Army (1996)

The last film in our Sridevipalooza is Army, one where Sridevi gets to kick some ass, as most of the readers of this blog will know i have a love for female ass kicking flicks, this one is not right up there with my favourites though. Also this is the only film where Sharukh and Sridevi ever worked together on as a jodi (couple), such was Sridevi's iconic status that every young 'un wanted to be paired opposite her, Sharukh finally got his wish in this one

Lovers and parents to be Geeta (Sridevi) and Arjun ( Sharukh Khan) are torn apart when Evil Tyrant Nagraj (Danny Denzongpa) murders Arjun



Geeta who's a lawyer tries getting Justice for her husband's death in the court of Justice but her allegations are dismissed and Nagraj walks away free, before leaving the court Geeta is sure to tell him know he'll die in no other hands but her's

Determined and hungry to avenge, she employs the help of 5 men kabir ( Mohnish Behl), Khan (Sudesh Berry), Kishan (Harish), Kartar ( Ravi Kishan) & Gavin (Ronit Roy) who have also suffered injustice (going by all the K's seems Geeta knew there was success in numerology)

i love the side profile shots her Army were repeatedly given

Together they all form army, they even have their own theme song and are eager to take Nagraj down (how very flattering to his ego isn't it, if i knew six people from various walks of life came to take me down, i'd be very flattered )


Nagraj definitely has to be one of the most fashion conscious villains, from the draping of fabrics in his attire

to his golden engraved cuffs

and snake cinched in belt

and pearl studs

he definitely oozes style

Look at his chair, you better be afraid, be very afraid

So will Geeta and her Army succeed in taking down Nagraj, watch Army if you dare to find out


Unlike othe female revenge sagas bollywood dished out like Phool Bane Angaray, Khoon Bhari Maang, kudrat ka kanoon, Nagin, Zakmi Aurat etc. Sridevi's character as Geeta is not central enough for my liking, the fact that she needed to employ 5 other army's to join her in her quest makes me feel Sridevi's star power had waned and not enough faith could be placed on her to carry the film on her shoulder's, unlike the women in the afore mentioned revenge sagas's, they carried the film on their padded shoulders a la Rekha in Khoon Bhari Maang.



I couldn't help but feel Army would have been A LOT more fantastic had it been made in the 80's when Sridevi was at her prime, and of course if the script and a whole other things were handled much better , still though if a gun toting Sridevi is your idea of entertainment or if you're a die hard Sridevi fan by all means check Army out

And as for Sita-ji she's definitely right about Srk being the best mouth bleeder in her post on Ram Jaane, it is indeed something he does better than any other actor, since you're collecting screencaps for a post on Sharukh bleeding from the mouth i've added this for you ;0)


Hmm, Mujhe khoon bahut accha lagta hai


Ok music from Anand Milind, highlights are the upbeat prison number 'De Taali', 'Achiku bachiku' a rip-off of Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat song, a cute love song 'dil mein kuch hone laga' my favourites though are 'teri meri dushmani' (Amaluu add this to your list of bad guy lair songs)

and the superb 'Main to hoon pagal' one of my all time favourite SRK numbers

Paisa Vasool rating: 4/10

A big thanks to all who contributed to my Sridevipalooza and to Amaluu who organized it, looks like Sridevi will be on a long holiday from this blog for a while ;0)

Aulad (1987)

keeping this blog is becoming more of a challenge but still, i'm committed to the cause, apologies for my short absence. The fourth film in Sridevipalooza is a remake of a bollywood classic i reviewed a while ago, follow the plot write up and see if you're able to guess correctly

Wealthy and successful Anand is under intense pressure to get married from his Uncle (Saeed Jaffrey) he takes poor street dancer Devki (Sridevi) as a pretend bride, the two fall in love and Anand marries her


Following their marriage and while on honeymoon in Kashmir, their intimate moments while romancing in a garden is cut short by torrential rainfall, both couples take refuge in a nearby house which belongs to another newly married couple Vikas (Vinod Mehra) & Yashoda (Jaya Prada), both couples become friends


Upon returning to Bombay Devki finds out she's pregnant, simultaneously in kashmir Yashoda finds out she's pregnant too. Months later and Devki gives birth, following the doctors orders to take their new born away from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, they catch a train to Kashmir, also on their way to Mumbai are Vikas and Yashoda. In a weird case of coincidence both trains crash into each other which claims Vikas's life, Devki is also feared dead

Nevermind the accident made use of Toy train models


Anand and Yashoda end up in the same hospital, Yashoda gives birth to a still born, and Anand not wanting to break her heart further seeing she's just lost her husband decides to give her his own son, he asks the doctor (Ramesh Deo) to keep this a secret betweeen them


Years go by and Anand starts visiting Yashoda just so he'll be able to see his son, the boy is now named kishen and Anand becomes increasingly attached him and Yashoda which leads to her mother in law speculating about a possible relationship, she's warned not to drag the family's name into disrepute (but surely she's now a widow, shouldn't she be allowed to see other men na?)


She's warned not to see him again, this new decision proves difficult as kishen is already developing a strong bond with Anand whom he sees as a father figure

The sweet Baby Guddu as Kishen

Meanwhile Devki who had been feared dead turns up alive at Anand's house, its revealed the accident had left her with memory loss but she had regained them upon seeing a speeding train which clearly reminded her of her accident (easy, isn't it...lol)


Anand is shocked and equally scared as Devki asks about their child, without hesitating Anand lies saying he had died in the train accident


Poor Devki is distraught, but decides to move on, hopeful she might bear another child, but as destiny would have it, she's receives another bad news when the doctor tells her she will never be able bear another child again


Devki accepts her destiny but later becomes suspicious of Anand's clingy behaviour towards Kishen, plus she notices they seem to share some traits, she confronts Anand about this and he confirms Kishen is indeed her son


Thus begins a custody battle between Devki and Yashoda on who gets the child


If the story of this film sounds familiar, that's because it's an uncredited remake of 'Chirag kahan Roshni kahan' (1959) which i've reviewed here, Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan is by far the superior film, this 80's knock off just doesn't have the restraint & melodramatic goodness of the original plus the songs in this are nowhere as fab. Some twists have been added to the story here, but 'Chirag kahan Roshni Kahan' still comes out on top in my opinion.

Now Aulad is still a decent watch if you're in the mood for some 80's style melodrama, the perfromances are decent albeit in that melodramatic 80's kind of way, Jaya Prada definitely had big shoes to fill as she reprises Meena Kumari's role in the original, now God forbid i compare Jaya to Meena but she does a decent job, she even did the whole Lady in white sari thing a la Meena. Overall watch Aulad (Child) if you're a fan of any of the actors or if you're in the mood for some 80's style melodrama


Some More Screencap goodness


bahut khoob bahut khoob


Stunning Jaya


Ramesh Deo still so handsome despite all that Grey hair



Rather average songs from Laxmikant Pyarelal, but as i said they just couldn't match Ravi's outstanding soundtrack in Chirag kahan Roshni Kahan, highlights are 'Tan tan ghadie main' a nursery rhyme style song clearly modeled after 'Tim tin karte taare' from Chirag kahan Roshni kahan' and 'Raste kamal saste' my favourites of all the songs is 'Dhak dhak dhadke jiya'




Paisa Vasool rating: 5/10

Aulad is available with English Subtitles in 21 parts on Youtube

Bhagwaan Dada (1986)

The third film in line for Sridevipalooza is Bhagwaan Dada, finally of all the films I've reviewed so far this week, at this stage of her career Sridevi seems more confident as an actress and displays some great comic timing in this rather forgettable flick

Bhagwaan Dada (Rajnikanth) is a tout who works under local terrorist Shambu Dada (Danny Denzongpa)

Following a rape act Shambhu carries out on a local belle, she commits suicide and her child Govind is adopted by Bhagwan Dada who's disgusted by Shambhu's behaviour, he decides to raise Govind him as his own. Bhagwan Dada thus becomes a changed man and leaves the world of stealing behind and becomes a saint of sorts in his local neighbourhood

This new goody goody image leads Bhagwaan Dada to report Shambhu's evil deeds to cops which leads to Shambhu Dada being sentenced to Jail

The child responsible for making Bhagwaan turn his life around grows into a cute little Hrithik

When Swaroop (Rajesh Roshan) a village bumpkin moves from Gangapur to Mumbai, he's robbed and none other than Bhagwaan dada saves the day, Bhagwaan takes a liking to him and helps him settle down to life in Mumbai

When Swaroop now a rather confident Mumbaiker rescues Bijlee (Sridevi) from a group of touts, Bhagwan urges her to live with them and in the atypical filmi way, Bijlee and Swaroop fall for each other

but trouble arises when she's caught in a prostitute sting operation, Swaroop and Bhagwaan are disappointed as she never revealed this to them, she tries pacifying them by explaining she only does it to swindle money out of men without actually selling her body (Really??????, either way a slut is a slut)

Swaroop is heartbroken and this revelation causes a strain in their relationship

Shambhu Dada is released from jail and is eager to right the wrongs committed against him by Bhagwan Dada

Will Bijli and Swaroop be reconciled? What is the reason behind Bijli's decision to walk the streets? Will Shambhu succeed in his quest for revenge?

Check out those tarantula lashes

Sridevi lived up to her character's name in this film, she was indeed the Bijli (electricity) in this rather dull movie, Sridevi's comic timing and general cuteness are what stops this movie from being a total bore, just look at the way she carries herself in the picture below its like she knows she's totally in charge of the screen

I'm guessing she at this stage of her career she was becoming more confident and it just shows in this film. I couldn't help but feel she was mismatched with Rajesh Roshan, these two won't be winning any Jodi (couple) awards, there wasn't much of a chemistry between them at all

And of course this film is also notorious for Hrithik's fight scenes with Danny, i love the way Danny puts him in his palce in the clip below, such were little Hrithik's guts that he tried attacking Danny, but of course Danny can always be trusted, he wastes no time in demolishing his legs with his spikey boots (catch this hilarious moment in the clip below)

And of course Danny & Rajnikanth spice things up too with their macho campiness, watch this fight clip below where Rajnikanth avenges Hrithik's death

Good songs by Rajesh Roshan, there's a mellow lullaby 'Tujhse pehle' picturised on Rajnikanth, a madrasi style dance number 'chugh gayee chidiya' and the cute 'aaj dil tude (superfast love)' my favourites are 'pehli baar pyar' Sridevi is just so sexy and lovely in this song and

'aaya aaya pyar ka zamana' yes she does look good with Rakesh in this clip but overall their Jodi lacks the excitement and energy she seemed to have with Jeetendra

Paisa Vasool rating: 4/10