Badass, Ravi Kumar, is saying the truth because all of this makes no sense. Yeah, he confesses on the steps of the mandir that he gave false testimony and her husband is actually innocent. She runs to the jail.

[00:20:09] The jail is only two kilometers away. But again, I've said this before. Nobody does cardio back in the day. So, it takes her a very long time. Husband is already dead. And she goes pretty much crazy, right? But also the second part when she kind of comes back, that is the one... That's the bit, yeah. You and me, Sujoy, were talking about it yesterday, right? Yeah. Like, the build-up is that she goes insane. And the lead is to, like, why she goes insane. The desperation and the circumstances that are piling up on her. And she just remains frozen in that moment.

[00:20:39] And once she gets that next shock from the song and all that memory comes back to her, right? And her sort of personality thaws from that frozen in time. And then, like, she realizes that all this while her kids have been growing. And, like, all the years that she's missed between that. So, she saw her child, her only son and only daughter, being, like, 10 and 5 or whatever.

[00:21:07] And then now, all of a sudden, they're adults. And she's not been there to take care of them. And the guilt of that, as an Indian parent would, I suppose. But also, like, the whole thing about they were looking up to her to take care of them. And she was not there for them. She, like, that is so brilliantly conveyed in that whole melodrama. And the song hits. And then she joins in in the song. Just their mind blown, you know? Yeah.

[00:21:36] And it takes her a while to join the song, even, right? Like, it really, like, takes her to form the words. And, like, it's coming back. It's so well done. I was crying. I was bawling. Like, I had a tough week, these guys. I watched Wild Robot, Interstellar, and Mary Jung together. I was like, just... So much parent trauma. So much parent trauma. And, again, I think watching... Like, I think as a young kid, when you watch Mary Jung,

[00:22:03] you're only connecting with the anger and the revenge part. Now, watching it as a parent, you're connecting with Nutan to a way that you didn't before. That, oh, my God, her first thing is, like, I've saved this little money in my mental asylum. Can you give it to my kids? Because they must be needing it. And that's basically... They needed... They really needed it. Because the movies take such a time to show the misery they've gone through. Like, they were begging for scraps, you know? They could have really used that money, you know?

[00:22:32] And she couldn't do it. And you can't even blame her, right? But, yeah, it's so well played. I was crying. I was crying. Anil Kapoor becomes a lawyer. And he's just lawyering left and right. The first case... He's already a successful lawyer, actually, right? Like, he's not even... There is a reputation because that's why when Thakral does not get it, Meenakshi Shishadri's, like, her choice is,

[00:23:00] Oh, I've heard about this young and upcoming lawyer who's winning cases. And she's got the hots for him, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Would you not? I mean, can Anil Kapoor angry in a black suit? Constantly angry. Yeah. But, so, the case is Meenakshi's sister has poisoned one of her patients.

[00:23:29] And there's basically no proof, but the... Like, I don't know who... They switched the bottles or something like that to poison, right? And Anil Kapoor wins this case by drinking the whole poison bottle and then saying, Hey, there's no poison. It wasn't poison at all. There's a lot of evidence tampering live in court in this movie. It's crazy. This movie has no respect for the law. No respect for due process.

[00:23:58] But I was watching it and I was like, maybe Meenakshi's sister does need to go to jail. Like, why is she keeping these medicines in her cupboard? Like, you don't have Nestrum 500? I'll have it here in my, you know, cupboard. I'll just bring it along. That's not how doctors should be working. Yeah.

[00:24:22] What did you think of that whole dramatic poison angle scene? That was actually the one scene that I really remember. So it might not be like legally sound, but dramatically, it's very sound. Because I remember it from like my childhood. Having never watched this movie in like 30 years, I was just like, oh yeah, I know how he gets her out of jail.

[00:24:49] And I didn't remember it until they were in court and he was making his arguments. Because until then, I was just like, yeah, I don't really know how he's going to get her out of this. And then he started making his arguments. And I was like, oh my God, yeah, he's going to drink the poison. I remember now. And yeah, that's what he did. But it's also such an interesting subplot.

[00:25:14] We get to see Anil Lawyer, but it's also the subplot that brings him closer to the piano. Right? And then also one of 80s tropes is there is no, like everything is larger than life. The Haveli where the doctors live has the largest Mughal carpet in the living room. It's just from one end to the other. It's one square kilometer worth, you know, put it. It's nuts.

[00:25:43] This is all rich people. This is a rich people world basically, right? It's funny though, because they show like the Girishkan and Nutan home and they're supposed to be like this lower class family or whatever. But they have a giant piano. I'm like, I don't know. What kind of lower class people are these? I loved it. I loved it. Yeah.

[00:26:09] So, and then I think we need to talk a bit about the villain quotient, right? We need to talk a bit about Amrish Puri and Javed Jafri also. I didn't remember like how sympathetic really Javed Jafri's character is. I kind of felt bad for that kid because Amrish Puri essentially takes him away from his mom. Yeah. And then hands him over to the servants to raise.

[00:26:37] Then literally says... There is a, yeah, there is a throwaway line in there when Thakral says, Mere paas uske liye paisa hai sa time name. You don't even get introduced to Vicky, but that's, you know that that's how his upbringing was. Which I found hilarious because it seems that Thakral is a secret breakdance fan because he has no time for Javed Jafri. Unless you're doing breakdance, then I'll come watch it. He is there. And in the party, he's like, oh, Mera Vicky, how much I dance.

[00:27:06] Yeah, you know, Thakral is just into breakdancing. Like secretly. They found something to bond over. And then of course, he just grows up to be like a bigadale beita of a bada baap. And he is obviously like... So Javed and Ravi, what's his name? Ravi Kapoor. What's his name? The boogie boogie guy.

[00:27:36] Oh, Ravi Bail. Ravi Bail. So Javed and Ravi Bail were the breakdancing champions in the 80s. And that's how they found their... I mean, obviously, Javed Jafri is a nebo kid. But he really got his break in the Bollywood movies because of his breakdancing abilities. And every movie that he did in the 80s, there was like something about him breakdancing.

[00:28:05] Man, I love 80s breakdancing because I used to do it. I used to do breakdancing in the 80s. We all did. I was just like, because I was watching a few other appearances of him. And the breakdancing in the 80s had so much storytelling in it. You know, I'm a robot. I ran out of batteries. Where is the battery? Put in the battery. Now I shall start dancing again. Here comes the wall. Here comes the wall. I've run out of walls. So I'll chase the rope. Yeah, where's the rope?

[00:28:34] Where's this rope taking me? Oh, there's a wave. Oh, now there's dolphins. There's dolphins. Yeah. Oh, I've become a caterpillar now. I love it. And it's like amazing storytelling. The storytelling was so amazing. You had to call all your family to watch it. Yes. Look at it. Look at it. I'll tell a story through dance.

[00:29:03] It's so embarrassing. So embarrassing. I mean, we were so wholesome as children. Oh, my God. Kids these days could never, you know, like everyone's doing like item dances and shit. And while we were all just like trying to figure out like how to like make the hands. And like getting told off by our mothers because we were like doing the inverted feet, you know. And then like the owl.

[00:29:31] And now our mothers were like, no, we'll get stuck. You'll get stuck like that. He'll become a ganji chude. Yeah. And on the other end of the dancing spectrum is Meenakshi Shishadari. Like world-renowned Bharat Natyam dancer. But dancing on a larger than life, 10 times the actual size piano on a beach. Yes. It's amazing. I don't remember that song at all. Oh, God. You didn't? You didn't?

[00:30:01] No, I remember. It was like I was watching it for the first time. And it was great. I had such a good time watching that song. So the song is Mere Khwabon Ke, right? That's the song. I love that song. It is. And I was watching it and I was like, man, it's such a complicated composition also. Like there's the beat. Like I don't know what, like I don't know instrument. Is it a bass or it's like conga beat that they put under it? But then they change keys with the whole Dil, Dil, Dil, Dil.

[00:30:31] And I was like, wow, what is this? It's like such a banger. And like she's doing Egyptian dancing. She's doing flamenco. She becomes a mermaid. And you know, like Anil Kapoor is just like playing piano on the beach. You know, it's amazing. I love that song. And then, yeah, I absolutely love that song. Yeah. We were talking about Javeh Jafri. We have to talk about Bowl Baby Bowl then, right? Yeah.

[00:30:57] I think that was a cultural moment as far as I can remember because there were lots of spoofs. There were ads being made out of that tune. And Bowl Baby Bowl would happen like throughout the 90s. Like every, like Durudarshan, like New Year's countdown, somebody would try to dance on it. If not, they could, if they couldn't bring Javeh Jafri to host and like dance on it, somebody would. That was how big.

[00:31:25] I was doing, representing all of Northeast in Bowl Baby Bowl. Yeah. Like, again, I had a today I learned moment when I was watching it. I was like, who has sung Bowl Baby Bowl? And it was Kishore Kumar, guys. Oh, wow. I did not realize this was Kishore Kumar singing Bowl Baby Bowl. Yeah. It's crazy because we'll probably get to talk about it. Or should I say, talk about it now? The music of this movie, right?

[00:31:55] There's a lot of, there's three versions of Zindagi, Har Kadam, Ik Nahi Jang Hai. One of them is sung by Nitin Mukesh. Lata Mangeshkar is singing all the female portions. But one of them is sung by Nitin Mukesh, which obviously we know is the son of Mukesh. And the other is sung by Shabbir Kumar. And, like, this was a moment when Muhammad Rafi had passed away. And so the Bollywood music, you know, system was trying to find a replacement.

[00:32:24] So we had found Shabbir Kumar on one hand and one was Muhammad Aziz. And Shabbir Kumar was singing this for LP. And it's interesting because Shabbir Kumar has such a, like, he's great, but his voice has such an aggression in how he sings. There's a, like, push that you don't get the sweetness of Muhammad Rafi's missing.

[00:32:48] But there is a signature, like, I don't know, oomph to Shabbir Kumar's voice that we find in the 80s soundtracks that LP was making with Shabbir. And that is also present in Zindagi, Har Kadam. And that being, you know, Anil Kapoor's voice in this just fits.

[00:33:08] But then when they sing Zindagi, Har Kadam later, when, like, the final scene where the family has come together, Anil Kapoor sings in Nitin Mukesh's voice. It's... Like his dad. Yeah, like his dad. It's crazy. But, yeah, that whole cultural moment of, you know, Muhammad Rafi is missing, so Shabbir Kumar is singing, but Tishore Kumar is still there. It's probably one of his last few years of singing. It's crazy. But, yeah.

[00:33:37] Har Kadam is, like, it's such a good song. Because, A, it's... I realize, like, there's key sequences in growing up in Bollywood that have, like, become me. Like, it's become part of me. Yeah. One is the sequence in the graveyard in Mukhaddar Ka Sikandar, where, you know, that I was literally explaining that sequence to my daughter, like, a couple of weeks ago.

[00:34:07] She was, like, sad about something. And I was reiterating the Kadir Khan. I really was. Like, it's such a part of me. Like, it's basically not the best parenting, but it helped me growing up. And the other is Har Kadam. You know, like, life is a war. And this is how we're going to deal with it. And it's part of me. Because this song is, clearly, it's the score to a 30-year-old revenge brat.

[00:34:36] It's a nursery song. It's a seduction song. And it's also great at the gym, you know. If you want to work out, you just, like, add a new deadlift to it. So, it's probably one of the perfect songs ever. And that whole piano section, like, multiple use, as you said, it's such a hook, man. Like, it works on so many levels. By the way, I would suggest, maybe I'll add it to the show notes.

[00:35:00] There's one of those Indian Idol song competitions that one of the singers sings in front of Shabir Kumar at Har Kadam. It is amazing. Like, I don't know who the singer is. I'll try to find it again. But it's such a good song. And then they get all of the contestants singing the chorus part of it. And it's really moving. And then they have to do the whole thing where Shabir Kumar has to focus on his. It's like, start crying, Shabir Kumar. And he then has to start crying. So, that's all.

[00:35:29] That's f***ing shit, you know. Like, I hate it. But the song itself is really good. But I want to get back to Bowl Baby Bowl quickly. Because it's such a tragedy that Javed Jaffrey didn't become a star, right? Like, he has it all. Like, he's so cool. Like, he looks great. He's tall. He has great hair at that time. He dances like Hrithik Roshan. You know, like, he does action really well.

[00:35:57] And he can do, he's even like, when he's seducing Anil Kapoor's sister, right? You get it. Like, you get that. I don't know if it's seducing or grooming. I don't know what's going on exactly. But... I have a line in front of me.

[00:36:12] Can I give a beautiful girl like a girl like a girl like a girl like a girl like a girl like a girl? She'll go. She'll go. So, you know, we were talking earlier about Nepo Baby. But yeah, even in the 80s, it didn't really work always.

[00:36:42] Like, having some... I mean, it's not that Nepo. Like, it's not that he could pull... Sure. He never like achieved the stardom. But in retrospect, what we got out of that is also kind of precious though. Like, the impact of Javed Jaffrey on the whole existence of Channel V is immense. Yeah. You know? And then we got Mumbai in Bombay Voice, which is, again, like crazy, crazy awesome.

[00:37:09] And he did that whole Feroz Khan sort of tribute in Salaam Namaste as Crocodile Dundee. It's... Yeah. It's... Yeah. And of course, he was... Like, on Indian TV, like, there's literally nobody like Javed Jaffrey. Because he did Boogie Woogie, obviously. But he did... Takeshi's Castle. Takeshi Castle. Yeah. Like, Takeshi Castle was, like, huge. And then, of course, there's The Old is Gold, which was his flagship show on Channel V. And that...

[00:37:39] No. Channel V Flashback. Channel V Flashback. That's what it was called. Yeah. And that, like, literally introduced entire generations of people to, like, the older songs, which people were, at that point, only listening through remixes. And he just came in. And he would give you, like, a history lesson. And as well as, like, a music lesson. And it was just amazing.

[00:38:04] And I am so angry that we can't find this online anymore. Like, I need to have those episodes somewhere. It would save so much research for this show. Like, watch an episode. Like, mahinat karwani padati hai. Because it's not available. It's great, though. Because he's been a part of the industry growing up. Because he's Jagdeep's son. And also, on the other side, you had...

[00:38:31] Like, I think there were only two people who were doing it like they were doing it. One's Javed Jafri and one's Sajid Khan. With his... What was that? I can't remember the show that he used to do on Sony. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's just... Back in that day, there was, like, one certain path to be a star. Right? And he kind of deviated from that. Yeah. From that. And he did... I think people love him. You know? Like, I think people generally love him.

[00:38:59] But I feel somewhere he wanted to become a star. Yeah, yeah. Like, that's what he wanted. And he didn't get that. And I'm just saying that's a shame. The other thing I also really like about Bold Baby Bolder and something that I hadn't thought of is that he gets to do kind of a dance with a girl. Like, he gets to dance with a girl. Which I feel most of the Javed Javri songs are solo songs. Like, he's just dancing on his own. The one I really like is the one in Mumbai Meri Jaan.

[00:39:29] That's a really great song, by the way, from him. But yeah, he gets to dance with a girl, which is kind of cool to see. It's a shame for the girl because she has no dancing skills whatsoever. It's like that sequence in Wanted when you have Prabhu Deva, Govinda and then Salman Khan in the middle. By the way, for the people who don't know, the girl that we are talking about is Khushbu. Khushbu. Yeah.

[00:39:53] See, this is why I like, you know, like when people are talking about like say Khushbu or Janelle Khan being terrible in their second movie or whatever. Like, Khushbu was a child actress and then, you know, this was her, I think her adult debut or whatever. And she's terrible in this. Like, absolutely horrendous. Like, she cannot act to save her life. And then she went on to become like a huge star, you know.

[00:40:22] In South, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, I don't know. I saw people have made temples about her. I was reading this on Wikipedia. I was like, what? Like, the way you remember the poison scene, I remembered the way she used to say her lines. Because she chews on her words so much. Yeah. Like, chaba chaba ke dialogue volti thi. And I, just like her enunciation, I remembered really well.

[00:40:50] It was just one of those funny things about Meri Jangdao that's kind of still stuck in my head. Yeah, she's terrible in it. Like, it's silly. And it especially shows up because she's against, she's paired against Anil Kapoor in most of her scenes. Yeah. And Anil is a beast, you know. Like, the dude can act. So, he's just like blowing her out of the water in every single scene. Anil Kapoor is living that rocky moment.

[00:41:17] Like, the M&M eight mile sequence where he knows this is my moment. If I do not take the opportunity, you know, it's going to be mom's spaghetti on my shirt basically. You know, like, it's going to be bad. And he just grabs it with full force. And he just takes us for a ride. Like, he is such an amazing performer.

[00:41:37] Like, he's basically, you know, for the young kids translating, you know, he's Ranveer Singh in, crap now, I'm blanking on the name, the Anushka Sharma movie. Band Baja Badaw. Sorry. Band Baja Badaw. But yeah, that moment where, you know, he just went full on, like, I am a star, I'm here. This is the kind of energy that Anil Kapoor has. And I'd also forgotten how, like, we talk about Shah Rukh being amazing when he's like bloodied and beaten up.

[00:42:07] How good is Anil Kapoor when he's bloodied and beaten up? Like, he looks so, when he, in that final sequence where he grabs that, what is it? Is that like a religious symbol or something? I don't know. It's like some sort of like complicated weapon. Yeah, when he grabs that, stands up and there's just blood coming out of his eyes. I was like, man, like, that is, that looks so cool on that white coat thing. And also that sequence where, like, coming back to Bol Bibi Bowl.

[00:42:36] We have to not forget that Amrish Puri is really enjoying the performance of Bol Bibi Bowl. But Amrish Puri was locked into a closet five minutes ago by Anil Kapoor who came in like a f***ing dark man. And Anil Kapoor. And he was just like, beating everybody up, locks him in the closet and goes away, throws the key. And I was like, man, that is just so cool. Looking cool with that amount of bandage on your face, that is acting. That is a star, you know?

[00:43:02] That was a particular way of showing that, you know, the bandage is white, but there are blood spots. Yeah. And like one strategic eye. Yeah. It's Moon Knight. Yeah, even the sequence. So there's a few sequences also. I want to talk about Suvaj Guy as a director, right? Like, because we've, like, all of the sequences we've told, we're talking about, they work really well because this is such a well-made movie.

[00:43:32] Like, you know, it's so sleek. It's so well done. But there were, I was thinking of it because we saw Kars and this is Miri Jung, both Suvaj Guy movies. And the way his camera moves is so amazing. First of all, Javed Jaffrey, he brings back the revolving table that he was a hat on. So he loves the revolving thing that he puts then now Javed Jaffrey on.

[00:43:55] And then there's a sequence where, sorry, where Anil Kapoor gets beaten up in the telephone booth. That is so visceral. The way they kind of cover his face with a mask and then beat him up with hockey sticks. It's just like it elevates the way, you know, he could, like, because a hero can do everything. And Anil Kapoor has basically shown he's John Wick of law in this movie, right? Like, you cannot take him down. But they take him down. They beat the crap out of him, you know?

[00:44:25] And that is, like, an amazing sequence. And it's really how Suvaj Guy shot it. The other one that I really wanted to point out is, again, the Nutan sequence. Where she, so the sequence is, Anil Kapoor, I think he lost a case or he's very, like, he's very heartbroken. He's not, like, he's in a tough position. And they start singing Har Karam. Minakshi comes in. And then they're singing the song. And then Nutan, who's upstairs, she hears it.

[00:44:54] So you know that Nutan is going to come down. But we see the camera in POV shot of Nutan walking down. So we don't see Nutan. We see what she is seeing. And I thought that was such an amazing way to shoot it, you know? And I think that's what makes Suvaj Guy such a showmaker. The title he got of filmmaker, showmaker. These are those sequences. And I think he's just amazing at them.

[00:45:21] I will say, though, about that particular sequence, that Nutan's expression in that are legitimately scary. Because you're just like, what is it? She looked like a serial killer watching them embrace. And then she goes like, You both are good singers. And I was like, oh shit. She's gonna go nuclear. And then Anil just like runs to the piano.

[00:45:50] And then just goes like, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. And then she's just like, wait. Sun tu. Ma, sun. By the way, we were talking yesterday. Like, Shah Rukh is a high bar on cinematic, you know, piano skills. Anil is a close second. And both of them can't play the piano. Yes. I mean, that's what... I remember there was a time when like Rishi Kapoor was asked about like playing the guitar or something.

[00:46:18] And he was like, no, I don't know how to play the guitar because I'm an actor. My job is to act. I can't play the piano. Like, it's not to actually play the guitar, you know. I wanted to add the whole showmanship and how Shubhashgai shoots in the scene where... In the last scene where, you know... Not the last scene, but the scene where Anil is rescuing his mother and he gets beaten up. But he goes mental with that metal block and he starts beating up the people.

[00:46:48] He jumps on the taxi and then, you know, beats up people. But there's one scene where you see the action just follow Anil 360 and it doesn't cut. And he's just going mental. It probably is a little bit sped up to make it more urgent. But it's shot so well. I don't... We don't see like action scenes like that. Like, unless it's something like kill or whatever. But here it's like... It doesn't look away.

[00:47:18] It doesn't cut every two frames. It's so great. Yeah, he's basically shooting it. Like, Anil Kapoor is beating up the camera, basically. He's hitting the thing and then they're intercutting. It's such a great way to shoot that sequence, you know. Again, very visceral. But I also have to say, like, it's... I don't know about yoga as a sprint. But didn't it feel like the last shots were just... They just gave up? Yeah. Like, you know. I don't know if it was a sensor issue or whatever because it became a bit gruesome.

[00:47:47] It felt like Thakral was stuck between the door. He was jamming him in the door, right? I don't know if it's a print issue. Whether the print was lost. I remember it this way. I remember it was this way when I watched it in the 80s even. Oh, wow. Yeah, I can't remember what actually happened. Whether it was a sensor issue that the sensor did not pass it. They had to cut it and just the voice of Arun talking over it. But it did feel like something happened.

[00:48:14] Because it's such a shame because the dialogue is so powerful. He says, He has brought the blood of the blood. Like, I was like, man, that is like... This is Salim Javed dialogue, you know. And it just gets like all weird. And I also just like the fact that it's a three-hour legal drama. But at the end, they just end up beating each other up. You know, like... There's a time for talking. And then there's a time for taking an iron rod and then beating everybody.

[00:48:41] I would definitely like to know, like from the insiders who worked on this movie or from the Hossesmaj Subhash guy himself, what actually happened in those last final reels of, you know, the climax scene where it gets all edited out. What do you think of Meenakshi? We haven't talked about Meenakshi too much. I mean, it's kind of... Yeah. Anybody has some thoughts on Meenakshi? She gets to do what, you know, like... It's pretty much a flowerpot role. But she has some fiery scenes.

[00:49:08] Especially the one where she is trying to convince Anil to pick up the case. She would get that classic over the shoulder. But you look at my back and I will give you some gyan in this scene. It was fabulous to watch that. And then the piano dance song. And she also gets to sing in Lata Mangeshkar's voice in Mehri Chang. And, yeah. I was taken aback by the fact that when... In her introductory scene with...

[00:49:36] Not her introductory scene, but the first time she meets Anil Kapoor and they're, you know, talking about her sister's case. And she's just sitting opposite him. And she's very, like... She's got that bright 80s lipstick on, which is a very particular shade of, like, dark red that I don't think anyone wears anymore. And it's, like, this high-gloss lipstick. And she's talking. And the whole thing, even the way that she speaks,

[00:50:04] reminded me so much of Shri Devi in that particular scene. It sounded like Shri Devi was talking. The makeup was very Shri Devi reminiscent. Everything about it was, like... And I was literally taken aback. And I thought, like, maybe... You know, was that the mood board? Like, did Subhash Khai want Shri and then, like, settled for Meenakshi? Like, I don't know. I mean, I think Meenakshi was... She was the 80s heroine at that time, right? Like, it was...

[00:50:34] Like, she was the top one. But I think also, watching Mehri Jang, you understand why... Like, they didn't have much to do in the 80s, the heroines, right? Like, in a way, they are... Would be interchangeable. Shri Devi, be it Shri Devi, be it Jaya Prada, be it, you know, like, you could interchange any of these and it would have been... I disagree about Shri. You know, like, as we spoke about when we were talking about, like, Nagina, for instance.

[00:51:01] Like, Shri was in a class by herself. But I think Nagina happened after, na? So, like, I think Nagina changed... We were talking about this on the Nagina episode. But, yeah. But she's... Yeah, Nagina, she's a superstar. But there's so many, I'm saying, you know, that could have been interchangeable. But Meenakshi was one of the top ones at that time. And unfortunately, she doesn't get to do much. She dances great. I think she's great at the dances. The one few sequences she gets, she looks good too, you know? Like, I think the dressing and stuff is much better than we've seen in other movies.

[00:51:31] So, I do think... Subhajgan was... Yeah, I think the 80s were cruel on these heroines. Like, Meenakshi didn't get her truly deserved acting creds until, like, Damini, which happened, like, mid-90s or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's a Rajkumar Santoshi, totally different aesthetic than the Subhajgan program. Yeah, yeah. Any other random sequences? Any random scenes you want to call out? So many.

[00:52:01] Like... Dear, oh dear. Obviously, we get a ghai cameo in the middle of a masquerade ball. They really love their masquerade ball. And Parikshit Sahani says, what is this a lot? Can I just say, like, wasn't it funny that his takya kalam is what is this? When... If your wife is hearing your husband say, what is this, 100 times a day, shouldn't she check what is this on the label before she injects her patient?

[00:52:32] What is this? Maybe ask it at the right time, you know? There was a... So the whole... The Bina Raya and Parikshit Sahani live in the house, the Madalem house. It makes its... Oh, it's an Andhazapnavna house. Is that the one? Oh, okay. Oh, dear. Oh, and Vicky dances to the Ghostbusters. First theme at some point.

[00:53:03] I also love in the breakdancing, is the 80s breakdancing, you have like the slide, you have the moonwalk, but then you also have high kicks. It's like, who has high kicks in the... And in the middle of Bowl Baby Bowl, they shoot outdoors, right? Is that the Bombay Stock Exchange, by the way? It looks so pristinely clean, the streets. I've never seen Mumbai so clean. Even the final fight, I don't know where that was happening,

[00:53:32] but it looked really cool. It almost felt like 80s New York or something like that, like Black Rain, that movie with Michael Douglas. It was really well shot, the way it was. I had a... Gajani is prosecutor here. Gajani was prosecutor. I love in these movies that you have these random people popping up that you see all the time. You have Dr. Saab that comes in, Kedarnath Segal. You know that sequence where Amrish Puri

[00:54:02] is playing chess with Dr. Saab? And Dr. Saab, obviously he's useless as he always is. And then Anil Kapoor Al-Fazid, he's like, let me finish up the game. I'll win for you. Is this Iftikhar? Iftikhar is there. He's the one who like comes in. Yeah, no, but Dr. Saab is playing with Kedarnath Segal. He's playing actually. And then Anil Kapoor starts playing and winning and Dr. Saab is just annoying that he's just enjoying it so much. He's like, this is Beyonce at the Super Bowl, you know,

[00:54:31] this is like Kendrick Lamar. Like this is the best thing I've ever seen. I love that, you know, like I love these like random guys popping up. Yeah, Iftikhar. I think Iftikhar just looks so cool in this, you know, like he looks like a really suave kind of... Like he shows up and then he disappears. Yeah, he has not much to do. Yeah. He showed up for the per diem at the time. Sudhir as one of the cops but an honest one? Like imagine being Sudhir and being an honest cop.

[00:55:01] Like how is that possible? That is the twist. Yeah, that is the real reveal. You don't even need to write it because it's a little Yeah. It's a little safe. Oh dear. Yeah, Anil Kapoor gets a drunk angry scene where he's like drunk at the party and totally like inebriated and he's like fuming and like he goes to confront Amrish Puri

[00:55:30] at the seminar of sorts and he gets to talk. Man, Amrish Puri Thakral comes in and he's got like this whole you know, legal capital based punishment comedy routine going on and then you know he's got jokes man he's got the audience on his side and Anil Kapoor just angry young man it you know but I do think like what Anil Kapoor what makes Anil Kapoor such a star in my opinion is that this was an Amitabh movie

[00:55:59] you have a drunk sequence in it and drunk scenes are Amitabh's big thing right? Like he's known for them. Anil Kapoor makes it his own and I think that's where the change is happening that's where he's like you know this is a star this is a performer and I think that's what makes him stand out from anybody else. Yeah. And not only is he angry and drunk but you can see the sadness in him like there's so much like pent up misery

[00:56:29] and sorrow in his. Yeah I mean he's talking about like how he's playing this like everything is dialed up to 11 but there's that scene where he sees the piano and then you know like and then it's like a horror movie where like he plays the tune and then he looks up and then suddenly there's like 500 people staring at him from nowhere and they're like now comes the singing like do you sing and then children of the corn all blonde people looking

[00:56:59] at you holding whiskey glasses and he's talking to Parikshasani and Binarai after that and they're like what is this you haven't asked us for any money and he's like can you just give me this piano and they're just like this piano this filthy old piano that we hate you want this and he's like but I really want

[00:57:28] it no the line is beautiful I can't I didn't write it down but it's like something like this this piano holds my hopes and dreams like it's name it's so beautiful it's so beautiful and then he says he looks at Parikshasani and he says you'll give it and he says it with such sweetness and such vulnerability

[00:57:58] and you know like that is actually even though Anil is really great at being the action hero it is that little hint of vulnerability that is like really endearing and also like yeah he's the softness that he plays in many moments like he's done many many other soft movies like literally the year after this he does Chamele Ki Shadi guys you know

[00:58:28] and we saw him do Wo Saad Din before this it's crazy the transformation that this man can bring in a role it's crazy this the coat sequence where he's talking where he's accusing Javed Jafri of having killed and he's wearing a certain coat and he brings out the knife and the coat and he starts crying while he's he's basically doing the bugs-bunny defense right like this is your coat that is your coat this is your coat see it was the other coat I was lying all the time

[00:58:57] this wasn't the coat it was the coat it was the white coat like I will learn from the best he's crazy the other twist that I never saw coming was that the girl that Javed Jafri was tricking and getting abortion it's AK Hangul's daughter guys the little girl that we see in the beginning it's her that gets stabbed by Javed Jafri I never saw that coming and then we see

[00:59:27] AK Hangul on a crutch another Bollywood tragedy AK Hangul's bad luck goes on to the next generation he gets no breaks unfortunately I love the AK Hangul sequences in the second part because he holds his crutches and they're higher than his face I really need money and I

[00:59:57] want you to see them put them in frame Hangul Suicida Rakthu Panvel Salaya Pachas Rupe Per Day yeah exactly my favorite line delivery also from Anil Kapoor was speaking of which so they have a picture of her in

[01:00:27] their living room and they have obviously been thinking that their mom is dead because they don't have an actual picture it's a painted picture of her no they do have an actual picture though there's like a scene I remember because I was like I don't know where they got that photo from because they have a photo of Nuthan in like one of the scenes but it's like a smaller sized one and then they have like a painting also so I'm just like I don't understand this is an 80s thing my dad

[01:00:56] has a hand-painted picture of him in our drying room and we have other pictures but yeah my uncle made this by hand it looks amazing we had it for 40 years but I think that's just one of those 80s things so vain it's like in Hamaab K when you enter Salman's bedroom there's a large portrait of Salman Khan on his own wall we used to have Pamela Anderson on the wall not your own fucking best yeah sure

[01:01:27] I love this movie guys I love this movie I really wish talking about this will make people re-watch it try to find it it has a great print on ultra youtube I think but it doesn't have subtitles so there's another print if you do search for with subtitle it is available but the print is much lesser quality than the one it is unfortunately so it is available out there it's such I think it was even available on prime for a while but it disappeared in the last

[01:01:57] few weeks when I was trying to re-watch it so yeah Amrita any final thoughts on Meri Jung I think I'm pleased by our decision to watch this yeah I agree with you if I've not you know conveyed enough how much I love this movie Sujoy what about Meri Jung Meri Jung defines the 80s for me man it's the whole supash guy aesthetic

[01:02:27] it appears right bang in the middle of the 80s and it's like yeah it stands tall as the 80s movie for me and Neil Kapoor is probably you know acting the heck out of it it's probably one of the you know the strongest of his career I would say there's other roles obviously you would think but Neil Kapoor as the young angry young man this is such a great movie yeah yeah I mean I absolutely this movie is part of

[01:02:57] my DNA you know it's one that I absolutely love I even worry about the rest of the series if I'll enjoy any movie as much as I do Meri Jung I actually watched it last night and I want to watch it again that's how much I love this movie and I think I'm gonna watch it every week now yeah it's just like it boosts up your adrenaline like this movie is just like gives you like yeah like Rocky like yeah it's just

[01:03:27] amazing it's like the big injection that Salman gives to Amir exactly it's amazing it's everything that I love in cinema and yeah there are moments that are absurd there's melodramatic moments there's actually not that many songs there's only like three songs right because there's four reprises of the same song basically but all of those are bangers you know so I really really loved it yeah Amrita where can people find you online you can find me on Blue Sky

[01:03:56] and on Twitter at Amrita IQ Sujoy you can find me on Twitter Instagram TikTok and Blue Sky at 93K and you can also find Khandan Podcast on all our socials at Khandan Podcast do check out our YouTube at Khandan Podcast where we are bringing a lot more video content soon yeah that's where you can support us and also join us on Patreon where you will be finding Amrita's thoughts on badass Ravikumar as a bonus as a bonus for this episode just hilarious to record

[01:04:27] and yeah also this series you get it earlier at free on Patreon if you join there it's a great community of great people not like our Instagram it feels like actually quite positive so yeah I'm Amrita Sabarni and thank you for listening

[01:04:58] Khandan Podcast from the Epiglottis Papa are you podcasting again