Geraftaar
Tags: murder, flashback

Plot synopsis:
The film starts off with a happy family consisting of Kapil Kumar Khanna (Satyendra Kapoor), his wife Durga (Nirupa Roy), and their two sons Karan (Master Ravi) and Kishen. Karan is a very naughty kid and usually angers their parents while at his pranks. Kapil Kumar is an honest inspector and one day, on his wife's request, takes Karan with him. While on duty, Khanna goes to arrest Vidyanath (Kader Khan) and Ranjit Saxena (Ranjit) for possessing illegal drugs. Ranjit and Vidyanath try to kill by throwing him onto the ground using machinery, when Karan, in an attempt to save his father, pulls the wrong lever and Kapil Khanna is killed. Vidyanath accuses Karan of killing his father, and his mother Durga also in a fit of rage, beats him and tells him to go away. In a wave of emotions, Karan leaves the house and runs towards the ocean. He jumps in and commits suicide. His mother is heartbroken and says she did not want him to leave her and give her such a punishment. Karan has not died, but has been saved by Hussein (Master Suresh) and brings Karan to his home where he finds a new mother (Renu Joshi)and he and Hussein become best friends, giving an example to mankind, which is later shown in this movie.
The starting credits roll on and shows Durga taking Kishen with her to another place where he grows up. On the other hand, Karan and Hussein's childhood are also shown. Now enters a grown up Kishen (Kamal Hassan), a struggling actor who is in love with Lucy (Rabia Amin), a fellow struggling actress whose father uses all her money on drinking. Kishen returns home and enacts a drama in front of his mother, then the two reconcile. When his mother asks him to get married, Kishen refuses describing the girls of today. Anuradha (Poonam Dhillon) makes an entrance, speeding on her car. While Lucy crosses the road, Anuradha slams her car into Lucy, leaving her wounded. Kishen runs after her and a chase follows where Kishen takes her to the police station and gets her behind bars. Anuradha is an arrogant girl and calls up her brother, revealed as Ranjit Saxena. The police officer refuses to accept bribe and locks Anuradha away.
Ranjit asks Vidyanath's brain to think of a way. Vidyanath sends his son Chutkiram (Shakti Kapoor) to beat Kishen up. Chutkiram has a lisp and has a crush on Anuradha, whom he lovingly calls Anu. A fight between Kishen and Chutkiram and his goons, in which the latter are beaten up by Kishen. Kishen takes him to the police station and explains that he was attacked. Just then Ranjit comes and gives the bail orders for Anu and leaves, saying that Lucy has forgiven Anu for a sum of 25 000 rupees.
Kishen confronts Lucy in hospital and Kishen tells Lucy to keep the money. Just then Lucy's drunkard father (Jeevan) comes, takes the money and leaves. Kishen slaps him and tells him to get out Lucy's life. Lucy's father reluctantly leaves, vowing revenge. Anuradha is released from jail and is planning of take revenge on Kishen, and makes a bet with her friends.
Kishen lands on a job as a chauffeur and he and his mom are very happy for his job. When he attends his first day at work, he finds out that he is Anuradha's driver, and Anuradha uses this a mean to humiliate Kishen by putting her feet in Kishen's face. He then throws her shoe away and she orders him to bring it. He then throws she shoe in her face and tries to slap him. Kishen then humiliates Anuradha and resigns from the job.
The girls then try to fool Kishen's mother by introducing themselves as social workers and tries to get close to Durga, in which she succeeds. The next day, Kishen and Durga go to a mandir, where they find Anuradha, and she being very nice to Kishen, but Kishen doesn't fall for it and taunts her. He still hates her, and Anuradha swears in the mandir that she accepts Kishen as her husband and wants to marry him, but still Kishen doesn't fall for her. She then threatens to kill herself and runs away. She is about to jump off a cliff, but Kishen stops her, and professes his love.
A song sequence occurs, and afterwards, Anuradha holds a party in which Kishen publicly professes his love for Anuradha, but Anu then shows her real face and tells him she did this for revenge. Kishen then forcibly takes her to the very same temple where she swore Kishen as her husband. Kishen then marries her. Anu's brother Ranjit, is looking for her and Kishen takes her home, and tell Ranjit that he has just married Anuradha. Ranjit is furious, but he cannot do anything. Kishen leaves saying that he is leaving his wife in Ranjit's care.
Ranjit goes to Vidyanath to help him out. Vidyanath then calls Durga and tells her that Kishen forcibly married Anuradha, and if he does not stay away from her, they will kill him. Durga collapses, and asks for Kishen to forgive her as she really wanted Kishen to marry Anuradha. She is admitted into hospital, and the doctor tells Kishen that she needs to be operated on and he needs to arrange for the money.
Vidyanath calls Lucy, and proposes to produce a play in which she and Kishen play the lead roles. Lucy and Kishen agree and meet Vidyanath, where they rehearse for the play in which Kishen fake shoots Lucy. While this is all happening, Vidyanath is secretly recording their voices and the gunshot. Vidyanath gives Kishen the money he needs for the surgery and Kishen leaves.
Lucy is practicing her dance, when Chutkiram comes and tries to rape Lucy, and Vidyanath comes and shoots her. He replaces the tape with the recorded voices of Lucy and Kishen. Lucy's father comes and hears the tape playing and steals the tape. Just as he leaves, Kishen comes in and find Lucy dead. Just then the police arrive and arrest Kishen. In court, they are unable to prove Kishen guilty and he is put in remand. Vidyanath then sends in his jailbirds to kill Kishen. A fight ensues, in which Kishen is losing and is about to be stabbed. Just then a man comes to help Kishen (Amitabh Bachchan). When Kishen asks who he is, he talks in riddles.
Here Ranjit and Vidyanath are tense as their plan flopped. Anuradha is listening to them talking and has a change of heart and truly accepts Kishen as her husband and declares this to her brother. Ranjit is furious and tries to kill her, but Vidyanath stops him. They let Anuradha go and Vidyanath reveals that they have the tape (they have found Lucy's father), and give this tape to Vidyanath's lawyer (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who proves him guilty in court and he is sentenced to death. Vidyanath then kill Lucy's father by throwing off a high building.
In jail, Kishen plays the song ""'Aana Jaana""', the song he and Karan used to listen to in their childhood. Karan listens to the tune and immediately recognises it. They sing the song throughout the jail and finally find each other at the end of the song. They recognise each other from the fight the other day, and it is revealed that the unknown person is in fact Karan Kumar Khanna (Amitabh Bachchan), Kishen's lost older brother. Karan though, does not tell him who he is, but tells his story, from his childhood. Kishen finds a familiarity in his story and asks him to continue and he tells his story
Karan seeks blessings from Hussein's mother for his promotion, and his mother asks when he's going to marry, and tells him to go and propose to Geeta (Madhavi). He goes to Geeta, who is a fellow inspector and proposes to her.
The next day, Geeta and Hussein's mother go to a jewellery shop, where robbers come in and take Geeta and Hussein's mother hostage. Karan then takes an entry and beats the robbers, but they run off. Unfortunate for them Inspector Hussein (Rajinikanth in an extended cameo role) is waiting for them and also beats them up. Both Karan and Hussein take them to jail.
It is revealed, that Ranjit, Vidyanath, Chutkiram and their lawyer are partners in crime and want Karan and Hussein finished. The Police Commissioner's son and Geeta's brother, Vijay (Sharat Saxena) is also involved in the crime gang. Karan and Hussein go and threaten to arrest them and to stop being a criminal. Later Vijay complains to his father, Police Commissioner Sinha (Om Shivpuri). The Commissioner warns Hussein and Karan to stay in their limits.
A new case comes to Hussein and Karan and they promise to look into it. It is also Raksha Bhandhan and Hussein leaves. Geeta and Hussein follow the ritual of "Rakhi", and then Geeta tries to explain to not abuse their police uniforms. A small fight ensues and Karan is listening. They joke around for a while and Hussein's mother blesses all three of them to live happy lives.
According to the two pathans, they go to the place where they instructed, and arrest Ranjit and Vidyanath, but they get bailed out by their lawyer. They hatch a new plan, and call them to different places. Hussein and Karan fall into their trap, and Hussein is beaten up by Ranjit, and is murdered by Vijay and is burnt alive. Karan reaches too late and Hussein breathes his last in Karan's arms. Karan vows revenge. Karan delivers this bad news to Hussein mother, and she cannot bear the shock and dies of misery.
Vijay is in hiding, but Karan finds him and burns him alive in the same way he killed Hussein, thus fulfilling his revenge. As he walks out laughing, he is arrested by Geeta and is sentenced to life imprisonment. Here Karan finishes his story to Karan. At the same time, Durga comes to meet Kishen and Karan recognises her, and without revealing himself, vows to protect Kishen.
The next day Karan helps Kishen escape and is arrested for helping Kishen escape. While humorously explaining the situation, escapes himself. And while on the run, he unknowingly enters the Commissioner' house, who is now handicapped and is confined to a wheelchair. When the Commissioner is about to shoot him, Karan pleads to let him go, to prove his brother, Kishen innocent. The Commissioner does not believe him, but on Geeta's insistence, he relents.
Durga is informed by her father, that Karan is alive and Durga realises that the one who saved Kishen's life in jail, was in fact his older brother. After fleeing from the Commissioner's place, he returns home after a number of years. Mother and son reconcile and the relation between Karan and Kishen strengthens. The brothers decide to trap Vidyanath and Ranjit in their own trap, using Chutkiram as their pawn.They soon find out that Vijay has not died,but has survived.In a final battle,all the gang members are killed while Chutkiram and Vidyanath are arrested by police.The police commissioner dies because he was killed by Vijay,but Karan kills Vijay and marries Geeta in the end.

Review: Grand 80's Bollywood Entertainer.
Geraftaar is now considered a cult classic.
One of the best masala movie of 80's.
It has engaging performance throughout.
The movie is filled with typical Bollywood clichés of the time.
Kamal Hasan plays an innocent victim of murder.
He successfully apes Sammo Hung in a funny martial arts sequence involving a bench.
Amitabh plays Kamal Hasan's long lost brother with his his own back-story involving the murder of his friend.
Rajnikant almost steals the film in the cameo appearance in the role of Amitabh's friend.
This movie also known for the appearance of hilarious villains in the role of father-son by Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor.
The Duo got so successful that they repeated this same combination for next 15 years.
The movie features three heroes (Amitabh Bachan, Rajnikant and Kamal Hasan) who are superstar in their own right.
At the time of this movies release , Amitabh Bachan was the undisputed king of Bollywood.
Any movie with his name on it, was guaranteed great opening week collection.
Rajnikanth at the time was huge star in South Indian movies but was trying to mark his mark in Bollywood movies.
Kamal Hasan was the rising star of Bollywood, having previously made his mark in South Indian cinema.
Initially when the movie was in pipelines it has just Kamal Hasan in lead , however the producers persuade Amitabh to have a small cameo as Kamal's brother in the movie.
Amitabh liked his role so much that he requested his role to be increased and roped in Rajnikant to act in the role of his friend.
Later Madhvi was added his lead Heroine.
During the final editing Amitabh role was increased even at the expense of lead hero Kamal Hasan.
In the final cut of the movie Amitabh's role was almost as big as Kamal Hasan's.
Amitabh appears just before the second half of the movie, but soon becomes the central focus of the movie..
Absoulute entertainer.
Geraftaar is a non stop entertaining movie.
Another classic from the legend himself Amitabh Bachchan.
It has the regular 80s storyline about boy separated from family, father gets killed etc.
Geraftaar entertains thankfully because of Big B and Rajnikhant.
Rajnikhant is a south Indian actor with good fast skills.
Watching him with Amitabh is great fun.
The other lead is Kamal Hassan.
Kamal is practically the main actor in this movie.
Amitabh doesn't appear till half way, that still doesn't stop the movie to disappoint.
geraftaar has a few villains, the one that shines is Kader Khan and his dumb son Shakti kapoor.
It has one nice song Dhoop mein.
If you haven't seen this film, i suggest you watch it..
A complete action drama !!!
Done subtable by three young men.
While on duty one day at a mine, Mr. Kapil Kumar Khanna (Satyendra Kapoor) is killed by criminal elements when he caught them exporting illegal drugs.
However, his elder son Karan (Amitabh Batchchan) receives the blame and is beaten and thrown out from the house by his mother.
Although, Karan is prosecuted, his mother Mrs. Kumar Khanna waited for him to return for years, which didn't happen.
One day, however, her younger son Kishan (Kamal Hassan), falls into the wrong family's hand being persuaded by a young woman called Anuradha Saxena (Poonam Dhillon).
He is later punished by some criminal elements for murdering a woman called Lucy, upon acting a drama, while in jail he met an inmate who save his life, later on it was found that the inmate was none other than his lost elder brother.
His brother was serving penance for murdering the commissioner son Vijay Sinha (Sharat Saxena), some how the two manage to escape from jail and take revenge from the family they hold a gouge against..
All-time classic.
For some reason this film reminded me a lot of ANDHAA KAANOON (1983) which had the same type of cast; Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant, Madhavi, Om ShivpuriThe film has injustice done to the lead actor with Amitabh Bachchan appearing in the second half taking over the film just like ANDHAA KAANOON.
Rajnikanth's death scene is well-handled and the climax is done-to- death.Amitabh Bachchan shines with his lead role and takes over the second half Kamal Hassan makes a convincing performances as Amitabh's brother and shows a lot of versatile Rajnikant is OK in a special appearance Madhavi and Poonam Dhillon fill the heroine gap and help move the storyline Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor are hilarious while Om Shivpuri, Sharat Saxsena, Kulbacshan Kharbanda are typecast.
Caricature !.
20 years ago, I remember how one of my relatives was telling enthusiastically the story of Indian movie she saw named Geraftaar.
I recall her strong emotions, especially when it came to matters like the name of god being written accidentally on the dead mother's forehead, or the collective bloody vengeance on the bad guys at the end.
So I believed very early that Geraftaar (or Arrest in English) is one effective, exciting and venerable film.
However, when I got to watch it, I discovered the opposite.Nearly nothing is serious here except (Amitabh Bachchan) !
It's the same themes of the commercial Indian cinema at the time : the old lost-and-found, taming-of-the-shrew, frame-the-honest-man, get-the-revenge..
you know.
BUT in a comic or cheesy way most of the time this round !It's obvious how the movie exploits (Bachchan)'s blaze amongst elements lower than him, how (Amar Akbar Anthony)'s successful formula 8 years earlier leaves its affect, and how there is shameful idiocy all over it !
Here, and here only, you'd find : one man can beat up 5 bigger men by only one arm, the strangest mustache in the whole history of movies, and a plastic brain that gives advice !Above all, making the villains as the movie's relief weakened the conflict's strength.
The rest of it wasn't less comic.
There are many scenes that make (Geraftaar) some kind of rare parody for the Indian movies (and by their original stars !).
I can't forget its highest 3 points : (Rajnikanth) gets killed and while he's dying he still smoking his cigarette passionately; Ah..
that could be the most creative ad about cigarettes ever made, but surely I deem it one of the greatest comic scenes I've ever seen (I know that I couldn't stop laughing till the end of the movie !).
The other moment is when (Bachchan) escapes from the courtroom..
WAW, you'd never forget it !
And last but not the least the scene of killing the dancing girl's father by showing him the bank; actually the spoof can't get any smarter than this !Save the good theme song, the soundtrack got funny moments too; whenever we see the evil men there is something like the main theme of John Williams's Jaws in the background, repeating in unbearable boring way.
Or how while (Rajnikanth)'s intro you'll hear the same music of (Bachchan)'s memorable intro from (Coolie - 1983) !!
Let alone Rajnikanth's way of throwing his cigarette in the air, then lighting it by shooting it with his gun, to receive it in his mouth all while threatening the thieves in front of him !
Or how he shoots the criminals perfectly while his back is to them ?!
That's not cool inasmuch as laughable !
By the way, Rajnikanth here appears as a cameo in a Bachchan movie.
2 years earlier, Bachchan appeared as a cameo in Rajnikanth's movie (Andhaa Kanoon).
Most probably it was a mutual favor.
But I see it as out of favor !Furthermore, there are 2 scary extra guys in the movie.
One is white and bold, and the other kinks his eyebrows.
They played : the jewelry store's thieves who (Bachchan) arrests, then the leads' troublemaker associates in the prison's cell, and finally the evil man's henchmen at the end ??!!
That could mean 1) they work for the same evil man from the start and all along, or 2) evil is evil in everywhere and every time, or 3) this movie is short-handed (I'm with number 3 !).Some of the moves of (Bachchan)'s dance with his love were strange or rather foolish.
(Kamal Haasan) looked unbelievable in his action scenes (and his black and white T-shirt looked too funky !).
And the flying of the good guys in the sky while facing the baddies was badly-made and overdone; I just want to know who's the one that began it primarily in the Indian cinema ?!(Prayag Raj) is an important scriptwriter who wrote or co-wrote some of the grandest hits – mostly directed by Manmohan Desai – like (Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Naseeb..) or even co-directed (Coolie) with Desai himself, and for the big B also.
This round, unfortunately, his job as a director was like the production : so poor.
Aside from tasteless execution, the camera's shadow is clear at one moment in the climactic fight, (Bachchan) jumps from the speedy police car while it's lucidly still, and so on.
It assured the spirit of naivety and artlessness that immersed the whole thing.
It's only the last 10 minutes where the things transformed into somehow hot.This is unoriginal, averagely entertaining or worse.
(Bachchan) was wasted, delivering earnest performance in the middle of absurd everything; like solid melodramatic act lost in big comedy.
It's not the most comic "masala", because it can make you laugh at it not with it.
It's rather one of the most weak, fabricated, and wretched masala, considering what it has of rich starts too, despite how people, like my relative, loved it at the time, or how millions this very movie impressed one way or another, because it's simple and I've learned it by heart : success got nothing to do with quality.For me, the short bit of the young dancer which remakes slightly one of (Flash Dance)'s sequences yet with more voluptuous girl, along with Bachchan's stylish sweaters, both could be the best of what this caricature provides.