Auzaar

About the film

Auzaar (transl. Tool or Weapon) is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Sohail Khan and written by Anwar Khan. The film stars Salman Khan, Sanjay Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty. The film was released on 28 February 1997, and grossed ₹10.37 crore (equivalent to ₹53 crore or US$5.5 million in 2023) against a production budget of ₹5.25 crore (equivalent to ₹27 crore or US$2.8 million in 2023).

Plot

Suraj and Yash were best friends in college, and Prarthana is the latter's college sweetheart. Yash's father, Thakur, is a gangster who had a rivalry with another gangster, Bhaiji. Yash always hated his father's business, although he loved his father. The friends almost had an unbreakable bond, but after Bhaiji's henchmen attack Thakur, Yash loses control and kills Bhaiji, the man responsible, leading to a separation between Suraj and Yash. Yash turned into a gangster after learning that his father is disabled, but he also had more ethics than his father. He even married Prarthana, despite the latter knowing what he is. Yash also has a rivalry with a new gangster, Baba, Bhaiji's psychotic son, who wants to avenge his father's death. Yash never forgot his friendship either. Suraj, who is now a police officer, busts down a fake tourist group and a drugs and arms smuggling gang and nabs Thakur Jai Singh, a mastermind behind these. Suraj discovers that Yash runs an illegal business. He must now convince Yash to make his father mend his ways or face criticism from his superiors for not confronting him. Yash later meets Suraj, and they rekindle their friendship. Baba and his accomplice, Inspector Bhudev, have a discussion with each other and think about overpowering Yash, while the former also learns about Suraj's return from one of his henchmen. Prarthana gets abducted by Baba's hen…

Production

Sohail Khan initially wanted Aamir Khan for Sanjay Kapoor's role, but he declined it for unknown reasons. Then Sohail Khan approached Suniel Shetty for the role, but he was busy shooting another film. Raveena Tandon was offered the female lead, but declined; then Shilpa Shetty received the role.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album was composed by Anu Malik.

The song "I Love You, I Love You" was reportedly plagiarized from Pakistani Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's "Allah Hoo, Allah Hoo". Khan was reportedly aggrieved when Malik turned his spiritual "Allah Hoo, Allah Hoo" into "I Love You, I Love You". Khan said "He has taken my devotional song Allahu and converted it into I love you. He should at least respect my religious songs."

Even "Dil Le Le Lena" was also plagiarized from the song "Macarena", the opening theme of Los Del Rio's album A mí me gusta (1993).

Key details