| GENERAL
DATA |
|
|
| other
titles |
|
-
'sazaa' means 'punishment'
|
| catch
phrases |
|
•
- |
| release
category |
|
big-screen-movie |
| genre |
|
action
thriller |
| length |
|
about
133 minutes |
theatrical
release
certificate |
|
India:
1972 |
| release
dates |
|
•
India - 1972 |
| |
|
|
| PRODUCTION |
|
|
| country
of production |
|
India |
| production |
|
Kapur
Films |
| executive
producer |
|
S.K.
Kapur |
| screenplay |
|
Dhruv
Chatterjee, dialogue: Ehsan Rizvi, story: S.K. Kapur |
| music |
|
MUSIC:
Sonik Omi
LYRICS: Varma (Verma) Malik
SINGERS: Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, Usha Mangeshkar, Minoo Purshotam, Mohammad
Rafi
TITLES:
'instrumental'
- a frantic nightclub show number
A woman, probably supposed to be a nagina (mythical figure), is curled up before
the knife and whip of a man who seems out to kill her. The Santana-like music
is
served
extra
hot by a band aptly called The Combustibles.
'Oh I am sorry .... Asli Nasha Hai Koi To Wo Hai Shabab
Ka' Asha Bhosle
- the nightclub singer's main appearance at the hotel
bar.
The announcer holds his mike at least an arm's length away – clearly the
recording equipment then was much better than it is today!
The singer, played by the famous film and dancing star Helen, puts on an exciting
act, supported by a squad of dancing waiters. The improbably red drinks they
tote on their trays defy gravity just as easily as the young fellas' white-socked
feet. All of this is set on a giant Lazy Susan. What would happen if someone
gave it a good swirl?
'Hum Hai Teen Tum Ho Char, Kaise Hoga Pyar' Asha Bhosle,
Usha
Mangeshkar, Minoo
Purshotam
- In this number, Helen and her companions (in drag, but don't ask
why) keep their captors occupied so one of them can call the police. The scene
looks like a den of iniquity from ancient Egypt, and this time, the Lazy Susan
does an excellent job of throwing
all into confusion!
'O Roop Ki Rani Dekh Phool Woh Kali Se Lipta Jaye' Mohammad
Rafi,
Asha
Bhosle
-
This is where Kabir throws in the
towel, as his girlfriend takes a shower, to be precise. A rare song and dance
scene uniting Kabir and his love interest Sonali (Yogeeta Bali) in a little dance
round the love tree, with the inevitable wet
sari scene. Never mind Kabir's black
shoes, just enjoy the song ("Oh queen
of beauty”), the shower phantasy scene and the stunning 1970s set featuring
a truly awful street lamp.
'Idhar Jo Baithe Chhod Doon Unko' Mohammad Rafi,
Asha
Bhosle
- A song in the qawwali tradition that serves to slow down the action.
'Are Naam Hai Mera Banto Jatty Ki Meri Kya Hai Baat' Mohammad
Rafi,
Asha
Bhosle, Manna Dey, Minoo Purshotam
- This is the last major dance number and comes shortly after
the second intermission, with a big noisy Indian wedding procession featuring
colourful costumes and
a groom on a suitably dressed-up Marwari horse.
released: HMV Records |
| |
|
|
| art
design |
|
D. S.
Malvankar |
| costume
design |
|
Mani
Rabadi, J. B. Chaudhary, Rekha, Chopra |
| choreography |
|
Surya
Kumar |
| action
scenes |
|
A. Ganny,
stunts: Fazal Khan, Khursheed, Balaram, Karim, Babu Sando |
| cinematography |
|
B. Gupta,
W.I.C.A. (also special effects) |
| distribution |
|
- |
| filming
location |
|
Hotel
Sun 'n Sand, Juhu Beach, Filmalaya Studios, Ranjit, Filmistan,
Famous Studio, Bombay, India |
| |
|
|
| DIRECTOR |
|
Chand |
| |
|
|
| CAST |
|
Yogeeta
Bali (Sonali Sohanlal,
Birju's (Kabir's)
girlfriend)
Ashok Kumar (Police Inspector Varma, CID CBA aka
Mr. Sohanlal)
Pran(sikand)
Helen (cabaret
dancer)
Rajendranath
Madhumati
Mehmood
(Jr.) (bell boy)
Faryal
Madan Puri
Kamaldeep
Chandra Shekhar
Kundan
Paro
Madan Mohan
Rajan Haksar
Murad
GUEST-APPEARANCE
Jeetendra (young police officer)
Rekha (dying daughter, cameo role)
Sonia Sahni
Vaishali |
| |
|
|
| SUMMARY |
|
Nothing
is quite as it seems in this true masala epic of personal tragedy,
romantic love, justice, slapstick, wild car chases, silly pranks
and furious fistfights, in which only Kabir isn't
wearing a false beard.
Who is the daddy of Kabir's love interest?
Who
is the man of mystery that gets Kabir out of jail free?
Who
are the men in drag?
And above all, who is the man in dark
glasses? |
| |
|
|
| |
|
MORE
PICTURES |
| KABIR
BEDI DETAILS |
|
|
| Kabir's
part |
|
Kabir
is billed as a guest star, but he has many scenes as the film's
main hero:
he stars as
police inspector
Birju Vishmohan.
Look out – some very brief scenes were shot using a stand-in. |
| |
|
|
| Kabir's
showstopper |
|
Kabir was about 26 at the time the film was shot, and doesn't yet
wear a beard. He shines in every respect – not least because
of the copious amounts of hair oil used by the make-up artists.
Kabir has about 20 scenes in Sazaa, right up to the end of the movie.
Kabir's first appearance
is after about 10 minutes.
He is seen through the bars of a police
cell, barefoot and in white prisoner's garb,
including a long shirt and knee-length shorts. After pacing up and
down his cell for a while, Prisoner 274 is brought to the interrogation
room. Events take a dramatic turn: Kabir is
released and dressed in uniform, with a brief to unravel a complicated
smuggling case.
Kabir's second scene
is shortly thereafter in a nightclub, where he confiscates a suitcase
full of jewellery from the very unsavoury
owner and his accomplices. This proves to be an excellent occasion
for a fistfight, in which Kabir's right is particularly impressive.
Kabir returns the case to its rightful owner, gaining the trust of
this equally unappetising character. Kabir wears long sideburns and
dark grey trousers, a shirt the colour of a stale orange, and a brownish
jacket.
In other scenes, Kabir is
bumped by a red sports car driven by a young woman (Yogeeta Bali),
and works as a mechanic on the baddies' motor.
He performs some acrobatics on top of a car that teeters on the brink
of a precipice – and of course the mandatory telephone scenes
are there, too!
The best scenes for Kabir fans are those where he is the conquering
playboy, and the romantic sing-song under the tree of love... |
| |
|
|
 |
| YUM! |
|
|
+ The
nightclub fistfight with Kabir has a few fine slapstick moments.
We learn that cigarette lighters should not be held near a person's
trouser bottoms, nor do heads and ceilings go well together...
+ The goosebump effect: Kabir runs his fingers along the skin of many a winsome wench...
+ The song number 'Oh, I'm sorry' alone is worth a cinema ticket:
Helen's bright blue-jacketed support act, the waiters, steal
the show, spinning their trays through the air
+ There's many a lighhearted moment that may not have been the
director's intention:
...when a cop at the murder scene puts down his torch to make
a phone call, it rolls off the table
...when one of the characters shaves off his beard, you can clearly
see it is false
+ There are many nostalgic shots of early 1970s Bombay, including
Marine Drive, otherwise known as the famous Queen's Necklace
+ The hotel MC appears to wear a jacket made from granny's old
curtains
+ Kabir's hair
is so smooth that a mouse could ski down it
+ Some of the telephones look like they are made of concrete,
and they are probably just as heavy
+ In an unmistakeable masala shot, a gun barrel protrudes from
between heavy curtains
+ The car dialogues are wonderfully crude studio shots
+ The film features a real American car, left-hand drive and
all (52. minute)
+ The accountant rules: the hotel room has exactly the same curtains
as one of the characters' living room
+ Film buffs, spot the five-year-old movie poster: The Man
Outside (1967), with Van Heflin, Heidelinde Weis and Pinkas Braun
+ Blooper alert:
In one of Kabir's scenes, members of the film
crew are clearly visible in the reflection of a window
+ Blooper alert:
In one of the car chases, the crooks are racing
through the countryside, and the cops through an urban landscape.
No wonder they lose track of the baddies... |
| |
|
|
 |
| EEK! |
|
|
- If
you don't like vintage 1970s Bollywood, don't bother!
- Kabir is an all-out flirt in this film but of course the kisses
are blended out...
- Scenes including drunken debauchery, as well as danger, are
filmed against a background of psychedelic red light
- Whoever thought of dressing Kabir in an orange-red shirt and
orange-red trousers?
- The band-aid on the dying Rekha's forehead is about to tumble
to the floor
- The movie, especially the final action scene on the brink
of the precipice, was rather poorly dubbed in the studio, and
there are awkward silences
between
the dialogue and
the
music |
| |
|
|
 |
| IN
SHORT... |
|
|
Sazaa
shows a clean-shaven young Kabir at
his flirtatious best – with
several members of the female sex – and giving a rare song-and-almost-dance
performance. The set was apparently designed by someone high on
illicit substances, even by 1970s standards. In all, a highly entertaining
movie for masala fans. |
| |
|
|
| discussion |
|
discuss
this movie with others |
| |
|
|
| KABIR
BEDI PICTURES |
|
|
| Kabir
stills |
|
movie
picture galleries |
| |
|
|
| |
|
MORE
PICTURES |
| |
|
|
| tv
broadcasts |
|
want
to see Kabir in
it? check TV listings of Kabir's
work - current/archives |
| not
to be confused with |
|
Fali
Mistry's social drama Sazaa (1951), starring Dev Anand, music
composed by S.D. Burman |
| |
|
|
| LINKS |
|
|
video
trailers
starring Kabir |
|
• 01
A change of fortune!
• 02 Take that!
• 03 Wink, wink, nudge, nudge
• 04 Tender loving care for Kabir
• 05 Kabir, the conqueror
• 06 A tender moment with Kabir
• 07 Carmen...
• 08 A woman scorned
• 09 Kabir and his 'queen of beauty'
• 10 Kabir throws in the towel
• 11 Strictly no kissing under
the tree of love
• 12 Kabir kebab |
| other
related links |
|
•
Pran - a
glowing tribute to 'the villain of the Millennium'
• Helen
at music india online |
| |
|
|
| INFORMATION -
QUICK BITS |
| • - |
|
| INFORMATION -
PEOPLE |
• Rekha won
the Filmfare Award 1989 "Best Actress" for her
performance as Aarti/Jyoti in Kabir's KHOON
BHARI MAANG (1988).
• Many years ago, Rekha used to live in the same apartment
as Kabir, near the beach in West-Bombay.
There were often partys.
• Rekha starred in many films with Kabir,
among them KHOON BHARI
MAANG (1988), NAGIN (1976)
and YEH AAG KAB BHUJHEGI (1991).
• Pran was
born in 1920 in Delhi and thus was about 52 when Sazaa
was made.
• Pran made movies as early as
1940 and has a career spanning more than 60 years in the
Indian film business.
• Well-known and much-loved for his many screen appearances as baddie,
Pran received from the film industry magazine Stardust
in 2000 the award of the legendary 'villain of
the Millennium'.
• Ashok Kumar was born in 1911 and died in 2001.
He was called the 'grandfather of Indian cinema', made more than 300 movies
and
starred
with Kabir in
several movies, among them RAKHI
AUR HATHKADI (1972), HARFAN
MAULA (1976).
• Ashok Kumar was one of the very first
actors to develop a more natural style of acting, moving away from the
stilted and mannerist approach that was more common at the time.
• Starring in the very successful Kismat in 1943, Ashok Kumar became
the first-ever actor to play a negative part in an Indian movie.
• Ashok Kumar's brother died on October 13, 1987
- on Ashok's birthday. Ashok
Kumar never celebrated his birthday again.
• Yogeeta Bali starred alongside Kabir also
in YAUWAN (1973), in the blockbuster NAGIN (1976),
in DAKU
AUR MAHATMA (1977)
and in AAKHRI KASAM (1979). |
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