1. A photographer duo Vinod (Naseeruddin Shah) and Sudhir (Ravi Baswani) start a studio only to find wrong things happening right from its launch.
2. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) DvdRIp 720p UnScaled 700MB Vinod (Naseeruddin Shah) and Sudhir (Ravi Vaswani) are two professional photographers trying to start a photo studio. The first real assignment that they get, from the activist magazine Khabardar (literally meaning beware), draws them into the shady world of Bombay real estate.

1. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro Cast

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (transl. Just Let It Go, Friends) is a 1983 Indian Hindi-language satiricalblack comedy film directed by Kundan Shah and produced by NFDC. It is a dark satire on the rampant corruption in Indian politics, bureaucracy, news media and business, and stars an ensemble cast including Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Bhakti Barve and Neena Gupta.^[4][5]

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (6) IMDb 8.4 2h 11min 1983 ALL Two photographers, who are employed by a newspaper editor to expose the scandalous activities of the rich, come across corruption by a builder and accidentally photograph a murder. Movies & TV New Releases Best Sellers Deals Blu-ray 4K Ultra HD TV Shows Kids & Family Anime All Genres Prime Video Your Video Library. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro — — Special offers and product promotions. Amazon Business: For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping.

Kundan Shah won the 1984 Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director for his work. The film was part of the NFDC Retrospective at India International Film Festival in 2006.^[6]

Plot[edit]

Professional photographers Vinod Chopra (Naseeruddin Shah) and Sudhir Mishra (Ravi Baswani) open a photo studio in the prestigious Haji Ali area in Bombay, and hope to make enough money to keep it running. After a disastrous start, they are given some work by the editor of 'Khabardar', a publication that exposes the scandalous lives of the rich and the famous. They accept it and start working with the editor, Shobha Sen (Bhakti Barve), on a story exposing the dealings between an unscrupulous builder, Tarneja (Pankaj Kapoor), and corrupt Municipal Commissioner D'Mello (Satish Shah). During their investigation, they find out that another builder Ahuja (Om Puri) who is Tarneja's business rival is also involved in this dealing to get a contract for building 4 flyovers from D'Mello.

While working on their story, Sudhir and Vinod decide to enter a photography contest that carries prize money of Rs. 5000/-, and take a number of photographs all over the city. On developing their pictures, in one of the photographs, they see a man shooting someone and when they enlarged that part of the photo, they realize that the killer is none other than Tarneja. They immediately return to the scene of the crime and find the body lying behind the bushes. Before the duo can get to the body, it disappears, but they manage to retrieve one of a pair of gold cuff links. Sometime later, they attend the inauguration of a bridge dedicated to the memory of late Municipal Commissioner D'Mello who is supposed to have died of a terminal disease. There they discover the other cuff link. They return at night and dig up the area and unearth a coffin containing the dead body of D'Mello.

They take several photographs of the corpse, and wheel it with them with the hopes of exposing Tarneja. However, the body disappears and they lie to Shobha saying that the body is hidden safely with them. Shobha, in turn, starts blackmailing Tarneja. He invites her, Vinod and Sudhir for dinner and plants a time bomb to kill them. Unfortunately, the bomb explodes prematurely and the trio escapes.

Vinod and Sudhir find out that the body is with Tarneja's rival, Ahuja who had, in an inebriated condition, carried the coffin to his farmhouse. They steal the corpse but not before Tarneja, Ahuja, the new Municipal Commissioner Srivastav, Shobha and others also get involved resulting in a series of comic mix-ups.

The climax is set upon a stage dramatization of the Mahabharata, particularly the enactment of the Draupadi Cheer-Haran episode, which is turned on its head with the duo and the group following them inserting themselves into the scene. The iconic sequence also includes a scene from the ill-fated romance of Salim and Anarkali with the corpse playing Anarkali.

In the end, the police arrive and Vinod and Sudhir present their evidence to the police officer. Srivastava, being the Assistant Municipal Commissioner, tells the officer to wait a few minutes before arresting Tarneja. Tarneja tells Ahuja and Shobha that if he goes to jail, he would make sure that their malpractices are also exposed. In a twist ending, they all come to an agreement and Srivastava manages to pin the murder of Commissioner D'Mello and the collapse of the bridge on Vinod and Sudhir. In the final scene, Vinod and Sudhir are shown several months/years later released from prison, still in their prison clothes. They turn to the camera and make a symbolic cut-throat gesture, signifying the death of justice and truth.

Cast[edit]

• Naseeruddin Shah as Vinod Chopra
• Ravi Baswani as Sudhir Mishra
• Om Puri as Ahuja, a corrupt contractor
• Pankaj Kapur as Tarneja, a corrupt contractor who murders the Municipal Commissioner
• Satish Shah as D'Mello, Municipal Commissioner
• Bhakti Barve as Shobha Sen, editor of the 'Khabardar' magazine (Dubbing by Anita Kanwar)
• Rajesh Puri as Kamdar, assistant editor of the magazine 'Khabardar'
• Satish Kaushik as Ashok Namboodirippad, Tarneja's assistant
• Neena Gupta as Priya, Tarneja's Secretary
• Deepak Qazir as Srivastav, Assistant Municipal Commissioner
• Ashok Banthia as Reporter
• Vidhu Vinod Chopra as theater actor playing Dushasana
• Anupam Kher. voiceover for Architect Tulyaani at construction site
• Ajay Wadhavkar, Police Constable under the bridge

Reception[edit]

The film was not immediately successful at the box office when released, but was eventually regarded as a cult classic, which is reflected in a recent comment by Indian Express that the film's high recall value even after 37 years, is due to 'it(s) superb satirical depiction of the essential, timeless, human condition: supreme self-interest versus some moral/ethical anchor. What made the depiction particularly powerful was its setting: India of the early '80s'.^[8]

Re-release[edit]

A digitally restored print of the film was released on 2 November 2012 at selected theaters.^[9] The film opened to an enthusiastic welcome from the media^[10][11] and discerning filmgoers.

Awards[edit]

• 1984 : Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Kundan Shah^[12]
• 32nd Filmfare Awards
  • WonFilmfare Best Comedian Award: Ravi Baswani
  • Nominations
    • Best Movie
    • Best Director - Kundan Shah
    • Best Comic Actor - Satish Shah

Trivia[edit]

• Blow-Up, a 1966 English-language film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni in which a photographer believes he may have witnessed a murder and unwittingly takes photographs of the killing, was an inspiration for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.^[13][14] The filmmakers paid homage to Blow-Up by naming the park in which the murder occurs 'Antonioni Park'.
• The names of the lead characters – Vinod Chopra and Sudhir Mishra – came from film directors Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Sudhir Mishra, who were assisting Kundan Shah in the movie.^[15] Sudhir Mishra co-wrote the script and assisted in directing the movie, while Vidhu Vinod Chopra was the production controller of the film.
• Vidhu Vinod Chopra played Dushasana in the Mahabharata play in the climax of the movie. He also played a photographer in the first half of the film, where a group of journalists interviews Tarneja, played by Pankaj Kapoor.

Further reading[edit]

• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro: Seriously Funny Since 1983, by Jai Arjun Singh. 2010. Harpercollins India. ISBN978-93-5029-022-4.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro Movie'. Times of India. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
2. ^'Re-release of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro historic moment: Kundan Shah'. Firstpost. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
3. ^'RARE PIX: The Making of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro - Rediff.com Movies'. Rediff.com. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
4. ^'ANALYSIS: On-screen journos'. Screen. 3 September 2004.
5. ^'Cinemascoop'. The Tribune. 20 February 2005.
6. ^Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (Who Pays the Piper)Archived 23 February 2009 at the Wayback MachineIndia International Film Festival Official website.
7. ^Singh, Jai Arjun (2012). Jaane Bhee Do Yaaro: Seriously Funny since 1983. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN9789350292785.
8. ^'The tragic comedy of the '80s'. The Indian Express. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
9. ^'Cult classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro to tickle your funny bone again, re-releases today : Bollywood, News - India Today'. Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
10. ^'Review: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is the best film of the year - Entertainment - DNA'. Dnaindia.com. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
11. ^''Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' Review: Why the angry brand of heroism is still relevant'. Ibnlive.in.com. 2 November 2012. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
12. ^'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' on NFDC website
13. ^'Director's Perspective... Part I'. NFDC(cinemasofindia). 14 May 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
14. ^'Celebrating 30 Years Of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro With Filmmaker Kundan Shah At MFCC 2012'. Comic Con India. 15 November 2012.
15. ^'Review: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro: The Five-Star Classic - Rediff.com Movies'. Rediff.com. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2013.

External links[edit]

• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro at IMDb
• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro at Rotten Tomatoes

Be it through comedy, drama or horror, movies that have been able to make me introspect and question the very fabric of the society that I inhabit have always interested me. Anything that shines a light on what we are doing with our lives and how it is impacting everything around us in ways that make me squirm in my seat automatically enters my 'best of' list. Because, hey, comfort is so passé. However, for some reason or the other, Kundan Shah's Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro has always gone under my radar.

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro was produced by the National Film Development Corporation of India and made on a meager budget of 8-9 lakhs with then non-stars like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Ravi Baswani, Bhakti Barve, Satish Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Kaushik, and Neena Gupta. And upon its initial theatrical release, the movie bombed like anything. However, as years went by, the satirical take on the rampant corruption in Indian politics, bureaucracy, news media and business, started gaining popularity. But it was only after truckloads of convincing from a fellow Mashable India colleague that I sat down to watch it and, to be honest, I didn't quite like it.

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Okay, before everyone comes at me with their pitch-forks, allow me to talk about what I did like about the movie, which features the combined efforts of Ranjit Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, Sudhir Mishra, Kundan Shah and even Vidhu Vinod Chopra on the writing table. Firstly, the idea to combine Mahabharata (the Draupadi Cheer-Haran episode to be specific), Salim-Anarkali, and the controversy around the murder of Municipal Commissioner, D'Mello is simply epic. On the surface, it is hilarious because, unlike the in-movie audience, you are aware that the characters are not a part of the play and are trying to keep up the charade by conversing in mythological terms. And it becomes all the more funny when you realise the route they've taken to point fingers at the patriarchal nature of one of the most revered textbooks in Indian history.

Secondly, I found myself lauding the relevance of the subject matter of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. It went after civil engineering companies that continuously cheats while building bridges, roads, airports, dams, you name it. And all these years later we are seeing bridges collapsing in Mumbai and West Bengal and nobody getting prosecuted even though such incidents are causing the death of hundreds people. In addition to that, it managed to show the futility of fighting over what's right when the rich are dominating a major section of the narrative. Funnily enough, that has become the reality as a January report has shown that India's richest 1% are in control of 73% of the country's wealth, thereby controlling what's true and what's not via news, social media and more.

But apart from these two factors, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro failed to make a mark for me due to some technical and storytelling choices. Let's get over the technical stuff first. The pacing felt tiring, thereby dampening the pointed intent of the story. Running at a whopping 2 hours and 12 minutes, every gag, every story beat, and practically every scene overstays its welcome. And that might be the case because back when the movie was released, people weren't conditioned enough to catch every subtle detail in the script. But since many movies have taught me (and a huge chunk of the modern movie-going audience) to catch the subtext in the story within a few seconds, the repetitive nature of establishing the moral stance of the film felt grating.

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Coming to the storytelling choices, I am surprised that everybody has conveniently forgotten about the misogynistic undertones of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron which are played off as gags. At the beginning of the film, Ravi Baswani's Sudhir Mishra openly harasses a girl in an attempt to draw her to his shop and gets whacked and that is played for laughs. When Baswani and Naseeruddin's characters meet Bhakti Barve's Shobha Sen, without even trying to know her true identity, they make very blatant attempts to sleep with her in their studio, which again is portrayed as a comedic scene. However, I couldn't bring myself to forgive the movie for keeping these elements after claiming to be one of the most 'woke' films of 1983 and in the history of Indian cinema.

In conclusion and in my opinion only, this multi-starrer continues to be a fun film that critiques the hypocrisy of nearly every thing that makes the foundation of our society. And you'll be able to appreciate every other element in it if you can look past the problematic treatment of its female characters. However, if you do so, you'll be doing the very thing that all the antagonists in the movie are telling the protagonists to do: jaane bhi do yaaro.

Cover artwork by Dhawal Bhanushali/Mashable India

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro Cast