Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Prakash Mehra

Writers:

Vijay Kaul (screenplay)
Kader Khan (dialogue)

Release Date:

27 October 1978 (India)

Genre:

Romance

Plot:

As an orphan on the streets in Shimla, young Sikandar (Amitabh Batchchan) has no one to care of him...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Grave | Lawyer | Orphan | Prostitute

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Vikas Anand	...	Inspector raided for smuggled goods
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Sikandar
Rakhee Gulzar	...	Kaamna
Jairaj	...	Doctor Kapoor
Goga Kapoor	...	Goga
Amjad Khan	...	Dilawar
Kader Khan	...	Fakir Darvesh Baba
Vinod Khanna	...	Vishal Anand
Yusuf Khan	...	Seth. Paul
Manmohan Krishna	...	Piano Instructor
Shreeram Lagoo	...	Ramanath
Sulochana Latkar	...	Vishal's mom
Harish Magon	...	Iqbal
Madhu Malini	...	Mihru
Mayur	...	Young Sikandar
Moolchand	...	Man in turban in the court
Keshav Rana	...	Seth Kundan
Ranjeet	...	J.D.
Rekha	...	Zohrabai
Nirupa Roy	...	Fatima
Ram P. Sethi	...	Pyarelal Aware
Nandita Thakur	...	Mrs. Ramanath

Runtime:

189 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

India:U | UK:PG

Company:

Prakash Mehra Productions

Trivia:

Prakash Mehra had envisaged the film as a modern day take on Devdas (1928).

Movie Connections:

Remade as Prema Tarangalu (1980)

Soundtrack:

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

"O Saathi Re..."

For me, the most beautiful thing about 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar' is the song 'O Saathi Re'. It is a wonderful song and is sung beautifully by Kishore Kumar. Amitabh Bachchan does a good job of expressing the emotions of the song.

"Muqaddar ka..." is a tragedy (and a particularly tragic one), but it's a tragedy that manages to evoke just the right amount of sympathy, without becoming unduly weepy or maudlin. It's a tragedy done properly, with class, honesty and depth. Amitabh Bachchan is great as the lead character. I just loved him in this film, from start to finish (the little boy who played the young 'Sikandar' was wonderful too). Sikandar is at heart a good (even noble) man, but yet is a deeply flawed character, who feels deeply but is completely unable to express it. He's been hardened by his life, but he still has a very soft core, which few get to see. The scene at Memsahib's birthday celebration (when she's older), when Sikandar comes in with her precious gift, is breathtaking. It's a haunting echo of the experience Sikandar had at her 'younger' birthday party. A beautifully nuanced performance, definitely one of the Big B's best.

Vinod Khanna also does a lovely job as the young lawyer, Vishal, in this movie, and the rest of the cast does well, too ... with one notable exception: the lead female, Rakhee. By the time the film was over, I hated her character, and I'm not sure that was the intention of the film makers(or was it?). She managed to portray 'Memsahib' as extremely shallow, uncaring and fickle. It's difficult to see even what the character of Vishal sees in her (although Sikandar's love for her - being completely childlike, pure and unselfish, is perfectly understandable). Even her last-minute repentance rung hollow. I've seen Rakhee do loads better in other movies, so I won't hold it against her in this one .. although it does slightly retract from the overall quality of the movie.

Rekha, as Zohrabai, deserves a mention ... hauntingly lovely and tragic (which is what she does best), she puts in a very good performance. Her role is very stereotypical, but she pulls it off and makes it memorable. Watch out for the scene where she threatens to swallow the diamond.

All in all, this movie is simply unmissable Bollywood. Watch it, and I guarantee you'll be hearing 'O Saathi Re' in your head for a few days afterwards.