Indian cinephiles may associate friendship with the song ‘Yeh Dosti’ from Sholay, featuring Amitabh Bachchan as Jai and Dharmendra as Veeru, but it is Bachchan’s real-life friendship with Amjad Khan—the ruthless and notorious on-screen dacoit Gabbar Singh—that was truly the stuff of legends.
The song Tere Jaisa Yaar Kahan from Yaarana (1981) is not just a testimony to the friendship between the characters of the movie, but also how the duo stood by each other in some of their toughest times in real life.
They also appeared in films like Muqaddar Ka Sikander (1978), Ganga Ki Saugandh (1978), Mr Natwarlal (1979), Naseeb (1981), Laawaris (1981) and Satte Pe Satta (1982), with Bachchan playing the hero, and Khan the menacing villain.
In Yaarana, Kishan (Bachchan) and Bishan (Khan) are childhood friends from different economic backgrounds. In a bid to separate the two friends, Bishan’s uncle, played by Jeevan, manipulates his sister to send him away to a city and then to London for further education.
When the two friends reunite years later, Bishan discovers that Kishan has a great voice. Now a successful businessman, Bishan asks Komal (Neetu Singh) to groom him to be a performer and a gentleman. He succeeds with his debut concert and helps Bishan out with the loan that his friend had paid to ensure Kishan’s career growth.
But soon, things turn dark as Bishan is kidnapped and manipulated by his uncle to sign a bond, confessing to crimes that he did not commit, and ends up in an asylum. How Kishan saves his friend and fights the villains—Bishna’s uncle and his son Jagdish, played by Ranjeet–forms the rest of the plot.
Amjad Khan seamlessly fits into the ‘good guy’ character
The film was a space for the two actors to play roles that were not conventionally associated with them. Khan, who played the standout role of Gabbar, seamlessly fits into his character as the jovial businessman who loves his family and can do anything for his friend. He is the self-sacrificing friend who puts his business and life on stake, so that his friend can advance in his career.
He even warns his wife that helping Kishan is non-negotiable and looks out for him despite all odds. Khan plays the good guy so well that it becomes hard to imagine him as the actor whose career was built on portraying negative roles.
Known for his brooding roles and ‘angry young man’ persona, Bachchan gets a free rein to showcase his comic self in the film. His antics create some of the funny moments of the film, be it trying out the ‘vilayti’ kite or paragliding or when he gets mad that Bishan has hidden the news of his marriage, and beats his friend up in mock anger. Bishan’s wife, Sheela (Tanuja), and mother wait outside, confused by the sounds coming from inside the closed room.
Their performances were bolstered by the dialogues written by Kader Khan, who also plays the role of Bishan’s driver Johnny.
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Kishore Kumar loses award to his son
The soundtracks are composed by Rajesh Roshan, and the lyrics are by Anjaan. Most of the songs are sung by Kishore Kumar. Be it the soothing, romantic song ‘Choo Kar Mere Man Ko’, or the energetic Sara Zamaana or the poignant ‘Tere Jaisa Yaar Kahan’, Kumar forms the other scaffolding of the film’s strong structure.
When the film completed 36 years of its release, Bachchan wrote a lengthy post on his blog about how it was his idea to shoot ‘Sara Zamaana’ in Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium, Kolkata, and to have tiny bulbs in his black jacket to make it shine. Both ideas, however, brought in setbacks.
The stadium, packed beyond limits, gave the police and the forces a tough time controlling the crowds. This also features in a dialogue in the movie when the manager says, “This has never happened before. The stadium is not just housefull, but people are fighting with each other to get tickets.”
Once that was sorted, the next issue was the lights. Since the live wires were connected to plugs, he felt a shocking jolt while dancing. “The moment the electricity flowed, I started dancing — not because I wanted to, but because I was getting electric shocks!”, said Bachchan with a chuckle in episode 32 of Kaun Banega Crorepati 16.
The songs became massive chartbusters and got Kishore Kumar Filmfare nomination for ‘Choo Kar Mere Mann Ko’. But he lost out to his son, Amit Kumar, who got the award for his rendition of Teri Yaad Aa Rahi Hai from Love Story.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)