| Amar Akbar Anthony | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Manmohan Desai |
| Written by | Kader Khan (dialogue) K. K. Shukla (scenario) |
| Screenplay by | Prayag Raj Sharma |
| Story by | Jeevanprabha M. Desai Pushpa Sharma (story idea) |
| Produced by | Manmohan Desai |
| Starring | Vinod Khanna Rishi Kapoor Amitabh Bachchan Neetu Singh Parveen Babi Shabana Azmi Nirupa Roy Pran |
| Cinematography | Peter Pereira |
| Edited by | Kamlakar Karkhanis |
| Music by | Laxmikant–Pyarelal Anand Bakshi (lyrics) |
| Distributed by | Hirawat Jain & Co. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 184 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Languages | Hindi Urdu[1][2] |
| Box office | est.₹155 million (equivalent to₹4.3 billion or US$51 million in 2023)[3] |
Amar Akbar Anthony is a1977IndianHindi-languagemasala film directed and produced byManmohan Desai and written byKader Khan. Released inIndia on 27 May 1977, the film stars anensemble cast ofVinod Khanna,Rishi Kapoor,Amitabh Bachchan,Neetu Singh,Parveen Babi,Shabana Azmi,Nirupa Roy andPran. The plot focuses on three brothers separated in childhood who are adopted by families of different faiths;Hinduism,Islam andChristianity. They grow up to be apolice officer, aqawwali singer and the owner of a countrybar, respectively. Thesoundtrack album was composed byLaxmikant-Pyarelal and the lyrics were written byAnand Bakshi. The film earned₹155 million (US$17.69 million) at the Indianbox office, becoming thehighest-grossing Indian film of that year, alongsideDharam Veer andHum Kisise Kum Naheen.[3]
Religious tolerance became a landmark theme inBollywoodmasala films,[4] building on the masala formula pioneered a few years earlier byNasir Hussain'sYaadon Ki Baaraat (1973).[5][6]Amar Akbar Anthony also had a lasting impact on pop culture with its catchy songs, quotable one-liners, and the character of Anthony Gonsalves (played by Bachchan). It won several awards at the25th Filmfare Awards, includingBest Actor,Best Music Director andBest Editing. It was later remade inTamil asShankar Salim Simon (1978), inTelugu asRam Robert Rahim (1980),[7] and inMalayalam asJohn Jaffer Janardhanan (1982). InPakistan, the film was unofficially remade inPunjabi asAkbar Amar Anthony (1978).[8]
Kishanlal, achauffeur, is released fromprison on15 August 1955, after serving a sentence for the fatalhit-and-runaccident committed by his employer,crime lord Robert. Despite Robert's promises, Kishanlal returns home to find his wife Bharati suffering fromTB and their three sons starving. Enraged, Kishanlal confronts Robert to beg for his assistance, only to be humiliated, abused and disowned. Turning the tables on Robert'shenchmen, Kishanlal escapes in a car loaded withsmuggledgold bullion, pursued by Robert's goons.
Arriving home, Kishanlal finds Bharati gone; hersuicide note explains her shame and despair. Taking his sons with him, he eludes pursuit to place the boys at the foot ofMahatma Gandhi'sstatue inBorivali National Park, leaving the eldest in charge. He drives off to mislead Robert's goons, but after a fiery car crash both the police and Robert's people believe Kishanlal and his sons are dead.
The three children become separated. Amar, the eldest, runs after his father, is knocked down by Robert's goons and adopted byHinduPolice Superintendent Khanna. Middle son Anthony goes in search of food for his crying baby brother; left alone, Raju is found and adopted by kindlyMuslimtailor Darji Ilahabadi. Returning to find no one, Anthony shelters from astorm outside a nearby Catholicchurch, falling asleep from exhaustion. Theparishpriest, Father Gonsalves, discovers him and Bharati's suicide note and adopts him. Each will be reared in the religions of their adoptive fathers: Hindu, Islam and Christianity.
Elsewhere: Bharati is caught in the storm and struckblind by a fallingbranch - divine punishment for leaving her sons. She is rescued and dropped off home by Mr. Ilahabadi, but cannot see Raju beside him; at home she is told her family is dead. Kishanlal escapes the car crash and finds Robert's gold; returning to the empty park a rich man – he is devastated to be alone.
Twenty-two years pass. Bharati, now aflower seller, is the victim of a hit-and-run accident outside a church and is rushed to aprivate hospital by Anthony, theLiquor license of the neighborhood. Raju, now called Akbar and a popularQawwali singer, is at the hospital to romance Dr. Salma Ali because her grumpy father Taiyyab Ali disapproves of him. Amar is the police inspector who arrives to check on the accident case. All three mendonate blood to save Bharati's life, unaware they are related. Later, Amar tracks downhighwayrobbers and meets Lakshmi, forced by her abusive criminal stepmother and stepbrother Ranjeet to act asbait to protect her elderly,wheelchair-bound grandmother. Together they take evidence and arrest the stepmother, and Amar gives sanctuary to Lakshmi and her grandmother in his home.
With Robert's gold Kishanlal became a wealthy crime lord in his own right. Kidnapping Robert's infant daughter Jenny in revenge for his lost family, he reared her as his 'niece' and sent her to school abroad. He also destroyed Robert's organization, forcing a grovelling Robert to work for him while begging for his daughter's return. In the middle of a smuggling operation Kishanlal's gang are raided by police: in the chaos Robert takes a crate of Kishanlal's smuggled gold and shoots Superintendent Khanna (Amar's 'father'), badly wounding him. With the gold Robert reinstates himself as a crime lord and plans to get Jenny back and kill Kishanlal, hiring Ranjeet in the process.
Jenny returns from abroad and Anthony falls head over heels in love with her duringEaster Sunday services. Bharati, taken hostage by Robert, suffers a minorhead injury while escaping; miraculously, hersight is restored at a festival hosted by Akbar in honor ofSai Baba of Shirdi. Further, she identifies Akbar as Raju from a childhoodphotograph with Mr. Ilahabadi, while he recognizes her as the blind woman he drove home that fateful night.
Akbar rescues Salma and Taiyyab Ali from ahouse fire set by Taiyyab's blackmailing former mistress. A grateful Taiyyab gives permission for Akbar and Salma's marriage, leading to Akbar and Amar discovering they are brothers, Kishanlal and Bharati their parents.
Events take a drastic turn when Kishanlal is double-crossed by Jenny'sbodyguard Zebisco, who takes her to Robert in exchange for her hand in marriage. Father Gonsalves and Lakshmi see her abducted, but Lakshmi is also taken by Ranjeet and Robert murders Father Gonsalves – planting Kishanlal'sKalitalisman as a 'clue.' Through Father Gonsalves' death Anthony discovers that Kishanlal and Bharati are his parents and Amar and Akbar his brothers.
The brothers take action to infiltrate Robert'smansion. Akbar, made suspicious when strangers try to collect Jenny's wedding dress, disguises himself as an elderly dithering tailor who goes with them to make last minute alterations. He sends a letter to his adopted father which Salma reads, and she joins him as his 'assistant/wife' to help the girls escape. Amar and Anthony waylay and impersonate theone-man band andCatholic priest on their way to Robert's to marry Jenny and Zebisco. Rejoicing in their reunion, the brothers celebrate as they go after Robert, Zebisco, Ranjeet and the remaining goons.
Happy that he is alive, Bharati is distraught to learn Kishanlal will go to prison for his crimes, but he reassures her: their reunited family is the only thing that matters to him. Superintendent Khanna, recovered from Robert's attack, briefly releases Kishanlal so that he may embrace his sons. The film ends with the brothers and their sweethearts joyfully driving into thesunset.
"You see the whole country of the system is juxtapositioned by the hemoglobin in the atmosphere, because you are a sophisticated rhetorician intoxicated with the exuberance of your own verbosity."
Amar Akbar Anthony has a cinematic antecedent inYash Chopra's 1965 filmWaqt, in which a father's three sons are separated from each other.Waqt also inspired the 1976 super-hit diamond jubilee Pakistani filmTalash, starringShabnam andNadeem. However,Amar Akbar Anthony was slated to release in 1975, prior toTalash's release.[10]
Prayag Raj wrote the film's screenplay, whileKader Khan wrote the dialogue.[11]
The character of Anthony Gonsalves was named after the famous composer and teacherof the same name, whose pupils included Pyarelal (ofLaxmikant–Pyarelal, the composer duo of the film) andR. D. Burman.[12][13] Director Manmohan Desai had planned for Amitabh's character to be named “Anthony Fernandes,” with Bakshi's song entitled “My Name is Anthony Fernandes.” However, the song didn't go well with Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Composer Pyarelal then recalled his famous violin teacher and suggested that the character's last name be changed to “Gonsalves.”[12][14] The nonsensical monologue preceding the "My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves" sequence was taken in part from an 1878 speech by British politicianBenjamin Disraeli in reference toW. E. Gladstone.[12]
Amar Akbar Anthony was Manmohan Desai's first film as an independent film producer. The film was shot over a month atRanjit Studios inMumbai. Some exterior and interior shots were filmed at theMount Mary Church inBandra, Mumbai and at the Don Bosco School, Wadala, Mumbai respectively.[12][15] Shooting was scheduled so that the entire cast didn't have to appear together except for the climactic sequence and the title song ("Anhoni Ko Honi"), where they all perform as a group. However, the shooting went over schedule, which requiredRishi Kapoor andShabana Azmi to shoot their scenes separately so they could leave towards the end of production to work on other films.
Amar Akbar Anthony incorporates a strong element of secularism[16] within a Bollywood masala film. Analysts such as Virdi (2003) and Kavoori & Punathambekar (2008) note that the themes of Desai's "magnum opus" includereligious pluralism andsecular nationalism.[17][18]Philip Lutgendorf hints that the separation of the three children on Indian Independence Day is akin to thePartition of India.[19] Similarly,Vijay Mishra (2013) argues that the film reaffirmed India's "liberal ethos."[20] The three religions represented by the titular characters are the "pillars of the nation:" when they work together, they can restore life to their mother (represented when they donate blood during the opening title sequence) and beat any evil (symbolised by their common villain).[21] The characters' reunion with their parents completes thenationalisticallegory,[17][18] suggesting that what was lost at independence can be regained.[22]
The film's masala style is evident in its plot and characters. According to Varia (2013),Amar Akbar Anthony was conceived as a tragedy but later incorporated many other genres.[23] Dickson (2016) commented that the film featured a plot that was so complex that it would "give evenShakespeare migraines."[24] Some authors also highlight the archetypal character of the suffering and self-sacrificing mother (Roy).[25] However,Dinesh Raheja concludes that "ultimately, the show belongs to Amitabh Bachchan. In a tailor-made role, he has the audience in stitches. Despite his playing an implausible character, one quickly surrenders one's reservations in favour of a rollicking romp."[26]
| Amar Akbar Anthony | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 7 January 1977 |
| Genre | Feature Film Soundtrack |
| Label | Universal Music India |
| Producer | Manmohan Desai |
Amar Akbar Anthony's soundtrack was composed byLaxmikant-Pyarelal, with lyrics penned byAnand Bakshi. It proved as popular and successful as the film itself.[citation needed] The vinyl record, released onPolydor, was the first LP that was coloured pink.[citation needed]
Some of the biggest names in the Indian music industry of the time provided vocals for the songs:
The song "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyar" is notable for bringing Mukesh, Kumar, Rafi and Mangeshkar together for the first and only occasion in their careers.[12] The film also features a comicalfilmi qawwali entitled "Parda Hai Parda" sung by Rafi,[27] with a single line (for Bachchan) supplied by an uncreditedAmit Kumar (Kishore Kumar's son).[28]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves" | Kishore Kumar,Amitabh Bachchan, uncredited female voice | 5:32 |
| 2. | "Amar Akbar Anthony" | Kishore Kumar,Mahendra Kapoor,Shailendra Singh | 5:52 |
| 3. | "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyar" | Kishore Kumar,Mohammed Rafi,Mukesh,Lata Mangeshkar | 7:33 |
| 4. | "Taiyabali Pyar Ka Dushman" | Mohammed Rafi | 4:40 |
| 5. | "Parda Hai Parda" | Mohammed Rafi,Amit Kumar | 7:59 |
| 6. | "Shirdi Wale Sai Baba" | Mohammed Rafi | 5:52 |
| 7. | "Ye Sach Hai Koi Kahani Nahin" | Mohammed Rafi | 2:22 |
TheEmergency Period delayed the release of several ofManmohan Desai's films. As a result, four of Desai's films,Dharam Veer,Chacha Bhatija,Parvarish, andAmar Akbar Anthony, were released in 1977.[31][32] Incidentally, all of these would be amongst the top-grossing films of the year.[3]
For the film's marketing,erasers with the images of Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, and Amitabh Bachchan were sold to students.[33] Posters, postcards, and song booklets of the film were sold in shops.[citation needed] Colourful vests and metal crosses that were similar to the ones worn by Bachchan in the film achieved popularity.[citation needed]
The film grossed₹155 million (US$17.69 million) at the Indian box office and was the highest-grossing Bollywood film at theIndian Box Office for the year 1977.[3] It has since been regarded as one of the most iconic films of Indian cinema.[34]
Adjusted for inflation, the film has grossed approximately₹423 crores ($51 million) as of 2023.
In 2023,Time Out ranked it #10 on its list of the "100 Best Bollywood Movies."[35]
| Award | Category | Recipients and Nominees | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th Filmfare Awards | Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
| Best Music Director | Laxmikant–Pyarelal | ||
| Best Editing | Kamlakar Karkhanis | ||
| Best Film | Manmohan Desai | Nominated | |
| Best Director | |||
| Best Lyricist | Anand Bakshi for "Parda Hai Parda" | ||
| Best Male Playback Singer | Mohammed Rafi for "Parda Hai Parda" |