Khud-Daar

So, another lost-and-found story starring Bachchan but much better done. Amitabh Bachchan stars as the principled taxi driver who takes care of his younger brother's future. The two of them left their home when they were kids as their vicious sister in-law was mistreating them while their older brother was away. A typical story, indeed, but the development is really very good. Bachchan does a very good job in a role that camr shortly before he started looking too old for the parts he subsequently played. Here he is real and funny and very believable. His leading lady, Parveen Babi, is beautiful and very funny as the beautiful Mary who moves from scoundrel to warm and caring companion. Vinod Mehra is good as the brother but less convincing playing the negative shades of his part as he still gives this vibe of being too decent. Prem Chopra is well cast as the villain, and so is Mehmood who plays his regular comic part with great flair. Then you have Sanjeev Kumar who really was always in his element and this film is no exception. While Khu-Daar has its moments where it doesn't really seem to be going anywhere, it is totally redeemed in its last portions, where it turns into a captivating courtroom drama, which is tense and really well written (assuming it's original). Kudos to the writers for handling this part so well. And kudos to the music director for nicely composed songs. "Disco '82" is a classic and my favourite. Really a nice film, entertaining.