Mahaanta

About the film

Mahaanta (transl. Eminence) is a 1997 Hindi-language action drama film, produced by Ayub Khan under the Ayesha Film banner and directed by Afzal Khan. It stars Jeetendra, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Shakti Kapoor and music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Filming began in 1991 and was delayed for 6 years due to Dutt's arrest in 1993 and Dutt and Dixit breaking up their relationship.

Plot

Young Vijay studies in Good Shepherd High School and lives a wealthy lifestyle in a small scenic town along with his uncle, who is the Inspector General of Police in Bombay, and has a close friend called Raj Malhotra. When both mature, Vijay gets married, while Raj marries Shanti. On his uncle's insistence, Vijay departs to live in Bombay, where he eventually becomes the Police Commissioner. Subsequently, Raj, Shanti, and Raj's brother, Sanjay, also relocate to Bombay, where they are united with Vijay. Then Sanjay falls in love with Jenny, and both want to get married, much to the chagrin of Mahesh, who wants to marry her at any and all costs. Mahesh is the only son of wealthy and influential Kedar, who manages to convince Edward that it will be in Jenny's and Sanjay's best interest if Jenny weds Mahesh. The marriage is arranged, but on that very day, Sanjay steps in, humiliates Kedar, and marries Jenny. That night, Sanjay is arrested by none other than Vijay himself and placed in a cell. The next morning, he is released and returns home to find that his brother and sister-in-law are both dead. Sanjay swears to avenge their deaths as well as find out why Vijay betrayed Raj and arrested him on his wedding night.

After learning that Kedarnath killed Sanjay's brother and sister-in-law, Sanjay confronts and challenges him that he will kill him in the same place, but will not remove the evidence. Despite Jenny and Vijay's attempt to stop him, he goes to kill Kedarnath, his son Mahesh, corrupt Inspector P.K. Dubey, and his henchman Nanubhai Chatewala.

Sanjay chases and kills Mahesh on the night of New Year's Eve. Then chases Inspector Dubey in the meat market, then chops him and hangs him to death by a metal hook. Sanjay suddenly learns that Vijay actually put him in jail to save his life and realizes his mistake. He also learns that Kedarnath lured Vijay to get him killed on Ganesh Chaturthi festival, so he reaches there and saves him. And he kills Nanunbhai in hand-to-hand combat.

Soundtrack

Music by: Laxmikant-Pyarelal & Lyricist: Anand Bakshi

Reception

A critic from Deccan Herald wrote that "Sanjay looks smashing, thanks to his body-hugging lycra T-shirts, but there's definitely a 'what am I doing in this film` look about him. It's refreshing to see Amrish Puri like he actually looks in real life - minus all those goofy, grotesque getups. Yet, he and the baddies have fallen into a rut. Even the paisa vasool numbers fail to provide relief from booming guns and exploding cars".

Key details