When it comes to Bollywood, we often talk about Amitabh, Madhuri, Kareena, Aishwarya, Shahrukh, Hrithik roshan and Abhishek. Now-a-days, Bollywood has become synonymous with Aishwarya - Salman -Vivek triangle or the grand wedding of Ash-Abhishek. We hardly recall any movie whenever we talk about Bollywood. However, there are some classics that are much bigger than these stars and the spicy stories. We have come up with the 10 top biggest Bollywood movies that have left great impressions on the viewers forever. These movies will always remain in our memory.
1. Devdas
Who can forget Director Bimal Roy’s emotional flick ‘Devdas’, a vivid picture of flaws and emotions in human characters? Released in 1955, rich in imagery and desperation, this cinematic jewel is known for Dilip Kumar’s understated performance as the drunken protagonist blinking hopelessly and painfully love-struck, and some brilliant and poised acting performances by its heroines, Vyjayanthimala Bali and Suchitra Sen.
Devdas (Dilip Kumar) and Paro (Suchitra Sen) are childhood friends who share a love-hate relationship. Each is highly egoistic. These childhood friends grow up to be ardent lovers who are calculated to marry. But Devdas’ father turns down the proposal. Paro gets married to another and Devdas flees to Kolkata falling into bad company and taking to drinking. His friend Chunibabu takes him to the kotha [brothel] where he meets Chandramukhi (Vyjayanthimala). Chandramukhi is touched by the fact that he gives money without wanting anything in return. She falls in love with him. Chandramukhi leaves her profession and changes her life. Though Devdas acknowledges Chandramukhi’s place in his life, he cannot offer her any more. He embarks on a train journey around India in a despairing bid to escape from his demons, from his own self.
Dilip already was an established tragedy king when ‘Devdas’ was released, but Vyjayanthimala was still struggling to strengthen her foothold in the industry. It was Bengali cinema’s foremost female star Suchitra Sen’s first Hindi film. The film proved to be a milestone for all the stars. It won Dilip Kumar the Best Actor trophy and a Best Supporting Actress award for Vyjayanthimala. Suchitra Sen got wide acclaim for her performance. Composer S D Burman and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi gave excellent and still remembered musical notes for the film. The simple, austere, penetrating, candid and passionately electrifying depiction of subtle human values and sentiments is the hallmark of Bimal Roy’s DEVDAS.
DEVDAS is based on a Bengali novel and has been remade many times, the most recent being Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s flamboyant remake starring Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit. However, this black and white, old cinematic rendition of Chatterjee’s novel is definitely head and shoulders above Bhansali’s colourful and extravagant flick.
Dilip Kumar’s demeanor in this heartrending movie is all praise and awe. He was no Dilip Kumar in the film but exact imitation of the role. He outperformed in perfectly getting under the skin of a prodigal Devdas in the first hour of the movie and a profligate Devdas in the last hour. Besides, the very real to life and original performance of Dilip, Suchitra Sen’s weighted speech quality and simple dialog delivery adds resonance to an already touching storyline that goes to the heart of every viewer.
The direction of Bimal Roy is superbly excellent and all the more imaginative and original. Roy’s ‘Devdas’ should undoubtedly be regarded as an intellectually perfect cinematic sequence in the history of Indian filmmaking.
2. Mother India
Released in 1957, Director Mehboob Khan’s classic ‘Mother India’ is a moving story of human struggle and one of the masterpieces of Bollywood cinema. The film was a total blockbuster and first major success for Raj Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar.
As for Nargis (who was only 28 when Mother India was released) it was the performance of a lifetime, a role which any other actress would give an arm for, and sure enough Nargis pulled it off marvelously - from a shy, young bride with painted eyebrows to a mother who turns out to be an epitome of strength - she exudes a moving display of varied emotions.
Raj Kumar leaves a lasting impact in a brief but pathos-laden role of Radha’s husband, Shamu. Rajendra Kumar fits in flawlessly to the role of a robust Indian farmer and a quiet, sturdy and supportive son. Dutt is pure, unharnessed energy as the rebel and gave in an excellent performance in the role of a mischievous outlaw.
Set in the backdrop of rural India, the film focuses around a mother Radha’s (Nargis) relationship with her two sons Ramu and Birju (Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar). Her husband (Raaj Kumar), who is a farmer, loses his arms after an accident and leaves the house as he doesn’t want anybody’s pity. His wife then has to look after her three sons and tend to the fields. Floods destroy the village and one son falls prey to the calamity. The strong-willed woman shows no signs of giving up. Birju turns into an outlaw but she doesn’t give in even then. She and Ramu fight the circumstances and come out of each trouble. Radha’s test of life reaches its climax when He kidnaps Lala’s daughter. And Radha is forced to replicate Mother Earth’s response to those who violate her laws.Naushad scored in excellent music for this blockbuster.
3. Mughal-E-Azam
Incredible nine years in the making, 16 in the planning, released in 1960 amid much fanfare and a rapturous reception, a tribute to love and struggle……Yes, the movie being talked about is K. Asif’s “Mughal-E-Azam“, a glittering icon of Indian cinema. Along with lavish sets, spectacular dance sequences, breathtaking battle scenes, and pure unadulterated romance, ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ sports a dramatic story as well, weaving conflicts between father and son, love and duty into a gripping tale of thwarted romance. The grandeur of the movie is a visual treat. And not just visual, the film had a fervent musical charm too. Musician Naushad’s tunes on Shakeel Badayuni’s lyrics are immortal.
Emperor Akbar [Prithviraj Kapoor] and Queen Jodha [Durga Khote] give birth to a son, Salim, after years of prayer. When Akbar realizes his son is turning into a spoiled, dissolute adolescent by his indulgent mother, the emperor puts him into armor and sends him off to war for the next 14 years. Upon his return Prince Salim (Dilip Kumar), now a handsome war hero falls for the lush-looking yet demure courtesan Anarkali [Madhubala]. Initially wary of his affections because of the difference in their positions, she soon reciprocates his love. Akbar finds out about the affair and that creates a rift between the father and son. The film thus reaches the heart of its matter, the eternal struggle between love and duty, which pits father against son - the Mughal throne cannot be “wasted on a mere slave girl” - and the father against himself - “I am not an enemy of love but a slave to principle.” Not even a military revolt by the son against his father ends the conflict.
Breathtaking performance by Dilip Kumar, the raw beauty and innocence exuded by Madhubala, the wide expanse of Asif’s vision, Naushad’s haunting and still remembered musical scores, and above all the grandeur of the film itself- all have gone in to make this movie a real blockbuster.
When the color films were introduced in India around 1957, Asif wanted to reshoot everything, but the prohibitive costs of reshooting permitted him to film only three reels of his two-part, three-hour epic in color. As it is, the film cost $3 million, an astronomical sum at that time. (Even today the average Bollywood production costs only $1.3 million). So, only one song - ‘Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya‘ - is in color in the original film.
Widely considered one of Bollywood’s most iconic films, K Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam makes a welcome return to the silver screen 45 years after its initial release. The movie again hit the screens with candy colours and an upgraded Dolby Digital sound, thus becoming the first film in world cinema history to be colourised specifically for a theatrical release. Retaining all its original charm, Mughal-E-Azam’s themes of love, loyalty and sacrifice remain as relevant as ever - a true testament to director K Asif’s vision and commitment.
4. Deewar
“Aaj mere paas building hai, gaadi hai, bank balance hai. Tumhare pas kya hai. Kya hai tumhare pas. ……………. Mere pas … Maa Hai.”
Hardly is there any India movie lover who has not heard this famous dialogue from ‘Deewar’.
Released in the year 1975, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor & Nirupa Roy, written by Salim Javed, and directed by none other than Yash Chopra, ‘Deewar’ was a masterpiece which bagged almost all the awards of 1975 Filmfare Awards.
Deewaar is probably one of the most memorable Hindi films of all time. The film uses the tried and tested formula of the good brother v/s the bad brother, a mother facing all sorts of hardships to bring up her sons on her own and religious sentiments. What makes the film rise above all others is the tight script and thunderous dialogues from Salim-Javed and above all a powerhouse performance by Amitabh Bachchan as the son driven to crime - perhaps his best ever! The film is one of a series in which he plays the ’angry young man’- the lone rebel, the man seeking personal vengeance and social justice, operating outside and more efficiently than the law.
The film also exploits popular religious sentiment and the scene where he submits himself to Goddess in his own egoistic way - “Aaj khush to bahut hoge tum…”, has become a bookmark in our film industry.
As for the storyline, let us flip through our memories once again. Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) and Ravi (Shashi Kapoor) are two brothers who were raised amidst much hardship by their strong-hearted mother (Nirupa Roy) after their father abandons them. Vijay turns out to be more hot-headed in contrast to soft spoken and polite Ravi. Ravi meets his girlfriend’s (Neetu Singh) father who is a police commissioner and after meeting him he decides to join the police force and leaves for training.
On the other hand, Vijay works in a shipping dock where he comes into contact with the underworld and is driven into the world of crime in order to gain quick money for his mother. The two brothers are separated by their duties as one protects the law while the other breaks it. Their mother has to make a choice now, between the two sons. Being an idealist, she chooses to support Ravi. Finally Ravi shoots down Vijay who dies in his mother’s arms.
The film was a superhit when it was released. Amitabh gives a powerhouse performance playing the very serious and disturbed angry man. Shashi Kapoor was impressive as the confused brother. However, his polite and soft performance is overshadowed by Amitabh’s enigmatic persona. Nirupa Roy is just perfect as Amitabh’s Mother who displays enough strength facing all odds. Not to forget the lovely ladies, Neetu Singh and Parveen Bobby who ornate the movie in their own charismatic way.
5. Sholay
Sholay is one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of Bollywood. It is the highest grossing film of all time in India. It ran for 286 weeks straight in one Minerva theatre of Mumbai. Sholay racked up a still record 60 golden jubilees across India, and doubled its original gross over reruns during the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
In 1999, BBC India declared it the “Film of the Millennium” In 2005, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare awards called it the best film of the last 50 years. Ironically, when it was first released, Sholay won only one Filmfare award (film editor M. S. Shinde won for Best editing).
The plot runs as : A retired police officer, Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) gets two convicts, Jaidev and Veeru (Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra), to capture Gabbar Singh ( The timeless villain of Bollywood), a bandit chief who massacred Thakur’s entire family and cut Thakur’s hands off. Once in the village Ramgarh, both Veeru and Jai fall in love. Veeru is attracted to Basanti (played by Hema Malini), a feisty young woman who makes her living driving a tanga, or a horse-cart. Jai is drawn to Radha (Jaya Bhaduri), the reclusive widowed daughter-in-law. Bloody clashes between Jai, Veeru, and the bandits follow. In the end, the village is freed from the terror of the bandits.
The film was produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It was written by scriptwriters Salim-Javed. R. D. Burman contributed the music. Anand Bakshi was the lyricist. The film was a lavish production for its time. It took two and a half years to make and went Rs. 300,000 over budget. Much of the film was set in the rocky terrain of Ramanagaram, a village near Bangalore. In fact, one part of Ramanagaram town was renamed “Sippynagar” after the director of the movie. Even to this day, a visit to the “Sholay rocks” is offered to tourists travelling through Ramanagaram.
The songs from Sholay attract less attention than the dialogues - a rarity for Bollywood. In fact, many movie lovers had got all its dialogues by heart. This prompted the producers to release audio-cassettes with only dialogues. Now, Ramgopal Verma is all set to cash in this blockbuster with his ‘Ramu Ke Sholay’.
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