Two years before Don became a cult classic with Amitabh Bachchan’s double role as the dreaded don and the bumbling Vijay, there was the 1976 hit, Kalicharan. Shatrugan Sinha also played a dual role in Subhash Ghai’s directorial debut, and it changed the course of his acting career.
Until then, Sinha had not delivered a hit as a solo lead. But his role as the honest cop Prabhakar earned him much acclaim. In the film, DSP Prabhakar Shrivastava locks horns with Din Dayal, a man who pretends to be a philanthropist but is actually a criminal known as Lion. Before he can expose the villain, he is killed by Din Dayal’s goons.
His boss, IG Khanna (Premnath), learns that a man who looks just like Prabhakar is serving time in Delhi Central Jail—enter Kalicharan, also played by Sinha.
Producer NN Sippy wanted Rajesh Khanna to play the lead, as Sinha was not in the ‘big league’ at the time.
“Apart from being a close friend, I found Shatrughan apt for the role,” said Ghai more than 20 years later, while promoting his film Kaanchi (2014). “It was a double role and the producer was apprehensive in casting a new face. But I felt that more than a star, I needed an actor who would be apt for the character.”
Sinha’s double role
Sinha was known for his villain roles with movies like Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972) and Blackmail (1973). But Kalicharan gave him the opportunity to expand his range as an actor. The switch between the honest Bombay cop and the uncouth criminal Kalicharan is seamless, even the body language shifts instantaneously.
As Kalicharan, Sinha stands with his hands on his hips. His anger is tempered by a wry sense of humour. When Khanna tries to recruit him by offering a warm glass of milk, he says: “Aaj nagpanchami hai kya? Saanp ko doodh kyo pila rahe? (Is it Nag Panchami today? Why are you feeding milk to a snake?)
Kalicharan initially agrees to Khanna’s plan just to escape jail, but he has a change of heart when he meets Sapna (Reena Roy). She is the sister of one of Kalicharan’s goons, who is killed after helping Prabhakar uncover Din Dayal. He falls in love with her and eventually decides to punish Lion for his crimes. Sapna becomes the catalyst for Kalicharan to become a better man.
However, for all its success, the movie reinforces stereotypes and prejudice, especially when it comes to skin colour. Kalicharan may have been the good cop’s look-alike, but his skin tone is darker. There’s a scene in the film, when Sapna even comments on it and says it is proof of his criminality.
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Lion and hunter
Prabhakar is the less interesting of the two characters Shatrughan Sinha plays. But he gets one of the most powerful dialogues in the film. It begins with a classic Bollywood face-off between the hero and villain.
“Sara sheher mujhe Loin ke nam se janta hai aur is sheher mein meri haisiyat wahi hai jo jungle mein sher ki hoti hai (The city knows me as lion and my stature is similar to that of the king of the jungle),” Din Dayal says when Prabhakar confronts him.
“Yeh mat bhuliye Din Dayal ki sher jab aadamkhor ho jata hai, sarkar use apne goli ka nishana banake kutte ki maut mar deta hai. Aur is bar is aadamkhor sher ke shikari ka nam hai Prabhakar Shrivastava (Do not forget Din Dayal, that when a lion becomes a man-eater, the government shoots it down. And this time, the hunter designed to kill this man-eater is named Prabhakar Shrivastava),” responds the cop.
Sinha’s performance is amplified by Ajit’s portrayal of the villain. He was known for his on-screen persona of an eccentric villain in films like Zanjeer (1973) and Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). In the film, Ajit’s Lion is cool and collected, all the more menacing because of the calm he exudes while ordering hits on people. With his salt-and-pepper hair and bespoke bandhgala suits, he keeps up appearances as a nobleman while running his illegal empire. Even his mispronunciation of the word ‘lion’ as ‘loin’ became a pop culture moment.
Kalicharan established Ajit as the undisputed king of villainous roles, and he bagged multiple big-budget films after the release.
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Music in ‘Kalicharan’
The film’s album had just four songs, and the popular tragic number Ja Re Ja O Harjai, performed by Sapna on stage as part of a college function, is one of the highlights. It would also be one of the many ‘stage’ performances Roy would deliver in films in her career, including Sheesha Ho Ya Dil Ho in Aasha (1980). The cabaret number Yeh Pal Chanchal Kho Na Dena Kahin, O Deewane is performed by Helen. But what stands out is the cheerful number, Ek Bata Do, Do Bate Char, performed by the actors playing Prabhakar’s children in the film.
Kalicharan is known for not just being a commercial hit, but also the film where Roy and Sinha’s ‘infamous’ love story blossomed. It started off the spate of hits delivered by the pair, and the actors carried on their relationship even after Sinha married Poonam.
Just 19 years old, and in the presence of seasoned actors, Roy stands out in the film even though she doesn’t have a well-fleshed-out role. She manages to bring in a mix of innocence and zest for life, which later gives way to grief when the character realises her brother has been killed by Lion/Din Dayal.
The Roy-Sinha affair also made the on-screen pair a popular one, with films like Vishwanath (1978), Muqabla (1979) and Naseeb (1981). While the two eventually separated and stopped working together, Kalicharan stands testimony not just to their romance but to the start of illustrious careers for them both.
Cast: Shatrughan Sinha, Reena Roy, Premnath, Ajit
Director: Subhash Ghai
Producer: NN Sippy
Music director: Kalyanji-Anandji
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)