Ram Balram (1980)

As I’ve stated many times before, one of my favorite things about doing this blog is the fact that I get to talk about my favorite movies, as well as complain about the less than stellar movies I’ve encountered as the list of movies to watch steadily shrinks.

Today, I get to discuss one of my favorites, Ram Balram, from 1980, directed by Vijay Anand, starring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan (duh!), Rekha and Zeenat Aman with Ajit playing the uncle from hell, and my favorite villain Amjad Khan. The movie only adds evidence to the fact that Dharmendra and Mr. Bachchan should have made more movies together. The movie is not only incredibly sweet and touching it is also hilarious and one of the movies that manages to keep its audience at the edge of their seat.

The movie puts Mr. Bachchan and Dharmendra as cousins whose fathers are killed and they are raised by an uncle who manipulates them mercilessly, forcing Dharmendra’s Ram to become a thief and Mr. Bachchan’s Ballu into becoming a police officer. Along the way, you see the two boys, who are like brothers as they grow older, fall in love and try to figure out a way to escape their evil uncle’s rule. This happens more easily when Ram’s long lost mother returns.

There are many things about this movie that make it brilliant, and one of them is the fact that it makes good use of psychological theory. The children are raised through such manipulation, held into submission by the nail that adorns their uncle’s crutch. He holds a terrifying control over them and the filmmakers really understand this control and show the gradual break of this control, instead of suddenly breaking it. For me, not only does it make the plot of the story that much more enjoyable to watch, it also makes the story better because it treats the audience as people who know and understand psychological trauma.

Another aspect of this movie is the casting. Let’s leave Zeenat Aman out of this part of the conversation and focus on Mr. Bachchan, Rekha and Dharmendra. There is no denying that these two actors simply create magic on the screen whenever they are paired up with Mr. Bachchan. This movie not only wins by having good music, a fantastic script but it also boasts of a cast that is dynamic and creates utter magic on the screen. The relationship that Ram and Balram have is so sweet, a brotherly relationship with its own secret language that includes lighting imaginary cigarettes for each other.

And Amjad Khan, as always, is fabulous as the bad guy. His repeated phrase of “vah vah zalim, vah vah vah” whenever he gets the chance adds another element of entertainment to the movie. Ajit, as always, portrays his character as maliciously as possible. He is simply a slime ball in this movie, and makes me wish I could call child protective services to get the boys to safety.

The entire movie is a win, and although I wish Zeenat Aman could have taken more time to learn how to act, I still say her inability can be overlooked by the amazing plot and the amazing acting throughout the film. The movie has good music, good plot, good casting.

It also has one of my favorite scenes by Mr. Bachchan! When finally reuniting with his aunt after years of separation due to circumstances that will give the plot away to those who haven’t watched it, I can promise you that the expression on Ballu’s face when he’s waiting for his aunt to recognize him always breaks my heart. He just looks like a lost little boy waiting for his mama! It’s beautiful!

Watch this one! Experience the magical pull of the combination of Mr. Bachchan and the incomparable Rekha, see the bromance of Mr. Bachchana and Dharmendra, and see how deliciously evil Amjad Khan is, as always. Also, enjoy the endless supply of hand grenades in this movie…

I'll get the imaginary cigarettes,

Ish.