Aankhen (1993 film)

This article is about the 1993 film. For other uses, see Aankhen (disambiguation).

Aankhen
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Dhawan
Written by	Anees Bazmee
Produced by	Pahlaj Nihalani
Starring	Govinda Chunky Pandey Raj Babbar
Cinematography	Siba Mishra
Edited by	Nand Kumar
Music by	Bappi Lahiri
Distributed by	Chiragdeep International
Release date	9 April 1993 (1993-04-09)
Running time	170 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	₹25 crore (US$7.95 million)[1]

Aankhen (transl. Eyes) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by David Dhawan and written by Anees Bazmee. It stars Govinda in a dual role and Chunky Pandey. It was a blockbuster at the box office and the highest-grossing Indian film of 1993.^[2] It was remade in Telugu as Pokiri Raja (1995).

The movie was reported to have been inspired by the 1977 Kannada movie Kittu Puttu ^[3] which itself was inspired by the 1967 Tamil movie Anubavi Raja Anubavi which had earlier been remade in Hindi in 1973 as Do Phool. It is also adapted from Marathi film Changu Mangu released in 1990.

At the 39th Filmfare Awards, the film received 4 nominations - Best Film, Best Director (Dhawan), Best Actor (Govinda) and Best Comedian (Khan), but failed to win in any category.

Synopsis

Hasmukh Rai (Kader Khan) has a problem. As a matter of fact, two problems — his two sons: Munnu (Chunky Pandey) and Gulshan "Bunnu" (Govinda Ahuja). The brothers are notorious slackers up to no good, and involved in elaborate practical jokes. It comes to Hasmukh's attention that his sons have been lying to him about their college grades — in studies and sports — and have not been attending classes for the last three years. As a result, they are kicked out of college and, ultimately, their home. Later, one of their practical jokes gets out of hand, and Bunnu disappears, presumed dead. Munnu gets involved in the conspiracy of killing Bunnu. Meanwhile, from a small Indian village, Bunnu's identical cousin, Gauri Shankar, arrives in town. He is mistaken for Bunnu which leads to hilarious misunderstandings and constant uproar.

Reception

The movie was 1993's biggest Bollywood hit and ran in the theaters for 12 weeks. The domestic distribution share was ₹38.5 crore against a ₹5.96 crore budget. The film had a net income of ₹35.5 crore, and grossed ₹45.85 crore^[1] ($8.2 million).^[4]

Aankhen was responsible for jump-starting or re-energizing the careers of a few actors. Govinda, for example, struggling at the time, appeared in a number of comedy hits such as Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1, and Saajan Chale Sasural, after the commercial success of Aankhen. Although he starred in hits like Hatya (1988), Swarg (1990), and Shola aur Shabnam (1992), his double role in Aankhen established him as the "Comedy King of Bollywood" at that time. One of the lead heroines of the movie, Raageshwari Loomba started singing later. Govinda's double role was a highlight of the film.

Cast

• Govinda (in dual role) as
  • Gulshan Rai "Bunnu"
  • Gauri Shankar Rai
• Chunky Pandey as Munnu Rai
• Ritu Shivpuri as Ritu
• Raageshwari as Priya Mohan
• Shilpa Shirodkar as Chandramukhi
• Bindu as Anuradha
• Harish Patel as Monto (hired principal / hired father / hired thief - by Munnu-Bunnu)
• Shakti Kapoor as Tejeshwar (main antagonist)
• Radha Seth as Diana (female accomplice of Tejeshwar)
• Mahavir Shah as Pravin Shah
• Gulshan Grover as Natwar Shah
• Raza Murad as D.C.P
• Mac Mohan as Tejeshwar's henchman
• Sudhir as Tejeshwar's henchman
• Tinu Verma as Tejeshwar's henchman
• Gavin Packard as Tejeshwar's henchman, Man Shot Mistakenly for Bunnu.
• Dina Pathak as grandmother
• Vikas Anand as Distinguished Doctor
• Govind Namdeo as Distinguished Doctor
• Kader Khan (in dual role) as
  • Hasmukh Rai; Bunnu and Munnu's father
  • Gauri Shankar's father
• Raj Babbar (in dual role) as Chief Minister / Saarang (Tejeshwar's accomplice)
• Sadashiv Amrapurkar as Inspector Pyaare Mohan
• Arun Bakshi as a Man who saved Bunnu
• Rakesh Bedi as Gulshan Kapoor "Gullu"
• Bob Christo as Tejeshwar's henchman
• Neena Gupta as Chief Minister's wife
• Kamaldeep as St. Xavier's Principal
• Manmauji as Baba
• Guddi Maruti as Chhabia
• Yunus Parvez as Seth Sukhiram
• Kedarnath Saigal as Judge

Soundtrack

The lyrics were written by Indeevar. Vocals for Govinda were supplied by Kumar Sanu, and for Pandey by Mohammed Aziz and Sudesh Bhosale.

The songs are as follows:

#	Song	Singer
1.	"O Lal Dupatte Wali"	Kumar Sanu, Sudesh Bhosle, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik
2.	"Ek Tamanna Jivan Ki"	Kumar Sanu, Asha Bhosle
3.	"Angna Mein Baba"	Kumar Sanu, Sadhana Sargam
4.	"Chaukhat Pe Tumhari Hum"	Kumar Sanu, Mohammed Aziz, Sapna Mukherjee
5.	"Bade Kaam Ka Bandar"	Kumar Sanu, Mohammed Aziz, Arun Bakshi

Accolades

39th Filmfare Awards:

Category	Nominee	Result
Best Film	Pahlaj Nihalani	Nominated
Best Director	David Dhawan
Best Actor	Govinda
Best Comedian	Kader Khan

References

1. "Box Office 1993". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
2. "Box Office 1993". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
3. "rediff.com: David Dhawan's blue-eyed boys". www.rediff.com.
4. "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1993. Retrieved 9 December 2018.

External links

• Aankhen at IMDb