Last year, during the 16th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Amitabh Bachchan recalled how director Prakash Mehra came up with the idea of a film mid-air.
“We were travelling to the West Indies from New York with Kalyanji-Anandji’s orchestra, and Prakash Mehra was with us. During the flight, Prakashji brought up the idea of Sharaabi,” Bachchan said on the show.
The idea became a blockbuster. Bachchan’s characterisation of Vicky Kapoor, the spoiled only child of a wealthy businessman who becomes a raging alcoholic—but without a mean streak—cemented his cult status. Vicky’s father, Amarnath Kapoor (Pran), inspires a special kind of loathing in the viewer. He is ruthless, cold, and looks down on everyone. It’s Amarnath’s friend Munshi Phoolchand (Om Prakash) who gives Vicky the attention he needs.
The neglected child grows up into a kind-hearted, though flawed man, and therein lies the appeal. He gives his money to the poor in an act of rebellion, and that’s when he meets singer and performer Meena (Jaya Prada). Amarnath does not approve of the match, and what follows is a rupture of already fraught relationships.
The director-actor relationship shines through in the movie. Before Sharaabi, Mehra had collaborated with Bachchan on several movies beginning with Zanjeer (1973), which was also the actor’s first massive commercial success. The duo would then go on to create box office magic with films like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) and Namak Halaal (1982). The rest of the cast—Pran, Om Prakash, Ranjeet, and Satyen Kappu—were also regulars in Mehra’s films with Bachchan. Pran, for a change, did not play a conventional villain, but a self-absorbed man.
A heartbroken son
In the same episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Bachchan reminisced about the script. By the time they returned to India from the West Indies, Mehra had the script ready.
But the dialogues were long, over two to three pages.
“I told Prakashji, you made me an alcoholic for the whole movie, and it takes time for an alcoholic to speak. If I were to deliver these 4-page dialogues, the film would span many hours. Please shorten them,” Bachchan said.
A happy compromise was reached, and the rest is Bollywood history.
The dialogues were credited to Kader Khan, who has a fine balance of drama and humour in his writing. When Vicky tries to remember where he dropped Meena off the night before, and gets confused, he says: “Acha hua main postman nahi hoon warna idhar ki chitthi udhar kar deta (Thank god I am not a postman or I would have definitely delivered letters at wrong addresses).”
Some of the hardest-hitting scenes in the movie are juxtaposed with those meant to offer comic relief. When Amarnath calls Vicky to his office for a board meeting, he chooses to talk to the employees instead. One employee, Nathulal, who sports a majestic moustache, catches Vicky’s attention and he compliments it, saying “Muchhein ho toh Nathulal jaisi warna na ho (One should either have a moustache like Nathnulal or not have one altogether)”. Nathulal then shares his financial hardships, which Vicky sorts out by offering money from his account.
His father, upset with Vicky’s’ ‘charity’’, admonishes him. “Tum toh shaarab ki bottle mein label ki tarah chipak gaye ho (You are stuck to alcohol like a label is to a bottle)”, he says.
When he asks his son if he grew up lacking anything, Vicky talks about the lack of emotion in their interactions. There is no tenderness, no demonstration of love. Vicky compares his father to Midas, but while the king lamented losing his child, Amarnath does not even care about the one he has. Even as Vicky pours his heart out, Amarnath walks off, dismissing his son’s heartbroken words.
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Learning from Meena Kumari
The soundtrack and the songs add another dimension to the movie, especially when Meena and Vicky fall in love with each other.
As he waits for her to turn up for his birthday celebrations, dressed impeccably in a black tux, Vicky croons the song, Inteha Ho Gayi Intezaar Ki. It also signals the beginning of his romance with Meena, which is later cemented with songs like De De Pyaar De. When he sings the song outside Meena’s house, the entire colony gathers to cheer the two lovers.
In an X post seven years ago, Bachchan acknowledged the untitled cameo his Namak Halaal co-star Smita Patil did in the song Jahan Mil Jayen Chaar Yaar, where his vocals were also used.
Kishore Kumar was the only singer nominated in the Filmfare Awards for songs from the album. He won his seventh Filmfare award for the song, Manzilen Apni Jagah Hai, while Bappi Lahiri won the award for the best music director for the film’s album.
It was not just the songs and dialogue that made Sharaabi a hit. Even Bachchan’s mannerisms were being copied en masse. In the film, Bachchan kept his left hand inside his trouser pocket or covered it with a handkerchief. While the action became a style statement, it was done by the actor to shield his burnt hand from the camera.
The actor had suffered burn injuries on Diwali and had to conceal them while he was shooting for Inquilaab and Sharaabi. He was inspired by Meena Kumari, who also used to cover up her injured finger on her left hand.
Mehra makes his audience hold their breath till the very end of the film. After multiple plot twists, betrayals, and even deaths, Vicky, injured and bloody, lies in the lap of his apologetic father. He finds no reason to live anymore, despite his father’s pleading. Just then, Meena walks in.
“Ab toh jeeyega na, mere liyhe nahi toh meri bahu ke liye (Won’t you live now, if not for me then for my daughter-in-law),” says Amarnath.
It feels like catharsis, the idea that Vicky will finally give up alcohol for good, and get his happy ending.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
A grand entertainer – yes, but you forgot to mention, it was very much inspired by ‘Arthur’ (1981).
Have seen them both and acting wise ‘Sharabi’ is as good – if not better – as the petformances by the cast in ‘Arthur’.
09 JUN 2025