| Coolie No. 1 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Dhawan |
| Written by | Rumi Jaffery Kader Khan (dialogues) |
| Story by | Amma creations P. Kalaimani (uncredited) |
| Based on | Chinna Mapillai byP. Kalaimani |
| Produced by | Vashu Bhagnani |
| Starring | Govinda Karisma Kapoor Harish Kumar Kanchan Kader Khan Mahesh Anand Sadashiv Amrapurkar Shakti Kapoor |
| Cinematography | Rajan Kinagi |
| Edited by | A. Muthu |
| Music by | Songs: Anand–Milind Score: Shyam-Surinder |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Tips Industries Limited Tips Music Films S.K. Enterprises Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 161 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹3.50 crore[1] |
| Box office | ₹21.22 crore (equivalent to ₹297 crore or US$36 million in 2024)[1] |
Coolie No. 1 is a 1995 IndianHindi-languagemasala film, directed byDavid Dhawan, and written by Rumi Jaffery andKader Khan. The film starsGovinda,Karisma Kapoor,Kader Khan,Shakti Kapoor,Harish Kumar,Sadashiv Amrapurkar andMahesh Anand, with music byAnand–Milind.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The film is a remake of theTamil filmChinna Mapillai (1993).[9]
This movie was one of the first successful movies of Kapoor.[10] Govinda received theStar Screen Award Special Jury Award for his role in this movie as 'performer of the decade'.[11][12] Over the years, the movie has become a classic in Hindi film history and is now considered a cult film and one of the greatest Hindi film ever made .[13] In 2020, Dhawan remade the filmwith the same name with his sonVarun Dhawan,Sara Ali Khan andParesh Rawal.
Pandit Shadiram Gharjode (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) brings a prospective groom's family for Malti Choudhry (Karisma Kapoor). But when her father Choudhry Hoshiyar Chand (Kader Khan) learns that that family isn't filthy rich, he insults Gharjode. He vows to teach Hoshiyar Chand a lesson for his arrogance and pride.
On the way home, Shadiram Gharjode bumps into Raju Coolie (Govinda) abus standporter who proudly wears his badge - "Coolie No. 1". Raju is known among his fellow porters for being heroic, recently having gotten a drug dealer Mahesh (Mahesh Anand) arrested. When Raju is smitten by Malti's photo, Gharjode hatches a plan to get the poor porter married to Malti and exact his revenge. With Gharjode's guidance and the help of his best friend Deepak Mechanic (Harish Kumar), Raju poses as the prince ofSingapore, Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh Mehta and wins Malti's heart. In the process, Malti's sister Shalini (Kaanchan) falls for Deepak.
Hoshiyar Chand gets Malti married to Raju, not knowing that he is just a poor porter. When Raju returns home with Malti after the wedding, he pretends that his "father" Gajendra Pratap Singh Mehta (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) has thrown him out of the house for getting married without his consent. Malti tries to make the best out of the given situation by cheering up Mahendra, which makes him feel guilty.
The trouble becomes double when Hoshiyar Chand comes to town to visit his daughter and son-in-law but spots Raju as a coolie at the bus stand. Hoshiyar Chand creates a ruckus, saying that Raju is a fraud who posed as a rich prince and married his daughter. Spontaneously, Raju pretends to not recognize Hoshiyar Chand and shoos him away. Raju comes home dressed as Mahendra and explains that Hoshiyar Chand must have seen his twin brother Raju who his father threw out due to his drinking and gambling addictions. Hoshiyar Chand buys this story and decides to get Shalini married to Raju, so that both his daughters will live filthy rich lives.
Raju keeps getting into trouble since he can be only at one place at one time. One such incident forces Raju, Malti and Hoshiyar Chand to file a missing complaint for Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh Mehta. Inspector Rakesh Pandey (Tiku Talsania) gets skeptical of the situation and starts to believe that Raju and his twin brother Mahendra are the same person.
Mahesh Pratap Mehta is disowned by his father Gajendra Pratap Singh Mehta due to his criminal activities. To get back at him and Raju, Mahesh stabs Gajendra and frames Raju for the same. Inspector Pandey arrives to arrest him, but Raju informs him that Gajendra is still alive and needs critical medical care, following which he escapes police custody. Raju runs to Deepak and both of them hatch a plan to pretend to benurses from Singapore to save Gajendra's life, as that is Raju's only proof of innocence. At the hospital, Inspector Pandey tells Hoshiyar Chand, Malti and Shalini that Raju is just a poor porter who pretended to be Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh Mehta.
While trying to save Gajendra, Raju and Deepak bump into Malti, Hoshiyar Chand and Shalini, who comes to abort Shalini's unborn child who came because of Deepak. Raju confesses his fraud to Malti, and she forgives him. Hoshiyar Chand and Malti help Raju and Deepak to stop Mahesh from killing Gajendra. Once he gains consciousness, Gajendra announces that since Raju saved his life, he is like a son to him. Shalini also announces her love for Deepak. When Hoshiyar Chand cries about his sons-in-law being a porter and amechanic, Shaadiram Gharjode arrives and tells Hoshiyar Chand that it was bound to happen to someone so arrogant and proud of his wealth. Gharjode explains that for a happy marriage, wealth isn't needed - love is.
The film's soundtrack album sold around 2.8 million units,[14] making it one of the best-sellingBollywood soundtracks of the year.[15]
All songs lyrics are written bySameer; all music is composed byAnand–Milind.
| # | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Main Toh Raste Se Ja Raha Tha" | Kumar Sanu,Alka Yagnik | 05:18 |
| 2. | "Husn Hai Suhana" | Abhijeet,Chandana Dixit | 06:00 |
| 3. | "Aa Jaana Aa Jaana" | Kumar Sanu,Alka Yagnik | 06:22 |
| 4. | "Tere Pyar Mein Dil Deewana" | Udit Narayan,Alka Yagnik | 05:00 |
| 5. | "Jeth Ki Dopahri Mein" | Kumar Sanu,Poornima | 05:00 |
| 6. | "Kya Majnu Kya Ranjha" | Kumar Sanu,Sadhna Sargam | 06:31 |
| 7. | "Coolie No. 1" | Kumar Sanu | 05:24 |
On 8 March 2019, it was announced that the film will be remade, withDavid Dhawan as director again and with his sonVarun Dhawan andSara Ali Khan playing the roles of Raju Coolie and Malti Choudhry. The first look poster of the remakeCoolie No. 1 was released on 12 August 2019 on Khan's birthday. The film was originally scheduled to release on 1 May 2020 but was shifted to 25 December 2020 because ofCOVID-19 pandemic. This film started streaming on 25th December onAmazon Prime Video.[16][17]