Sharaabi (1984)

A perk of running this little blog of mine, this labor of love and respect, is that I can go and on and on about the movies I hate, but more importantly, the movies I love.

When someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I answer in lists, not singular movie titles because I can’t pick just one. Amitabh Bachchan’s beautiful Sharaabi from 1984, directed by Prakash Mehra and co-starring Om Prakash as Munshiji and Jayapradha as Meena, this movie is timeless, and a masterpiece that I feel doesn’t get enough attention. The movie is funny, dramatic, it teaches a lesson, and it shows a lot of love. It is the Hindi movie experience that everyone craves. It puts you on a roller coaster ride that fills you with joy, dread, hatred, passion and undeniable hope. Sharaabi makes you think, it makes you feel something deep inside yourself, and you find yourself really wondering how crucial money is to happiness…or how unimportant it is, rather.

The story is about Vicky, ek sharaabi (a drunkard), who is surrounded by endless wealth, but turns to the bottle day and night because he craves his father’s affection. But his father is so consumed by his wealth that he neglects his only son, and doesn’t see the tears that his fake laughter hides. Vicky has a heart of gold, in several instances he is seen spending his wealth, sometimes his father’s wealth, on the poor. One of my favorite scenes is when Vicky goes to the corporate office for a meeting and all the workers have stayed back after their shift, off the clock, simply to say hello to Vicky, because they missed him. Two characters emerge, the unforgettable Mr. Natthulal and his mustache who asks money to marry off his five daughters. And Mr. Lobbo, whose problem is that he can’t afford his sick mother’s expensive operation. Vicky freely gives away his money to those in need, and when thugs try to take advantage of his golden heart, his retaliatory style is unforgettable.

As I said, the movie has some moments that are undeniably hilarious. A running theme in the movie is Natthulalji’s glorious mustache, “If you want to have a moustache, keep it like Mr. Natthulal, or else don't!” And for Vicky’s birthday, when all the worker’s show up for Chotta Malik’s (Junior Boss) birthday, they’ve all grown mustaches similar to Natthulal’s to make their favorite boss happy. Another scene that always makes me laugh is, after getting robbed by thugs, looking for his Meena, Vicky comes back for an epic fight that he narrates with a dry style that never fails.

The songs in this movie are just as amazing as the script. The first is “Jahan chaar yaar”, with Vicky singing in the streets with some random dudes. The song starts about a cat and mouse chasing each other, and moves on to a “drunkard husband, fighter wife” with Smeeta Patil making a guest appearance as the wife in the song. Then comes the title song, when Amitabh Bachchan’s character falls in love with the aspiring singer, Meena played by my favorite, Jayapradha. The sequence in the song where Vicky is beating the ghungru in his hand and it begins to bleed is actually Mr. Bachchan’s real blood from having the ghungru’s beating against his hand. The two versions of “de de pyar de” never get old, and I’ve been known to run around the house screaming “de de pyar de”…give me my love!

The drama, as with any Amitabh Bachchan movie, will no doubt leave you in tears. The anti-climax scene with Om Prakash was so powerful, that the director Prakash Mehra decided not to re-dub it. Which is why, if you watch this beautiful masterpiece of a movie, you’ll notice the volume doesn’t sound quite right when the scene rolls by. There’s also a scene where Vicky, driven to the point of madness when his father forbids his marriage to Meena, and begins to break the things in his room that will make you hold your breath. Beautiful, wonderful Sharaabi.

Mr. Bachchan in this movie is recovering from his illness, caused by the infamous Coolie accident and his hand is still recovering from the Diwali accident that left his hand aching and burnt. He attributes Vicky’s style of keeping his left hand in his pocket to attempting to cover up the burnt fingers. But it somehow became a part of the character, and the drunkard roll in his gait and stance. As a fan that pays close attention to the details, who knows how much danger Mr. Bachchan’s life was in health wise, I’m glad to say that in Sharaabi, he looks healthy. He looks like his own self, and is at one of his best.

The movie is said to be the Hindi version of Dudley Moore’s Arthur, but I doubt Arthur can compare to Vicky in intensity, in heart, and soul of a character whose only need in the world is love.

Take my advice. Watch this movie. Right now.