Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor make the most amazing on-screen pair of heroes on Indian screen ever.If they were at their dramatic best in Deewar u have to watch this movie to see their comic timings and excellent chemistry.
The movie starts with a comic strip which comes alongwith the credits.We come to know later that Amitabh and Shashi are 2 small time thiefs who are sworn enemies.Later,the real plot of the movie comes in.A millionaire(Dr. Shreeram Lagoo) is a millionaire and has a son Bittu whom he loves dearly. However an old enemy called Uncle(Kadar Khan with black goggles and overcoat) wants to kidnap Bittu to avenge some age old rivalry.The father thus puts his only son to a boarding school under the able guidance of his teacher Shalu(Hema Malini) and principal(Sajjan).Now both the small time thiefs want to have a big loot by kidnapping Bittu and in this effort both of them enter the boarding school with Amitabh as the P.T. instructor and Shashi as the music teacher.The principal's daughter Anju(Parveen Babi) falls in love with Amitabh and Shalu falls for Shashi.What follows is a series of comic situations where both the heroes try to outwit each other till they become friends and destroy Uncle's evil plan.
The movie maintains a fast pace throghout its length. Director Rakesh Kumar who had assisted Prakash Mehra made some huge hits when he turned director himself.Incidentally all 4 Khoon Pasina,Mr. Natwarlal,Yaarana and ofcourse Do Aur Do Paanch starred Amitabh.The direction of the film is good and its much more classy than Khoon Pasina and Mr. Natwarlal.However,after few years he went into oblivion for some unknown reasons. The story and screenplay are very well placed. Kadar khan's dailogues fit the bill.music by Rajesh Roshan is good and the title song 'Jo Sonche Jo Chaahein...' is popular to this day. Now for the performances,Amitabh bachchan is excellent. His comic timing and dailogue delivery are outstanding.He gets full support from Shashi Kapoor who also gives a commendable performance.However,in a rare serious scene when both of them get drunk and try to tell their sad tale Bachchan towers over Kapoor.The chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor in this film is out of the world. They look terrific whenever they are together in the film. The sequence when Shashi forcibly asks the students to give food to masterji(Amitabh) when the latter has already had his full is brilliant.Amitabh's continous reminding of an imaginary character SURESH to Parveen babiis hilarious. So is the pseudo tragedy of Shashi kapoor in order to woo Hema Malini. Parveen Babi and Hema Malini also do their part well. Dr.Shreeram Lagoo and Kadar Khan are good.
Do Aur Do Paanch when released in 1980 was not a HUGE hit.Still it did quite well and now is considered one of the best movies of Amitabh and Shashi. I sincerely hope that any current pair of heroes can give us even 50% of such an amazing chemistry which both of them had.It is for both Bachchan and Kapoor that the film becomes a MUST watch.
