Amar Akbar Anthony
Kader Khan wrote and directed the 1977 Indian masala film Amar Akbar Anthony, which was produced and directed by Manmohan Desai. Released in India on 27 May 1977, the film stars an ensemble cast of Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Parveen Babi, Shabana Azmi, Nirupa Roy, Pran and Jeevan.
The story centers on three brothers who were separated when they were young and are adopted by Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity families. They each become a qawwali singer, a police officer, and the proprietor of a country bar as they mature. Laxmikant-Pyarelal composed the soundtrack album, and Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics. The film earned ₹155 million (US$17.69 million) at the Indian box office, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of that year, alongside Dharam Veer and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen.
Religious tolerance became a landmark theme in Bollywood masala films, building on the masala formula pioneered a few years earlier by Nasir Hussain’s Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). Amar Akbar Anthony also had a lasting impact on pop culture with its catchy songs, quotable one-liners, and the character of Anthony Gonsalves (played by Bachchan). At the 25th Filmfare Awards, it won Best Actor, Best Music Director, and Best Editing, among other prizes. After that, it was remade in Tamil as Shankar Salim Simon in 1978, Telugu as Ram Robert Rahim in 1980, and Malayalam as John Jaffer Janardhanan in 1982. In Pakistan, the film was unofficially remade in Punjabi as Akbar Amar Anthony (1978).
Plot
On August 15, 1955, Kishanlal, a chauffeur, is released from prison after serving time for the fatal hit-and-run accident his employer, crime lord Robert, caused. Despite Robert’s promises, Kishanlal returns home to find his wife Bharati suffering from TB and their three sons starving. Enraged, Kishanlal confronts Robert to beg for his assistance, only to be humiliated, abused and disowned. Kishanlal retaliates against Robert’s cronies and makes his way away in a car full of illegal gold bullion, evading capture by Robert’s henchmen.
Kishanlal discovers Bharati gone when he returns home, and her suicide note explains her shame and despair. Taking his sons with him, he eludes pursuit to place the boys at the foot of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Borivali National Park, leaving the eldest in charge. After a fiery car accident, he drives off to deceive Robert’s cronies, but both the police and Robert’s people believe Kishanlal and his sons are dead.
The three children are split up. The oldest, Amar, pursues his father, is killed by Robert’s gang, and Hindu Police Superintendent Khanna adopts him. Middle son Anthony goes in search of food for his crying baby brother; left alone, Raju is found and adopted by kindly Muslim tailor Darji Ilahabadi. Anthony hides from the storm outside a Catholic church in the area and falls asleep from exhaustion when he returns to find no one there. The parish priest, Father Gonsalves, discovers him and Bharati’s suicide note and adopts him. Each will be reared in the religions of their adoptive fathers: Hindu, Islam and Christianity.
Elsewhere: Bharati is caught in the storm and struck blind by a falling branch – divine punishment for leaving her sons. She is rescued and dropped off home by Mr. Ilahabadi, but cannot see Raju beside him; at home she is told her family is dead. Kishanlal finds Robert’s gold after escaping the car crash. He returns to the empty park a wealthy man who is devastated to be alone.
Two decades have passed. Bharati, now a flower seller, is the victim of a hit-and-run accident outside a church and is rushed to a private hospital by Anthony, the moonshining Robin Hood of the neighborhood. Raju, now called Akbar and a popular Qawwali singer, is at the hospital to romance Dr. Salma Ali due to the fact that her irritable father Taiyyab Ali doesn’t like him.
The police inspector who arrives to investigate the accident case is Amar. Despite not being related, the three men donated blood to save Bharati’s life. Later, Amar confronts highway robbers and meets Lakshmi, who has been forced to serve as bait to safeguard her elderly, wheelchair-bound grandmother by her abusive criminal stepmother and stepbrother Ranjeet. Together, they collect evidence and arrest the stepmother. Amar provides Lakshmi and her grandmother with sanctuary in his house.
Kishanlal became a wealthy crime lord on his own with Robert’s gold. Kidnapping Robert’s infant daughter Jenny in revenge for his lost family, he reared her as his ‘niece’ and sent her to school abroad. He also destroyed Robert’s organization, forcing a grovelling Robert to work for him while begging for his daughter’s return. In the middle of a smuggling operation Kishanlal’s gang are raided by police: in the chaos Robert takes a crate of Kishanlal’s smuggled gold and shoots Superintendent Khanna (Amar’s ‘father’), badly wounding him. Robert reestablishes himself as a criminal king using the gold, making plans to reclaim Jenny, assassinate Kishanlal, and employ Ranjeet in the process.
Jenny returns from abroad and Anthony falls head over heels in love with her during Easter Sunday services. When Robert takes Bharati hostage, she escapes with a minor head injury and miraculously regains her sight at an Akbar-hosted festival to honor Sai Baba of Shirdi. In addition, she recognizes Akbar as Raju based on a picture of her and Mr. Ilahabadi, while he recognizes her as the blind woman he drove home that fateful night.
Akbar rescues Salma and Taiyyab Ali from a house fire set by Taiyyab’s blackmailing former mistress. A grateful Taiyyab gives permission for Akbar and Salma’s marriage, leading to Akbar and Amar discovering they are brothers, Kishanlal and Bharati their parents.
When Jenny’s bodyguard Zebisco double-crosses Kishanlal and takes her to Robert in exchange for her hand in marriage, things take a dramatic turn. Father Gonsalves and Lakshmi see her abducted, but Lakshmi is also taken by Ranjeet and Robert murders Father Gonsalves – planting Kishanlal’s Kali talisman as a ‘clue.’ Through Father Gonsalves’ death Anthony discovers that Kishanlal and Bharati are his parents and Amar and Akbar his brothers.
The brothers take action to infiltrate Robert’s mansion. When strangers attempt to collect Jenny’s wedding dress, Akbar becomes suspicious and pretends to be an elderly dithering tailor who goes with them to make last-minute alterations. Salma reads a letter he sent to his adoptive father, and she agrees to work with him as his “assistant/wife” to help the girls get away. Amar and Anthony waylay and impersonate the one-man band and Catholic priest on their way to Robert’s to marry Jenny and Zebisco. As they pursue Robert, Zebisco, Ranjeet, and the remaining criminals, the brothers celebrate their reunion.
Bharati is glad he is still alive, but she is devastated to learn that Kishanlal will be imprisoned for his crimes. However, he assures her that the only thing that matters to him is their reunited family. Superintendent Khanna, recovered from Robert’s attack, briefly releases Kishanlal so that he may embrace his sons. The brothers and their lovers are seen driving happily into the sunset at the film’s conclusion.
Cast
Credit – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amar_Akbar_Anthony#Cast
- Vinod Khanna as Amar Khanna, the eldest
- Amitabh Bachchan as Anthony, Gonsalvas the middle son
- Rishi Kapoor as Akbar, the Youngest son
- Parveen Babi as Jenny
- Shabana Azmi as Lakshmi
- Neetu Singh as Salma
- Nirupa Roy as Bharati (Amar, Akbar and Anthony’s mother)
- Pran as Kishanlal (Amar, Akbar and Anthony’s father)
- Jeevan as Robert and Albert
- Yusuf Khan as Zebisco (Jenny’s bodyguard)
- Mukri as Taiyyab Ali (Salma’s father)
- Nazir Hussain as Father Gonsalves (Anthony’s adoptive father)
- Kamal Kapoor as Superintendent Khanna (Amar’s adoptive father)
- Hercules as Raghu
- Shivraj as Mr. Ilahabadi (Akbar’s adoptive father)
- Prathima Devi as Lakshmi’s grandmother
- Moolchand as Pedro (Robert’s friend)
- Helen as Fake Jenny
- Nadira as Lakshmi’s stepmother
- Madhumati
- Ranjeet as Ranjeet (Lakshmi’s stepbrother)
Our General Review
Alright, buckle up, folks, because I’m about to take you on a wild, hilarious ride through the 1977 Bollywood classic *Amar Akbar Anthony*—a film so delightfully bonkers it’s like someone threw a masala dosa, a disco ball, and a family reunion into a blender and hit “puree.” Directed by the legendary Manmohan Desai, this movie is peak 70s Bollywood: over-the-top, absurdly entertaining, and so full of heart it could make a grumpy cat sob into its kibble.
Let’s start with the plot—or, as I like to call it, the “How Many Coincidences Can We Cram Into Three Hours?” challenge. The story kicks off with a poor driver, Kishanlal (Pran), who’s got a heart of gold and a family of five to feed. One day, he accidentally becomes a getaway driver for some goons, and his life goes from “tough but manageable” to “full-on soap opera meltdown.” His wife, Bharati (Nirupa Roy), gets tuberculosis, his kids are starving, and then—bam!—he’s framed for a crime he didn’t commit. In a fit of desperation, he abandons his three sons—Amar, Akbar, and Anthony—at a park, because apparently, that’s how you solve problems in the 70s.
Now, here’s where the fun begins. The three boys are separated faster than you can say “lost and found,” and each gets adopted by a different family, raised in a different religion. Amar (Vinod Khanna) becomes a tough-as-nails Hindu cop who probably benches rickshaws for fun. Akbar (Rishi Kapoor) turns into a Muslim qawwali-singing charmer who’s got more swagger than a peacock on a catwalk. And Anthony (Amitabh Bachchan) is a Catholic street-smart goofball who talks to God like they’re old drinking buddies. I mean, come on, this setup is so wild it’s like the universe said, “Let’s see how much chaos we can stir up before the interval!”
The performances? Oh, they’re a riot. Amitabh Bachchan as Anthony is the MVP here—strutting around in a one-piece suit, cracking one-liners, and beating up baddies with a grin that says, “I’m having way too much fun.” There’s this iconic scene where he stumbles out of a giant Easter egg, drunk as a skunk, and starts philosophizing about life. It’s so ridiculous you can’t help but laugh until your sides hurt. Rishi Kapoor’s Akbar is all charm and melody, belting out “Parda Hai Parda” like he’s auditioning for the role of Bollywood’s smoothest operator. And Vinod Khanna’s Amar is the straight man in this circus, keeping things grounded while secretly wishing he could join the party.
The women in the film—Parveen Babi (Jenny), Shabana Azmi (Lakshmi), and Neetu Singh (Salma)—are fabulous, though they’re mostly there to look gorgeous and give the boys something to pine over. But let’s talk about Nirupa Roy as the mom, Bharati. This woman cries so much she could single-handedly solve a drought. She also goes blind—because of course she does—and spends half the movie bumping into things while the audience yells, “Your kids are right there, lady!”
The music? Absolute bangers. Shankar-Jaikishan and Laxmikant-Pyarelal cooked up a soundtrack that’s catchier than a cold in monsoon season. “My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves” is a disco fever dream where Amitabh basically invents cool. “Shirdi Wale Sai Baba” has Rishi Kapoor serenading a crowd with so much energy you’ll want to jump up and dance. And don’t get me started on “Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyar”—it’s the kind of song that makes you believe love can survive anything, even a plot this insane.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: the logic—or lack thereof. This movie doesn’t just bend reality; it snaps it in half, sets it on fire, and dances on the ashes. Blood transfusions from random strangers? Sure. A mother recognizing her sons after 20 years by sheer vibes? Why not! A villain named Robert (Jeevan) who’s so cartoonishly evil he might as well twirl a mustache? Check. And that climax where all three brothers donate blood to their mom at the same time while singing? It’s so absurdly wholesome you’ll either cheer or check if you’ve accidentally slipped into a parallel universe.
Is *Amar Akbar Anthony* a masterpiece of coherent storytelling? Nope. Is it a laugh-a-minute, feel-good extravaganza that’ll leave you grinning like an idiot? You bet your last samosa it is. It’s a film that says, “Life’s messy, family’s messier, but if you’ve got love and a killer soundtrack, you’ll be just fine.” So, grab some popcorn, suspend your disbelief at the door, and let this glorious trainwreck of a movie take you for a spin. You won’t regret it—unless you hate fun, in which case, who hurt you?
People General Review (Taken From Google)
