Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ten Bollywood Cult Films

By Anant Mathur (April 26, 2011)

This is a list of films that failed to set the box office on fire, but we just love to watch them over and over when ever they`re on.
 
10.
ALIBABA AUR 40 CHOR
(1980)
Starring: Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Rolan Bykov, Sofiko Chiaureli, Zeenat Aman, Mher Mkrtchyan, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri, Yakub Akhmedov, Rolan Bykov, Yelena Sanayeva, Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Pinchoo Kapoor, Mac Mohan
Director: Latif Faiziyev, Umesh Mehra
Producer: F.C. Mehra
Music: Vladimir Milov, R.D. Burman
Analysis: An Indo-Russian co-production Ali Baba aur 40 Chor brings to the screen the timeless story of Ali Baba and his gang of thieves. You can never go wrong with a Dharmendra-Hema Malini starrer. I can still recall going to the theatre to see this film, I had just turned five and it was a part of the celebration. It will always be a special film.


9.
AAP MUJHE ACHCHE LAGNE LAGE (2002)
Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Amisha Patel, Kiran Kumar, Mukesh Tiwari, Nishigandha Wad, Shahbaaz Khan, Madhuri Sanjeev, Alok Nath, Jimmy Moses, Shaikh Sami, Ali Asghar, Prithvi Zutshi, Hemant Pandey, Jasbir Thandi, Suchit Jadhav
Director: Vikram Bhatt
Producer: Gautam Kumar, Rohit Kumar
Music: Rajesh Roshan
Analysis: Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel's second outing proved to be a disaster at the box office. I still remember watching it in the theatre and liking most of it. What disappointed is the last 30 minutes of the film which dragged on forever, otherwise it's a nice attempt. 


8.
DUPLICATE (1998)
Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Sonali Bendre, Farida Jalal, Mohnish Behl, Tiku Talsania, Sharat Saxena, Gulshan Grover, Kajol, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Rana Jung Bahadur, Naresh Suri, Parminder, Randhawa, Robert, Chunnu Mehra
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Producer: Yash Johar
Music: Anu Malik
Analysis: A superb failure at the box office - this film is worth watching for the dual role Shah Rukh Khan plays and Juhi Chawala`s comic timing. Surprisingly, SRK`s dual role in this film is better than in Farhan Akhtar`s DON remake.


7.
NAYEE PADOSAN (2003)
Starring: Vikas Kalantri, Anuj Sawhney, Aslam Khan, Mahek Chahal, Rahul Bhatt, Vijay Kashyap, Yusuf Hussain, Shabnam Kapoor
Director: B.H. Tharun Kumar
Producer: Nitin Manmohan
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Surendra Singh Sodhi
Analysis: It`s sad but the only reason this film wasn`t a blockbuster is because it was made with newcomers. Not exactly a remake of Padosan but Nayee Padosan does present comedy in a new way, with a dynamic dual role by Rahul Bhatt and good supporting performances this film sure holds your attention till the end.
6.
ANDAZ APNA APNA (1994)
Starring: Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Paresh Rawal, Shakti Kapoor, Viju Khote, Shehzad Khan, Jagdeep, Deven Varma, Mehmood, Tiku Talsania, Juhi Chawala, Govinda
Director:
Rajkumar Santoshi
Producer: Vinay Kumar Sinha
Music: Tushar Bhatia, Viju Shah
Analysis: Aamir and Salman Khan together for the first time, Crime Master Gogo, not to mention a hilarious screenplay, this is certainly one of the most fun films to watch. It`s hard to believe it wasn`t very successful at the box office, but it has touched many more hearts since. And a couple of catchy songs never hurt a film.


5.
DHAAI AKSHAR PREM KE (2000)
Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Shakti Kapoor, Sushma Seth, Dalip Tahil, Tanvi Azmi, Himani Shivpuri, Salman Khan, Sonali Bendre
Director: Raj Kanwar
Producer: Raj Kanwar,  K. Pappu, Amardeep Singh
Music: Jatin-Lalit, Naresh Sharma
Analysis: I have seen the DVD of this film in more homes than people would like to admit. I guess perhaps being a remake of so many films is what attracts people to this one.
4.
SHAAN (1980)
Starring: Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Raakhee Gulzar, Parveen Babi, Bindiya Goswami, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Mazhar Khan, Dalip Tahil, Johnny Walker, Helen, Bindu, Padmini Kapila
Director: Ramesh Sippy
Producer: G.P. Sippy
Music: R.D. Burman
Analysis: From a James Bond style villain to the latest technology and flesh eating sharks this film has it all. Of course who can forget two of the most popular songs to come out of Indian Cinema - Yamma Yamma and Jaanu Meri jaan.

3.
Chupke Chupke (1975)
Starring: Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Om Prakash, David Abraham, Asrani, Usha Kiran, Lily Chakravarty, Keshto Mukherjee, Lalita Kumari, Dev Kishan, Harish Magon, Chaitali, Amol Sen
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Producer: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Music: S.D. Burman
Analysis: Although most people love this film today, it was hardly a money maker when it first released in 1975. But solid performances, catchy dialogue and unforegettable comic timing have made this one of the most beloved comedies in film history.


2.
MARD (1985)
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh, Nirupa Roy, Dara Singh, Prem Chopra, Kamal Kapoor, Bob Christo, Helena, Goga Kapoor, Manik Irani, Satyen Kappu, Seema Deo, Dan Dhanoa, Kirti Kumar, C.S. Dubey, Joginder Shelly, Shivraj, Moti
Director
: Manmohan Desai
Producer: Manmohan Desai
Music: Anu Malik
Analysis: I know, most of you just said "What the..." upon seeing this one on the list, but with dialogues like "Jo mard hota hai, use dard nahi hota", "Sabhi goron ka dil kaala nahi hota" and "Peeth Par Maara Hai Ab Seene Par Khaogey", one can't stop themselves from watching this flick. 




1.
KAAGAZ KE PHOOL (1959)
Starring: Waheeda Rehman, Guru Dutt, Baby Naaz, Johnny Walker, Mahesh Kaul, Veena Sapru, Minoo Mumtaz, Mehmood, Mohan Choti, TunTun, Pratima Devi
Director: Guru Dutt
Producer:
Guru Dutt
Music: S.D. Burman
Analysis: It is considered a must watch today, but when Kaagaz Ke Phool first released it performed so poorly at the box office that it cost the Indian Film Industry one of it's greatest directors. Hurt by the miniscule response to his magnum opus Guru Dutt never directed again.


IF YOU ENJOYED THIS, PLEASE VISIT MY POSTS ON: 
Ten Most Entertaining Bollywood Films

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

andaz apna apna, mard and kagaz ke phool are truely cult movies... Surprised hw these cn flop!

Anant Mathur said...

In reply to Anonymous (July 20, 2012 9:20 PM).

It happens sometimes. Some movies don't find an audience even though they are very good. A prime example is the Hollywood film "It's A Wonderful Life" it was a major box office flop, but it found an audience on television decades later and is now considered a classic. Same thing is true for Andaz Apna Apna, Mard and Kagaz Ke Phool. Guru Dutt was so disappointed after the poor showing of Kagaz Ke Phool that he never directed a film again.

Hemendra Kumar Saini said...

I don't care on what basis you have compiled the list, but dude how can you forgot movies like ANAND and A Wednesday

Anant Mathur said...

Dear Hemendra,

Thank you for your comments. Anand and A Wednesday are great films, no argument there, but they are not cult films. A cult film is one which becomes popular after the theatrical release and usually have a short theatrical run. Anand and A Wednesday were box office successes and thus don't fall into the cult category.

All the films on this list were box office disasters, but became popular once they were shown on TV - some for their dialogue, some for acting, some for story, etc. etc. It's hard to understand why they have a cult following but people just love to watch them again and again whenever they're on TV, sometimes just to make fun of them. I certainly don't watch Mard because it's a great film, I watch it because the dialogues are a riot... "MARD KO DARD NAHI HOTA"... hilarious!