Underplayed Gems

ChaalBaaz (1989)

ChaalBaaz poster
Original title
Chaalbaaz
Directed by
Pankaj Parashar
Genre
action, comedy, drama
Country
India
Runtime
2h 35m
Rated
R15+
Rating
6.0 of 10 from 11 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Identical twin sisters get separated at birth. One grows up in a rich household being mistreated by her uncle. The other grows up as a streetwise tomboy in a slum.

slapsticklivelywhimsicaldramaticchaoticheartfeltfun

What happens

ChaalBaaz (Hindi pronunciation: [tʃaːlbaːz], transl. Trickster) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language slapstick film directed by Pankaj Parashar and written by Rajesh Mazumdar and Kamlesh Pandey. It stars Sunny Deol, Sridevi and Rajinikanth. The film revolves around identical twin sisters Manju and Anju, who get separated at birth. Anju lives with her malicious uncle, who plans to seize her property and traumatizes her by beating her. On the other hand, Manju grows up amidst a slum environment and is a tomboy. The film was an adaptation of the film Seeta Aur Geeta and had its story written by Rajesh Mazumdar. It was produced by A. Poorna Chandra Rao under the Lakshmi Productions banner. The duo Laxmikant–Pyarelal composed the soundtrack with lyrics penned by Anand Bakshi. Manmohan Singh handled the cinematography while Afaque Hussain served as the editor. Upon its release, ChaalBaaz was well received by critics and audiences alike, and emerged as a commercial success, eventually becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1989. It had a net gross of about ₹8 crore (US$840,000). Among the elements of the movie that were highly appreciated were the film's story, music, and Sridevi's performance in the dual role, which is considered to be one of her best. At the 35th Filmfare Awards, the film received three nominations and won two awards: Best Actress (Sridevi) and Best Choreographer (Saroj Khan). It was remade twice in Kannada as Rani Maharani (1990) and Naa Rani Nee Maharani (2010). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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