Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

When I first saw Muqaddar Ka Sikandar as a kid, I absolutely loved it and all I wanted to do is to watch it again, which I ultimately did the following day. Something in the film's emotional ingredients really moved me. Today I of course look at it differently, but I still enjoy it. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is a melodramatic and tragic fairy tale, and that's how I prefer to see it. The story of the film is actually fantastic, it is the script that often resorts to sentimentality. But as I said, if you see the movie from a clear perspective and take it as a fairy tale, there should be no problems. Some of the scenes in the movie are very good, particularly the one with the old man played by Kader Khan telling young Sikandar and his sister that the best way to deal with problems in life is to laugh when you want to cry and cry when you want to laugh. Never tried this tactic, but in the film it looked quite effective.This is the story of a little orphaned boy who works as a servant in the house of a wealthy man named Ramnath. The boy develops a friendship with his employer's daughter Kaamna, but Ramnath notices this and fires him. All alone in the big city, he is found and adopted by a poor widow named Fatima, who names him Sikandar. When Fatima passes away, Sikandar remains all alone with the responsibility to take care of her daughter. Years go by and Sikandar grows to be a rich man. His only wish is to meet again Kaamna, who he has not stopped thinking of. They finally meet, but Kaamna does not love him the way he would want her to. He finds solace in a brothel where he often watches the dances of a beautiful courtesan names Zohra Begum. He befriends a young lawyer named Vishal, who actually later falls for Kaamna.The story of the film looks quite complicated but it is actually very easy to follow. Despite being melodramatic, it is for the most part enjoyable and it often moves you with its impossibly tragic proceedings. Some scenes are really well done. The main character of Sikandar is a good one. He is tough, loving, selfless and caring, and sadly he fails to get what he longs for the most - Kaamna's love. And Amitabh Bachchan is there to portray it with utmost sincerity. Raakhee plays his love interest with a usual dignified and modest persona. Vinod Khanna does a very good job as Vishal. Rekha steals the show with a heartfelt portrayal of a courtesan who hopelessly falls for Sikandar, knowing she has no chance of being loved in return. One can see this role as a prologue to her all-time great performance as Umrao Jaan. No one could play such roles better.The film's soundtrack by Anandji-Kalyanji is excellent. My favourite track is of course "O Sathi Re..." which is beautifully performed by both Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle in their individual versions. "Salam-e-ishq Meri Jaan" is also a nice song which introduces Rekha's Zohra Begum. The film's ending is tragic and a bit unpleasant to see, but as I said, this movie is better seen as fairy tale and so everything is acceptable in that context, even the melodramatic ending. Lovers of Hindi cinema and Amitabh Bachchan fan in particular will totally love this movie. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is a nice movie by Prakash Mehra, which is always good to see with the family.

Muqaddar ka Sikandar is and will probably remain one of the greatest movies you and I will ever watch in our lifetime.The drama,pain,suffering,love are some of the things that leave you spell bound.The acting ,the story and suffering of this little boy "sikandar" and how he becomes a feared man in his neighborhood are breath taking.Like all great movies of this golden period,this movie too has a social message -"love the pain and laugh at misery".Once you finish watching the movie you will be overwhelmed and will never forget those haunting moments.like the one where sikandar stays outside the house with the doll,like when his mother dies,the beautiful songs - all breathtaking.And yes , Amitabh Bachchan is Amitabh Bachchan.

For me, the most beautiful thing about 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar' is the song 'O Saathi Re'. It is a wonderful song and is sung beautifully by Kishore Kumar. Amitabh Bachchan does a good job of expressing the emotions of the song."Muqaddar ka..." is a tragedy (and a particularly tragic one), but it's a tragedy that manages to evoke just the right amount of sympathy, without becoming unduly weepy or maudlin. It's a tragedy done properly, with class, honesty and depth. Amitabh Bachchan is great as the lead character. I just loved him in this film, from start to finish (the little boy who played the young 'Sikandar' was wonderful too). Sikandar is at heart a good (even noble) man, but yet is a deeply flawed character, who feels deeply but is completely unable to express it. He's been hardened by his life, but he still has a very soft core, which few get to see. The scene at Memsahib's birthday celebration (when she's older), when Sikandar comes in with her precious gift, is breathtaking. It's a haunting echo of the experience Sikandar had at her 'younger' birthday party. A beautifully nuanced performance, definitely one of the Big B's best.Vinod Khanna also does a lovely job as the young lawyer, Vishal, in this movie, and the rest of the cast does well, too ... with one notable exception: the lead female, Rakhee. By the time the film was over, I hated her character, and I'm not sure that was the intention of the film makers(or was it?). She managed to portray 'Memsahib' as extremely shallow, uncaring and fickle. It's difficult to see even what the character of Vishal sees in her (although Sikandar's love for her - being completely childlike, pure and unselfish, is perfectly understandable). Even her last-minute repentance rung hollow. I've seen Rakhee do loads better in other movies, so I won't hold it against her in this one .. although it does slightly retract from the overall quality of the movie.Rekha, as Zohrabai, deserves a mention ... hauntingly lovely and tragic (which is what she does best), she puts in a very good performance. Her role is very stereotypical, but she pulls it off and makes it memorable. Watch out for the scene where she threatens to swallow the diamond.All in all, this movie is simply unmissable Bollywood. Watch it, and I guarantee you'll be hearing 'O Saathi Re' in your head for a few days afterwards.

This movie while appealing to popular tastes also conceals esoteric reflections on life, death and purpose. Just some examples(warning! -may be a spoiler-watch the movie now!): -To taste life to the full play with death(including a muslim dervish implicitly referring to Jesus Christ) -the purpose of life is love(with subtly impled scenes of estatic sexual union in Zohra's death scene) -Life review before death(occurs twice-once in a dream and then in the last scene) And other such pearls of hidden wisdom A mythological drama for modern times and indeed a 'Film to Remember' This movie is a proud rebuff to those who would denigrate 'bollywood' movies and sets a high standard for quality entertainment in the shakespearean mode rarely equalled since in Bollywood. Take Care, Avi Solomon