Decoding Andaz Apna Apna (1994)

Movie no. 14/100

June 6, 2018

Rarely does it happen that a mindless comedy, which almost went unnoticed upon its release, gains a cult status over the years. One such mad caper was the 1994 comedy, ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, starring Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi after a gritty and serious ‘Damini’, Andaz Apna Apna was a laugh-riot, that had over-the-top characters and hilarious dialogues, which have become a part of every millennial’s vocabulary. The movie took three years to make and release, grossing an average collection at the Box office. But, it remains one of the best comedies that starred two unabashed and unapologetic actors – Aamir and Salman, much before the stardom struck them.

Amar (played by Aamir Khan) and Prem (played by Salman Khan) are two lazy unemployed men, with the sole aim of becoming rich and famous, without working hard for it. While Amar tries to use his street-smart ways to devise ponzi schemes, Prem dreams of becoming an actor to scale the heights of popularity. Daughter of a rich Industrialist, Ram Gopal Bajaj (played by Paresh Rawal), Raveena Bajaj, arrives in India with her friend-cum-secretary, Karishma (played by Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon) to find a groom for herself. After a series of hilarious Tom and Jerry style fights, Amar-Prem succeed in making Raveena-Karishma fall for them. That is when an array of colorful characters is introduced, who have become a part of the cult folklore! The movie is a hysterical comedy of errors, supported by actors like Paresh Rawal, Shakti Kapoor and Shehzad Khan.

This movie serves as benchmark for every true-blue Bollywood buff. It has innumerable number of reference to other Bollywood films, right from the names of the leads, Amar-Prem - a play on Rajesh Khanna’s superhit movie by the same name. It also has some of the funniest one-liners which have become part of everyday conversations today – ‘Very smart, Robert’, ‘Teja Main Hu, Mark Idhar Hai’ and ‘Crimemaster Gogo, Mogambo ka Bhatija’ have especially been the most popular ones. The movie had loud and over-the-top characters such as Teja, Bhalla, Robert and Crimemaster Gogo – which could have easily become caricatures but, thankfully, end up being extremely memorable.

Raveena Tandon had admitted that when this move was made, all the four leads were at loggerheads and it is surprising that their banter and chemistry onscreen does not reflect the animosity off-screen. As Amar-Prem, Aamir and Salman are top-notch. While Aamir plays with his fast dialogue delivery, Salman displays an endearing innocence and none of his masculinity, that he is today famous for! Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon, with their inter-changed identities, evoke quite a few laughs. Interesting to note that the movie took 3 years in the making, and this can be clearly seen in the difference in physical appearance of the actors – Salman Khan with longer hair and a healthier Karishma Kapoor. The music by Tushar Bhatia with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri deserves a mention, for creating songs with a flavor of the yesteryears, like ‘Ello Ello’. 

Even years later, the movie has a staunch following among the crowds of today, especially those born in the 90s. It had a mass appeal and no matter how intellectual one’s taste in films is, they end up enjoying this laugh-riot. There were various reports of a remake or a sequel, which will have a huge responsibility to live up to this movie. Till then, catch this on any lazy day with a bunch of friends!