Aankhen was the RRR of its time, says filmmaker Anurag Kashyap

Release Date: – 09/04/1993

Platform: – YouTube

Cast: – Govinda, Chunky Pandey, Kader Khan, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Ritu Shivpuri, Raageshwari, Shilpa Shirodkar

Director: – David Dhawan

Writer: – Anees Bazmi

Aankhen was easily one of the wackiest and most insane films ever to have come out of Bollywood in the 1990s. When Anurag Kashyap said, in a recent interview with “Unfiltered with Samdhish”, that Aankhen was the RRR of its time, he was not only referring to the unthinkably escalating story and plot points of the narrative that provided the maker with every option to tailor in every foreseeable dramatic trope and cinematic quality into the storytelling but was also referring to the sheer audacity of the writer and director to have had the guts to make a film that had not one, not two but three pairs of doppelgangers and justify their existence through the narrative and also make their existence integral to the storytelling. That was not all. Kashyap was also drawing our attention to how quickly and effectively the mood and feel of the film changed from comedy to drama, drama to tragedy, tragedy to action, and action to comedy, and how it all felt so seamless and organic.

The Story: –

David Dhawan made Aankhen right after Bol Radha Bol, another film that had some of the elements that Dhawan dialed up to a 100 in Aankhen. Aankhen is a film about a lot of different things. Natwar Shah (Gulshan Grover) has cheated the common people of a humongous amount of 2500 crores and is finally in police custody. The honest Chief Minister (CM) of the state, played by Raj Babbar is holding him in a special cell and is trying to get the whereabouts of the money out of him. Natwar’s brother hires Tejeshwar (Shakti Kapoor) and his gang of thugs to break his brother out of this prison. Tejeshwar’s brilliant plan is to transform one of his goons, Sarang (Raj Babbar), a CM look-alike, to impersonate the CM and break Natwar out of prison. For this Sarang first has to undergo a complicated plastic surgery.

Bunnu (Govinda) and Munnu (Chunky Pandey) are spoilt brats of Seth Hasmukh (Kader Khan) who are constantly at loggerheads with their father. During one of their exiles from home, they meet two beautiful girls, Ritu (Ritu Shivpuri) and Priya (Raageshwari), and fall head over heels in love with them. Bunnu and Munnu keep finding their way in and out of their house due to their bizarre antics and during one such exile, they end up saving the son of the CM from a road accident. The CM invites them to his residence and as luck would have it, they unwittingly get entangled in Tejeshwar’s plot to kidnap the CM and replace him with his own goon, Sarang. Munnu is the worst sufferer as he is convicted of the possible murder of his own brother Bunnu who is missing after an altercation with Tejeshwar’s men.

As these two plotlines are running into each other, a third track is developed where we learn that Gauri Shankar (Govinda), a look-alike of Bunnu exists and he is the son of a villager who is the twin brother of Hasmukh. This track then crosses paths with the other two storylines and further complicates matters adding to the drama, comedy, and confusion. Gauri Shankar’s arch is complete with a feisty girlfriend Chandramukhi (Shilpa Shirodkar), and a doting father played by Kader Khan again in a different avatar.
If this was not enough, there is a love triangle brewing between Kader Khan, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, and Bindu that is complete with cringeworthy but hilarious romance and comical exchanges between the two friends Khan and Amrapurkar whose loyalty towards each other is questioned and tested by the arrival of Bindu in their respective lives and their insatiable desire to marry her threaten to destroy their friendship.

A wholesome entertainer that has everything: –

David Dhawan was a successful editor to start with and it shows in his direction of Aankhen. The film unfolds in different tracks at a breakneck speed but remains easily intelligible. The sense of urgency in the narrative is as such that it feels as if the director has promised himself to shock and awe his audiences every five minutes. There is such comedy, melodrama, uncharacteristic violence and romance on show here that it is hard to look away from the screen. Some of the sexual references and double-meaning jokes that are there would make many shriek in today’s time but in those days, they were all fun and games. What I found interesting was that even though the film remained serious and impactful when it needed to be, it had an underlying current of comedy throughout. It is one of the hardest things to achieve but Dhawan nailed this aspect of the film with elan.

Gritty and physical action set pieces: –

The action and violence felt uncannily physical and some of the choices that the director made instantly enhanced the impact of the action. Shakti Kapoor as Tejeshwar shoots a kid for no particular reason. He does so for the sake of fun and that makes him the kind of villain that you would want dead by the end of the film. Similarly, the actress who plays his companion kills Raj Babbar’s on-screen wife, Neena Gupta for no reason and that makes her expendable in the end. Thus, when at the end of the film, these two characters along with a host of others are murdered, the audiences find it justified. The action choreography by Tinnu Verma is fantastic. Everything feels physical and done for real and that is what adds a lot of gusto to it enhancing its overall impact.

The comedy is its forte: –

The comedy is situational in some scenes and forced in others. While the forced bits are visible and do hamper the pacing of the film, the situational bits are hilarious. The best bits of comedy happen when Kader Khan, Govinda, and Chunky Pandey are together. Even the scenes involving exchanges between Kader Khan and Sadashiv Amrapurkar are hilarious. The arrival of Govinda’s Gauri Shankar and Shilpa Shirodkar’s Chandramukhi add a different flavor to the comedy. The songs of the film, which used to be a huge deal in those days are average at best. The only two songs that did stick with me were “Angana mein wah wah” and “O Lal dupatte wali tera naam to bata”.

The genius of David Dhawan: –

The genius of David Dhawan in Aankhen was documented in its natural flow and his ability to hold onto the viewer’s attention even when nothing of much importance was happening. A large chunk of the credit for that has to be given to the absolutely brilliant acting from the ensemble cast. Even the minor characters are noticeable here and the actors do their part with such conviction that their characters are elevated from being supporting characters to ones of significant importance.

The spellbinding performances by the ensemble cast: –

Govinda is tremendous as Bunnu and Gauri Shankar. He essays both characters with such finesse and naturality that it becomes easy for the audiences to differentiate between the two even when there isn’t much left to choose between two. Apart from his impeccable comic timing, what surprised me most was the kind of physicality and expressions that he brought to his character in the action sequences. Once the stakes are set, Bunnu quickly transforms from a mischievous and happy-go-lucky guy to one who is haunted and hunted by the weight of what had conspired and also what could happen to his near and dear ones if he didn’t do something about it. The tension, fear, and aggression that characterizes his predicament are beautifully brought out to the character by Govinda whose every step takes the character in the right direction.

Kader Khan was a staple of every David Dhawan film and Aankhen was no different. Once again, he is in the well-known avatar that we have come to love him for. Yes! his rendering of Hasmukh will remind you of a zillion other renditions of his in the company of Govinda but when the performance and the character are so endearing who is going to complain? Not me for sure! He is one of the biggest strengths of the film and easily the most likable actor. Sadashiv Amrapurkar gives him able company and creates the perfect situations to amplify Khan’s comedy and his comic timing. By doing this Amrapurkar also adds a dash of comedy to his own brand.

Shakti Kapoor plays a character that he is all too well known for and he does well. Raj Babbar goes out of his comfort zone when he is rendering the character of Sarang. To hit the right balance between a calm and composed CM and an over-the-top villain was not easy and he did a fantastic job with both characters. My only issue with him was how he underplayed his character during and after the deaths of his wife and child. He should have overreacted a little in these sequences to make the audiences feel the weight of the tragedy.

Shilpa Shirodkar appears only after the interval and even after that, she practically overshadows Ritu Shivpuri and Raageshwari comfortably with her loud but enterprising essay. Some of her sequences with Govinda are hilarious. Ritu Shivpuri and Raageshwari are used only to add glamour and justify the song and dance routines that are peppered throughout the film. Their characters are neither of any significant importance nor do they do anything to assume importance in the scheme of things. This was a recurring problem with many female characters of the 1990s and it is more evident here than in many other cases.

Final words: –

I rewatch Aankhen every year and never feel bored or done with it. It is the kind of film that you can watch and enjoy at any time without giving much thought to the why, how, and what of it.

It is the kind of cinema that Bollywood truly needs to re-learn to make. It is devoid of any agenda. There is no politics involved. The characters are unabashed in their view of the world and the things that they are shown doing. The women are glamorous and they use their glamour to their advantage even if it is at the cost of —now popular— basic tenants of feminism. The villains are black and have no interest in displaying shades of grey. They are the most over-the-top that one can imagine. If that was not enough, the villains plan and execute evil that is of an order that few can imagine these days. The comedy may be crass in places but lands well most of the time. There is even a monkey that can drive cars and save the protagonists when the need presents itself. For all this and more, I love Aankhen and agree with what Anurag Kashyap had to say about it.

Rating: 4/5 (5 stars)

The views expressed in this article are that of the reviewer and do not reflect EastMojo’s position.

Also Read | Dr. Bezbaruah 2: An outrageous crowd-pleaser that plays to charisma of its stars