Naam (1986) User Reviews

One of Bhatt's superb films

[silvan-desouza · 8/10 · 29 December 2013]

In 80s Mahesh Bhatt gave several great films like Arth, Saraansh NAAM is one of his best films, it was the first film Sanjay Dutt signed after his drug abuse and going to rehab. The film was made perhaps to relaunch Kumar Gaurav who was producer of the film but the film became a comeback of Sanjay Dutt. The film has a good plot which is quite believable, with youngsters wanting to go abroad. The film starts off well, Sanju's scene where he threatens a huge gang without fighting which is similar to DEEWAAR minus the fight is superbly shot, even the scene when Sanju leaves for dubai and the twists are well handled till the end it keeps you engrossed. The emotional angle between Sanju and his mother Nutan is well handled and also the brotherly love, The scene when Sanju drags Paresh from his apartment is similar to DEEWAAR too but yet well handled

Direction by Mahesh Bhatt is superb Music is superb Chiti Aai Hai by Pankaj Uddaas is a superb number, while Tu Kal is superb too, Amiron Ki Shaam is amazing too rest are good

Sanjay Dutt looking slim those days minus his long hair and body does a great job, he lends the right amount of vulnerability to the role Amrita Singh is good, Kumar Gaurav is good too Paresh Rawal was a regular in Bhatt camp and does a great job as always Nutan is good rest are okay

Recommended watch.

[nadkarnisumeet · 8/10 · 30 August 2020]

Naam review :

Director Mahesh Bhatt's first commercial sucess was Rajendra Kumar's Naam which was written by Salim Khan - his first script post split with Javed. The film was an emotional drama with top notch performances from Nutan, Amrita Singh and Sanjay Dutt and became a highly successful enterprise at the box office.

Produced by Rajendra Kumar as a relaunch for son Kumar Gaurav who had delivered multiple flops after a promising debut in Love Story (1981), Naam ended up reviving Sanjay Dutt's career instead whose performance was lauded by critics and audience alike. Amrita Singh made a good pairing with Dutt and they are shown to be in a live in relationship - quite bold for 80s Bollywood.

Paresh Rawal played the villain with his cacophonic laughter while Anupam Kher dubbed for the person playing Poonam Dhillon's father. Poonam, by the way, was Kumar Gaurav's love interest who supports him when he loses his job for no fault of his. Character actor Ghanshyam, normally seen in comic roles, played the bad employer whose wife Shehnaz Anand makes sexual advances at Gaurav.

The bromance between Kumar Gaurav and Sanju Baba is the films highlight and their camaraderie is just fantastic. Sanju Baba's swag is another factor which works here - something he used effectively in his subsequent hits.

Musically, Naam is known for the Pankaj Udhas sung "Chitthi Aayi Hai Watan se Chitti aayi hai" - which struck the right chord with non resident Indians of those time. The song became a runaway hit.

Overall, Naam is a well packaged entertainer which can make for an ideal Sunday afternoon watch. Recommended!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Outstanding

[pardo3 · 8/10 · 5 September 2005]

Naam is a terrific treat and a great film, The music and the acting of Sanjay Dutt was out of this world.

The story at the start is slow and boring but it's worth the wait because the second part of the film is outstanding and Sanjay Dutt in this section of the film is out of this world and gives Amitabh Bachchan a run for his money, Reminds you of the similarities of the role Amitabh Bachchan plays in some of his early films, A Shame Sanjay Dutt couldn't do roles like this more often, A one off Sanjay Dutt stunner,

A must watch Film, A film you can watch over and over again.

one of the greatest performance of Sanju

[zahed4 · 4 March 2001]

It is one of greatest performance ever made by Sanjay Dutt. this movie is primarily based on the firm bondage between two brothers Sanjay Dutt and Kumar Gourav and gradually turned into the saga of Sanjay alone. This film also made Paresh Rawal as a stunning villain of Hindi film industry. The song Chtti Aihey by Pankaj Udhas is one of his most touching songs. Above all this film is the turning point of the career of Sanjay Dutt and the mile stone for director Mahesh Bhatt as a commercial director.

Chithi Ayee Hei...

[BiswajitSince2005 · 10/10 · 26 March 2007]

Janki (Nutan) stays with her two sons Ravi (Kumar Gaurav) and Vicky (Sanjay Dutt). They are from a lower middle class family. To add to the woes, Vicky has gone wayward. He always falls in some problem or other and is always rescued by Ravi. Whenever he does some mistake Ravi always saves him. Vicky wants to make it big and hence decides to go to Dubai where he has heard a lot of people make it big. Ravi arranges money for Vicky and inspite of Janki's resistance, Vicky leaves for Dubai. After reaching he comes to know that the agent who had taken money from them has vanished with the money. The Visa he has obtained is also not legal. Now he does not want to go back and face his mother's wrath. Hence he starts working for a dreaded smuggler Rana (Paresh Rawal) to stay in Dubai.

The movie was a ht among masses during those days which ran houseful for months altogether. Sanjay Dutt played a memorable role in the movie. The song "Chithi Ayee hei" still makes your eyes go wet. Other songs like Amiron ki Shaaam, Tu kal chala jayega were songs to reckon with. Nice story, direction, cinematography and acting by lead actors makes this movie a memorable one. The movie produced a fine actor called Paresh Rawal and also made Sanjay Dutt a Star. Produced & Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, this is one of the best Mahesh Bhatt's movie ever.

A very well made film. Amazing dialogue great screen play

[mrugesh_thaker · 9/10 · 30 December 2018]

People remember Naam as a Sanjay Dutt film. However I consider this as a Kumar Gaurav film because he did the tougher job doing a role with so many different emotions. His character is heroic who stands true even in his toughest time instead of choosing an easy path of earn money. Many dialogues gives me goosebumps specially the one when he says JAB VICKY NE MUJHE KAHA KE MUJHE APNE BARABAR KHADE HONE KA EK MAUKA DE DO BHAI, MUJHE APNI US CHHOTI SI UNCHAI SE NAFRAT HONE LAGI.

A strong message

[monikamoitra · 7/10 · 5 October 2018]

Naam tells the story of Vicky Kapoor, in words of Ravi Kapoor (Vicky's brother). The story is a strong message to all those who dream of settling abroad & about the kinds of problems they can encounter once they land into a foreign country. Naam tells the story of Vicky Kapoor who falls prey into the trap of some highly potential people. The story runs in a flashback manner in words of Ravi Kapoor (Vicky's brother) who did everything possible in order to save his brother. Ravi is the only breadwinner of his family since childhood and does everything to make the ends meet. He is often harassed at his workplace but tolerates everything just to keep up his job. On the other hand, Vicky, a good for nothing lad does everything to get funds for moving out of India. One evening Ravi gets fired from his job and is offered another job by Seema. Vicky is again caught gambling and losing money. As Ravi comes to cover up Vicky's mistake, they get caught up by Janaki and this is when she reveals to them that Ravi is her step son. Upon hearing this, Vicky feels very guilty and strongly requests Ravi to send him out of India so that he can repay his debt. Ravi arranges for the funds. Vicky then flies to Dubai where he falls prey in trap of Rana. He tries his level best to get out but all in vain & gets convicted for his crime. Ravi then somehow manages to make Vicky elope for India but the police shoots Vicky while eloping. Vicky dies leaving Ravi and Rita shattered and they return to India. Rita dies while delivering Vicky's child. The film ends with Ravi along with Seema, giving Vicky's child to Janaki saying that he is handing over her son back to her. Superb acting done by Kumar Gaurav, Sanjay Dutt and Nutan. A very emotional ending done to the movie. A good film indeed.

Best Movie

[ParthaBarman · 10/10 · 23 October 2008]

After watching this movie I felt that this movie really touches your heart. Its a must watch movie if you appreciate good movies. It also lime-lights the facts in life, the ethics that what to follow and what not to. It also gives essence to nationality and the pain one goes though without their family and loved ones. The love for one's mother, one's brother and the responsibility one should never forget is the main theme of the movie. Life has no meaning without near and dear ones. I think Kumar Gaurav and Sanjay Dutt did a splendid job and there is no other way to make this film better. I think this movie is a milestone to the history of Indian Film Industry.

Sanjay Dutt Proves that he is not a bad man!

[bigkoo415 · 10/10 · 17 June 2010]

As a Bollywood fan I have been collecting and watching Bollywood movies for almost 2 years. I was never a fan but I was introduced to Bollywood movies by a great friend of mine. One day my friend let me have this Sanjay dutt movie called "NAAM" this was my first Sanjay Dutt movie i have ever watched and when I saw this movie Sanjay Dutt became my favorite actor. we all know about Sanjay Dutt and how he has gone through problems but if you really know sanjay dutt and about his personal life and how he has gone through the worse. I could tell by watching this movie and the way sanjay was acting it showed that he is not a bad person. I mean just watch it you can feel the emotions. As far as the movie it was great outstanding performances from each cast. It has this one memorable song called, "Chitte aaye hai" by listening to that song it almost made me cry. i would not like to give a summary of the movie because I would spoil it but I definitely recommend this movie to any reader that is reading this right now to go either rent it or if you are a collector like me grab this copy as keep it in your collection.

NAAM

[NehaJhulka · 10/10 · 4 January 2019]

What can I say about this gem of a movie? It is a tough task, a very tough task. This movie makes one feel a gamut of emotions and leaves one in tears. This movie was a big hit back in the day, however I still feel it is grossly underrated as there is an entire generation who has not even watched the movie. That is probably because the movie was quite depressing, and the movie was not the typical Bollywood film, however that is what makes it all the more special.

Naam (1986) is an unconventional Bollywood film, aka it is a typical Mahesh Bhatt film. It has a pretty flawed protagonist, no prices for guessing that the flawed protagonist is Sanju, because it is a crime to show him non-flawed in a movie. LMAO, and why not? only Sanjay Dutt can pull off flawed yet innocent so well. Because this is exactly who is in real life too; flawed yet innocent.

Early in the movie when Kumar Gaurav's character Ravi introduces Vicky (Sanjay Dutt), he says "Vicky mein gussa aur becheni toh bahut thi lekin nafrat nahin" and I have not seen a character been summed up so well in a sentence. This is what being Vicky aka being Sanjay Dutt is all about. There is no wonder that Mahesh Bhatt strictly told Sanjay Dutt to not play a character onscreen but be himself. Full marks to Mahesh Bhatt in shaping Sanju to being the actor he is today, this was Sanjay Dutt's breakthrough performance. And quite obviously his personal experiences and traumas made for a perfect fodder for this character.

The fact that Sanju's very close friend and brother-in-law, Kumar Gaurav played the character of his brother in the movie was also the icing on cake. Talk about art imitating life, Kumar Gaurav has always been with Sanju through thick and thin, and asked his father to produce this movie so it could help his career and help him stand on his feet. This is exactly on the lines of his character Ravi who does everything possible to help his brother stand on his feet.

The relationship that Vicky and his mother (Nutan) share in the movie is also extremely emotional, it mirrors the relationship Sanju shared with his father at the time. Sanju was constantly trying to win his Father's approval but was not really making headway, he came back to Bollywood after rehab on his insistence, but couldn't really make him proud. This is the same case with Nutan's character in the movie, she is tired of being disappointed by Ravi and has stopped trying, she gets angry at Vicky and discourages him at almost every given opportunity.

Vicky also gets restless to prove his worth to his Mother. It is a pretty sad scene when he tells his Mother that he knows she has given up on him and he does not blame her for that.

Sanjay Dutt is flawless as Vicky. It is hard to believe a 27 year old can give such a natural performance. Sanjay Dutt truly makes one feel every emotion in the book. You cannot help but root for Vicky with all your heart. His trauma slowly becomes the audiences' trauma. He takes the audience through a very rough journey in this movie. After Naam there has been no stopping Sanju, this movie brought him into his own.

This movie also belongs to Kumar Gaurav, who himself is a fantastic actor, it is a shame he didn't do too well in Bollywood. The rest of the supporting cast comprised of Nutan, Amrita Singh and Paresh Rawal and all of them were amazing.

A special mention to the scene when Amrita Singh's character Rita cries inconsolably in front of Ravi and says that Vicky is innocent and begs for his help. Amrita Singh acted brilliantly in that scene. Interestingly, Amrita Singh is also pretty close with Sanju, and till date Sanju mentions her as his favourite costar.

Talk about life imitating art, we all know that Sanjay Dutt did get into trouble with the law, just like shown in this movie. I can't help but feel sorry for him and his near and dear ones, just like Ravi, all they could do is helplessly watch the tragedy and do nothing more. Kumar Gaurav stood like a rock behind Sanjay Dutt during all these ordeals just like how a brother should.

Naam is a tragedy which makes one feel helpless, but it also provides important lessons. It provides the lesson of not being careless with one's life, your family cannot save you every time, just like how Ravi couldn't save Vicky in the end. It also teaches parents to be less harsh with their kids, if they are less harsh and less skeptical, it can truly save bad outcomes.

Naam is a soul-stirring sage which is recommended to everyone who love this kind of cinema. For me it is a 5/5.

one of he best Hindi films of the 80s

[bashi-19126 · 10/10 · 29 March 2017]

Naam is film that is rarely mentioned among-st critics when discussing great Bollywood Films and it is rarely, if played at all on the dozens of Indian television channels we have access to but all Bollywood buffs know the two popular songs of the film, but Naam deserves to be remembered for a lot more than just the songs. A great script that was apparently written by the great Salim/Javed duo the create-rs of Sholay and Deewaar for those that don't know. The story is that during there split the two had rough drafts of Mr India which Javed Akhtar took and Naam which Salim Khan took and both developed the two scripts further separately. The two films released just a year apart and were both as successful as each other and although Mr India still manages to get showered with love 30 years on Naam is somewhat neglected. If your a late 90's 2000's kid chanced are you haven't watched this gem and id strongly recommend you do ahead of the ton of junk Bollywood tends to throw at us. this is for me Mahesh Bhatts best film and the cast especially Sanjay Dutt and Paresh Rawal in their breakout performances are excellent, Nutan is exceptional, Kumar Gaurav, Amrita Singh and amrita singh are OK as is Poonam dhillon although her breakout at the start of he film is filmy,although the film can seem a little melodramatic at certain times Naam is a film I would put in the top 5 Hindi films of the 80's.

Mahesh Bhatt, Sanju and Kumar Gaurav stunner

[shwets_3009 · 10/10 · 28 May 2020]

What a brilliant piece of work by Mahesh Bhatt to start with. Such a great movie one can relate to - completely different from larger than life stories. Such touching dialogues.. Aadmi Karz toh chuka sakta hei, ehsaan nahi.... Ravi mujhe bacha le Ravi, mei bahut thak gaya hu .. list is endless

Class acting by both Sanjay Dutt and Kumar Gaurav! A person who has stood by Sanju in real life and reel life. Also great acting by Amrita Singh when she asks Kumar Gaurav to save Sanju.. Last but not the least.. Chitthi aayi hei song... Must have heard it 1000 times atleast! So emotional and beautiful..

Overall a great once in lifetime type movie, such a great depiction of importance of close relationships in life