Shahenshah (1988 film)

Mathur is a corrupt and sniveling bank manager who has illegally borrowed 2.5 million rupees and loaned them to crime baron J.K. Verma, who orchestrates a bank robbery to bail him out. DCP Anand Kumar Srivastava gets wind of this plot and is about to crack the case when J.K. enlists an exotic dancer named Julie to use the robbery as a backdrop and frame Anand for corruption. Anand is arrested by the CBI and is imprisoned for three months. Anand gets depressed about the false charges where he hangs himself at home after being released on bail. This creates a lasting and powerful impression on his 8 year-old son Vijay Kumar Srivastava.

Vijay retains the noose his father used to hang himself and vows someday to restore his father's honour. Vijay and his mother leave their house and live in the house of Inspector Aslam Khan. Years later, Vijay becomes a cop and is in friends with Shaheena, Aslam Khan's daughter. Aslam Khan is an honest cop much like Vijay's father. Vijay is an obsequious and cowardly inspector, prone to bribery and generally scared of powerful criminals. It doesn't take JK long to find Vijay, where he gets him on the payroll and run his crime empire past the cops. However, a new apparition bursts upon this scene who calls himself as Shahenshah, a costumed crime fighter who is actually Vijay. When wearing Shahenshah's attire, Vijay describes himself as "one who doesn't hold a cop's job but does the same work; one who apprehends criminals himself, conducts the trials himself, pronounces and executes the sentences himself".

Vijay Kumar Srivastava/ Aka / Shahenshah's outward mission is to take out crime and track the perpetrators behind his father's death. Shahenshah quietly breaks up several of J.K.'s gambling dens and illicit liquor distilleries, where he also halts the demolition of a slum. This catches the eye of small-time trickster Shalu who lives there with her aging and ailing mother Julie. J.K. had ordered her assassination after she helped frame Vijay's father; she has been on the run from him ever since, which becomes Shalu's motivation for seeking out and eliminating J.K. Shalu decides to infiltrate J.K.'s coterie by becoming an exotic dancer. One night, Shalu attempts to kill J.K. by shooting him, but is shocked when J.K. reveals he had been wearing a bullet-proof vest the whole time. Vijay lies to J.K. that Shahenshah's weakness is not letting Shalu die and also lies that if J.K. returns Shalu to Shahenshah, Shahenshah will return J. K.'s goods worth millions.

However, J.K. is ultimately fooled and Shahenshah later detonates a bomb planted in J.K.'s truck. J.K. murders Mohammed Salim, a crime reporter and Shaheena's husband who was about to expose J.K.'s crime ring. Vijay decides to turn around his image as a cowardly cop and openly defies J.K. Julie agrees to testify against J.K. Shalu provides ancillary evidence. And J.K. prepares for an all out war against Shahenshah / Aka / Vijay Kumar Srivastava, Shalu and his enemies. At Salim's funeral, one of the many witnesses of his death were present. He was about to reveal J.K.'s name, but a sharpshooter shoots him to death. A veritable bloodbath on the streets ensues as Vijay tries to get Julie into the courthouse.

A final showdown occurs where Shahenshah reveals his secret identity and becomes the nemesis for all the culprits. To give himself a chance to escape, J.K. abducts Shalu and a showdown leads Shahenshah chasing J.K. to the roof of the courthouse where J.K. is pleading his case, because his cover is blown. J.K. falls through a hole in the roof and is clinging on for dear life, with the whole court looking in astonishment. Shahenshah then reveals his identity before the whole court, where he throws the noose down to J.K., and gratefully accepts it, but J.K. attempts to attack Vijay, where Vijay lets go of the noose, which slips around J.K.'s neck and is hanged, thus avenging Anand and Salim's death.

• Amitabh Bachchan as Inspector Vijay Kumar Srivastava / Shahenshah (as the son of Anand and Shanti)
• Meenakshi Sheshadri as Shalu
• Pran as Inspector Aslam Khan
• Aruna Irani as Julie
• Prem Chopra as Bank Manager Mathur
• Amrish Puri as J.K.
• Kader Khan as Deputy Commissioner of Police Officer Anand Kumar Srivastava (as the father of Vijay and as the husband of Shanti)
• Rohini Hattangadi as Shanti Srivastava (as the mother of Vijay and as the wife of Anand)
• Supriya Pathak as Shaheen
• Vijayendra Ghatge as Editor Mohammed Salim
• Jagdeep as Tarachand Badlani
• Sudhir as J.K's Man
• Avtar Gill as Corrupt Police Officer
• Anjan Srivastav as Corrupt Politician
• Sharat Saxena as Abdul
• Praveen Kumar Sobti as Mukhtar Singh
• Dan Dhanoa as J.K.'s Goon
• Goga Kapoor as J.K's Lawyer
• Dinesh Hingoo as Shalu's Friend
• Sameer Khakhar as Shalu's drunkard Friend
• Murad as Judge
• Yunus Parvez as Journalist
• Aftab Shivdasani as Young Vijay Kumar Srivastava

Tinnu Anand, who had made the very successful film Kaalia (1981) with Amitabh, wanted to make another movie with him during the early 1980s. The story of Shahenshah was written by Amitabh's wife, Jaya Bachchan and further refined by Tinnu Anand's father Inder Raj Anand. Even though Anand signed up Bachchan in 1983, the film could not commence shooting because only three days before shooting was to begin in Bangalore, Amitabh fell seriously ill.[4] After a thorough medical examination it was revealed that he had developed myasthenia gravis, a rare chronic autoimmune disease marked by muscular weakness without atrophy.

Due to Amitabh's illness and his commitments to other movies, the start of Shahenshah's shooting was delayed until 1985.[4] By this time, the female lead of the film, Dimple Kapadia, was replaced by Meenakshi Sheshadri.[4] The now iconic costume that Amitabh donned in this movie weighed almost 18 kg, and despite his illness, Amitabh insisted on wearing the costume in all of his fight scenes.[5] During shooting, Amitabh and Tinnu got into a disagreement over one particular scene in which Tinnu wanted Amitabh to wear his police uniform but Amitabh insisted on wearing a blazer instead. The argument got quite heated and with neither of the two willing to change his stance, shooting was temporarily halted. It was not until Tinnu's father, Inder Raj Anand, intervened and convinced Amitabh to wear the police uniform by explaining its significance in the scene that the shooting resumed.[6]

The shooting eventually wrapped up in October 1987. Even though the film was initially planned to be released in November, the release date kept on being pushed back due to the threat of a boycott of the movie by some opposition political parties.[4] These parties had had some conflict with Amitabh while he was a Congress MP and they maintained bitterness towards him even after he had retired from politics.

Shahenshah was finally released on 12 February 1988 and went on to become a huge blockbuster earning over 6 crores by its fifth week.[7] The film performed very well at the box office despite strong competition from other big-banner films like Tezaab and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, both of which were targeted towards the newer generation.

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

Hai You Asha Bhonsle

34th Filmfare Awards:

Nominated

• Best Actor – Amitabh Bachchan

• Shahenshah at IMDb