Aankhen (1993 film)
Aankhen (English: The Eyes) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by David Dhawan and written by Anees Bazmee. It stars Govinda in a double role, along with Chunky Pandey. It was an all time blockbuster at the box office, the highest-grossing Indian film of 1993.[2] It was also remade into Telugu as Pokiri Raja in 1995, starring Venkatesh and Ali.
| Aankhen | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Dhawan |
| Produced by | Pahlaj Nihalani |
| Written by | Anees Bazmee |
| Starring | Govinda Chunky Pandey Raj Babbar |
| Music by | Bappi Lahiri |
| Cinematography | Siba Mishra |
| Edited by | Nand Kumar |
| Distributed by | Chiragdeep International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 170 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | ₹25.25 crore (equivalent to ₹147 crore or US$21 million in 2019)[1] |
The movie was reported to have been inspired by the 1977 Kannada movie Kittu Puttu [3] which itself was a remake of 1967 Tamil movie Anubavi Raja Anubavi which had already been remade earlier in Hindi in 1973 as Do Phool.
Synopsis
Hasmukh Rai (Kader Khan) has a problem. As a matter of fact, two problems — his two sons: Munnu (Chunky Pandey) and Bunnu (Govinda Ahuja). The brothers are notorious slackers up to no good, and involved in elaborate practical jokes. It comes to Hasmukh's attention that his sons have been lying to him about their college grades — in studies and sports — and have not been attending school for the last three years. As a result, they are kicked out of college and, ultimately, their home. Later, one of their practical jokes gets out of hand, and Bunnu disappears, presumed dead. Munnu gets involved in the conspiracy of killing Bunnu. Meanwhile, from a small Indian village, Bunnu's identical cousin, Gauri Shankar, arrives in town. He is mistaken for Bunnu which leads to hilarious misunderstandings and constant uproar.
Reception
The movie was 1993's biggest Bollywood hit and ran in the theaters for 12 weeks. The domestic distribution share was ₹8.5 crore against a ₹1.96 crore budget.[4] The film had a net income of ₹12.5 crore , and grossed ₹25.25 crore [1] ($8.2 million ).[5]
Aankhen was responsible for jump-starting or re-energizing the careers of a few actors. Govinda, for example, struggling at the time, spawned a number of comedy hits such as Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1, and Saajan Chale Sasural, after the commercial success of Aankhen. Although he starred in hits like Hatya (1988), Swarg (1990), and Shola aur Shabnam (1992), his double role in Aankhen established him as the "Comedy King of Bollywood" at that time. One of the lead heroines of the movie, Raageshwari, started singing later.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Govinda | Bunnu Saini/ Gaurishankar | Dual role / Nominated For Best Actor - Filmfare Awards |
| Chunkey Pandey | Munnu Saini | |
| Kader Khan | Hasmukh Rai / Neelkanth Rai | Dual role / Nominated Best Comic Actor - Filmfare Awards |
| Raj Babbar | Chief Minister / Sarang | Dual role |
| Shilpa Shirodkar | Chandramukhi 'Chanda' | |
| Ritu Shivpuri | Ritu | |
| Raageshwari Loomba | Priya Mohan | Inspector Pyare Mohan's daughter |
| Sadashiv Amrapurkar | Inspector Pyare Mohan | |
| Bindu | Anuradha | |
| Shakti Kapoor | Tejeshwar Singh | |
| Gulshan Grover | Natwar Shah | |
| Mahavir Shah | Pravin Shah | Natwar Shah's brother |
| Harish Patel | Monto | Hired principal / Hired father / Hired thief |
| Radha Seth | Moll | Tejeshwar gang's member |
| Dina Pathak | Dadi | |
| Rakesh Bedi | Gulshan Kapoor a.k.a. 'Gullu' | |
| Raza Murad | D.C.P. | |
| Mac Mohan | Tejeshwar's henchman | |
| Sudhir | Tejeshwar's henchman | |
| Gavin Packard | Tejeshwar's Henchman | |
| Vikas Anand | Doctor | |
| Govind Namdeo | Doctor Namdev | |
| Ghanshyam Rohera | House Servant | |
| Tinu Verma | Tinnu | Tejeshwar's henchman |
| Arun Bakshi | Man who saves Bunnu | |
| Bob Christo | Tejeshwar's henchman | |
| Neena Gupta | Chief Minister's wife | Guest Role |
| Kamaldeep | St. Xavier's principal | |
| Yunus Parvez | Seth Sukhiram | |
| Guddi Maruti | Chabia | |
| Manmauji | Baba | Bald man who fools Gauri Shankar |
| Babbanlal Yadav | Man at railway station | Stranger who offers to pay 2.50 Rs per samosa |
Soundtrack
The lyrics were written by Indeevar. The songs are as follows:
| # | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "O Lal Dupatte Wali" | Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, Sudesh Bhonsle | 05:53 |
| 2 | "Bade Kaam Ka Bandar" | Kumar Sanu, Mohammad Aziz, Arun Bakshi, Govinda, Chunky Pandey | 06:59 |
| 3 | "Angna Mein Baba" | Kumar Sanu, Sadhana Sargam | 05:49 |
| 4 | "Ek Tamanna Jeevan Ki" | Asha Bhosle, Kumar Sanu | 05:32 |
| 5 | "Chaukhat Pe Tumhari Hum" | Kumar Sanu, Mohammad Aziz, Sapna Mukherjee | 06:47 |
References
- "Box Office 1993". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
- "Box Office 1993". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jul/19slid5.htm
- "Boxoffice Operation : Aankhen (1993) « Bollybusiness : Bollywood boxoffice". Bollybusiness.wordpress.com. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2012.<
- "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1993. Retrieved 9 December 2018.