Hera Pheri (1976) :
Brief Review -
Prakash Mehra's masala film has one of the best twists for any film from the 70s. Mehra pairs Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna as best friends in Hera Pheri, who can give their lives for each other. The film begins with a lot of cons and stays the same for almost an hour before things are changed into drama. The first 15-20 are so beautifully portrayed as we see the two friends fooling people to earn money. Then that club scene when Vijay makes 3 Queens to win the game, and even Ajay is shocked. The same is followed by the impersonation of saints, and then we have the entry of the heroine, Saira Banu. She begins with a sweet Marathi accent, followed by a glamorous entry in a glittering golden dress. After that, you can easily notice the age factor in her face, as it was in the mid-70s, and she wasn't the same Saira Banu as she was in the 60s. That cards scene was a testament to Mehra's vision of looking at international cinema. When Hollywood was done with an Oscar-winning blockbuster like "The Sting" (1973), at least we could have a scene like that, if not the entire film. I actually started losing interest in the film when Ajay turned against Vijay for his father, and all of it was so sudden and easy. It didn't look reasonable at all, and then came a mind-blowing twist in the end, which answered all my queries and literally made the entire fiasco meaningful. The songs aren't too good, but I enjoyed "Waqt ki Hera Pheri" because it's a situational and a fun song. Amitabh Bachchan's performance was fine, Vinod Khanna was good, Sulakshana Pandit looked beautiful, though the role hadn't much to do, and Saira Banu was a bit dated. Pinchoo Kapoor surprises in a dual role, and Shreeram Lagoo too has one surprising element as a beggar. Overall, Prakash Mehra packs a solid masala film with one of the best twists in the end that might remind you of Dev Anand's blockbuster "Johnny Mera Naam."
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
