Tezaab

About the film

Tezaab (transl. Acid) is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language romantic action drama film starring Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in lead roles. The film gave Dixit her first big break, making her an overnight star in addition to reaffirming Kapoor's superstar status, after a successful Mr. India (1987). The film was directed, produced, and co-written by N. Chandra. The music was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal.

Tezaab was released on 11 November 1988 and was a major commercial success at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of the year. It ran in theatres for more than 50 weeks, becoming a golden jubilee success. With Tezaab, N. Chandra scored a box office hat-trick with his previous hits Ankush (1986) and Pratighaat (1987). The film is also popular for the song "Ek Do Teen", which was a chartbusting success. It received positive reviews from critics and viewers upon release, with praise for its story, screenplay, dialogues, soundtrack, and performances of the cast.

Plot

When Inspector Singh learns that a man, Munna, is about to reach his region of jurisdiction, he checks Munna's record. Munna is identified as Cadet Mahesh Deshmukh, whom he first met at the scene of a bank robbery in Nashik a few years prior, where Mahesh's parents and numerous other bank employees had been brutally murdered by a gang of thieves.

Following the bank incident, Inspector Singh finds Munna, rekindles their connection, and inquires as to his whereabouts. Munna reveals that he and his sister Jyoti had relocated to Bombay, where they had met Mohini, a poor and miserable woman who was compelled to dance in order to support her father, Shyamlal, a drunk man who does not want to marry Mohini off. He acted similarly against his wife, and when she disobeyed him, he attacked her with acid, resulting in her committing suicide.

In his youth, Shyamlal had taken a huge loan from Lotiya Pathan, a dreaded gangster, and the only way to repay it was to make Mohini dance. Shyamlal also has to deal with Chote Khan, the younger brother of Lotiya, who was involved in the robbery and the death of Mahesh's parents. Meanwhile, Mahesh and Mohini fall in love with each other while studying in the same college, where he joins a group of boys.

Soundtrack

The film's music is composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal.The song Ek Do Teen was inspired by the opening bars of an old popular song "Chanda Mama Door Ke" composed by the famous yesteryears music composer Ravi for the film Vachan (1955). The film's soundtrack album sold more than 8 million units, becoming the second best-selling Bollywood music album of 1988, behind only Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

Ek Do Teen was subsequently recreated for another movie Baaghi 2 (2018), sung this time by Shreya Ghoshal and another version sung by Palak Muchhal.

So Gaya Yeh Jahan was also remade for another film. In 2013, this song was remade for Nautanki Saala!, sung by Nitin Mukesh with composer Laxmikant–Pyarelal. In 2019, this song was remade again for the movie Bypass Road, sung by Nitin Mukesh featuring Jubin Nautiyal and Saloni Thakkar with composer Raaj Aashoo.

Production

Aditya Pancholi was originally cast as the male lead.

Awards

Best Female Playback Singer – Alka Yagnik for "Ek Do Teen"

Best Choreography – Saroj Khan for "Ek Do Teen"

Best Lyricist – Javed Akhtar for "Ek Do Teen"

Key details