Joshilaay

About the film

Joshilaay (transl.  Spirited) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Sibte Hassan Rizvi and Shekhar Kapur (uncredited). The film stars Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rajesh Vivek and Satish Kaushik in the lead roles.

The story, screenplay, dialogues and lyrics of the film were written by Javed Akhtar. The music was composed by R. D. Burman.

Plot

The story revolves around two men: Dara and Karan. They were wronged by Raja Singh and Jogi Thakur respectively. Karan had witnessed his family's brutal murder at the hands of Jogi Thakur and is now driven by a desire for revenge. Dara's motivation is rooted in his childhood separation. As a young boy, he was torn from his family by an unknown person and left to fend for himself near a circus. He was supported by a circus manager.

After a successful robbery, Raja Singh betrays his partner, Jogi Thakur, abandoning him during a police chase. While Jogi Thakur is arrested and sentenced to twenty years in prison, Raja Singh uses his newfound wealth to become a powerful and feared local tyrant.

Twenty years later, Raja Singh has become Raja Sahib, a dreaded ruler of many villages and a respected man. Dara is desperately looking for answers while Karan is thirsting for revenge. Where Dara is the strong, fun and witty type, Karan is the silent and angry type. Jogi Thakur is released from jail and he thirsts for revenge against Raja Sahib.

Production

The film was mostly directed by Shekhar Kapur, but he left before completion due to differences with the producer. Kapur had initially planned to cast Kamal Haasan in the role of Karan, but later opted for Anil Kapoor. After Kapur’s departure, Sibte Hasan Rizvi took over and completed the film. The film was shot on location in Leh and Ladakh.

Music and soundtrack

R. D. Burman composed the music for the film and the lyrics of the songs were penned by Javed Akhtar.

Key details