Aakhree Raasta

About the film

Aakhree Raasta (transl. Last option) is a 1986 Indian Hindi-language vigilante action film written and directed by K. Bhagyaraj, presented by T. Rama Rao and produced by A. Purnachandra Rao both under banner Lakshmi Productions (Madras) (P).LTD. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan (in a dual role), Jaya Prada, Sridevi and Anupam Kher. It was directed by the Tamil actor and director K. Bhagyaraj. Rekha dubbed Sridevi's voice for her in this movie.

The film was a remake of the Tamil film Oru Kaidhiyin Diary which was also scripted by Bhagyaraj, but directed by Bharathiraja.

Plot

In 1962, David D'Costa lives a relatively poor life in Madras (now Chennai) with his wife Mary D'Costa who is pregnant. He worships the Member of Parliament Chaturvedi, and is even willing to die for him. He introduces Mary to Chaturvedi, and with his blessings they name the new-born son James. One day while he is busy obstructing rail traffic, he gets arrested and is bailed out by his best friend Mahesh Shandilya. When he returns home, he finds that Mary has committed suicide. She left a handwritten note saying that Chaturvedi raped her. An upset David goes to confront Chaturvedi, but is intercepted by Police Inspector Roop Kumar Sahay and Dr. Verma, who turn out to be Chaturvedi's allies. Inspector Sahay double crosses David and manipulates Mary's note from him. Dr Verma then subsequently burns the note, while the three of them laugh at the hapless David. The sole evidence of Chaturvedi's crime is therefore destroyed. The trio frame David as the reason for Mary's death, lie in court and succeed in their evil plan. Therefore, David was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Before being imprisoned, enraged David asked Mahesh to be James' guardian in his long absence and to raise James to be a fearsome criminal so he can avenge Mary's death.

Twenty-four years later in 1986, David is released. He goes to visit Mahesh and is shocked to find that Mahesh has changed. He is no longer a boot-legger and now lives a wealthy lifestyle. Mahesh wants David to forget the past, but David reveals that his only goal is to kill the three men who wronged him. David asks about his son James, and Mahesh reveals that he renamed the boy Vijay and raised him as his own, who does not know anything about his biological parents. Being in Mahesh's custody, Vijay grew up thinking Mahesh is his father. As a flabbergast to David who wanted his son to become a goon, Vijay grows up to become a police officer who hates criminals. David is devastated with this news, but is determined to avenge his wrongful conviction and Mary's death, so he sets about to kill his tormentors one by one.

David sees Vijay at a graveyard and recognizes him as his son, but conceals his identity from him. They engage in a heated argument and end on odd terms. Meanwhile, Vijay is in love with Vinita, who is the daughter of DIG Ranjith Bhatnagar. David disguises himself as a church priest and goes to the police station where he wishes to meet Sahay and discuss information about a criminal who wants to kill three people. Before leaving him and Sahay to talk, Vijay turns on a mic recorder so he can overhear the conversation. David pulls out Sahay's pistol, divulges his true identity, and threatens to kill Sahay. When Vijay tries to overhear the conversation, Vinita prank calls him and he loses focus. Vijay listens to the final words of the conversation and rushes to the room, where David ties up Sahay and hangs him with a pulley, which kills him when Vijay opens the door. DIG Bhatnagar admonishes Vijay for being careless and not being able to save Sahay.

Production

Rajesh Khanna opted out due to date issues.

In other media

The name of the character Aakhri Pasta from the Housefull film series is a pun on Aakhree Raasta.

Key details