''Tezaab'' () is a 1988 Indian

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

-language action romance film starring

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

and

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters ...

in lead roles. The film gave Dixit her first big break, making her an overnight star. in addition to reaffirming Kapoor's star status, after a successful '' Mr. India'' (1987). The film was produced and directed by N. Chandra. The music was composed by

Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...

. ''Tezaab'' released on 11 November 1988, and proved to be a major commercial success at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. It ran in theatres for more than 50 weeks, becoming a golden jubilee success. With ''Tezaab'', N. Chandra scored a box office hat-trick with his previous hits '' Ankush'' (1986) and '' Pratighaat'' (1987). The film is also popular for the song " Ek Do Teen", which was a chartbusting success. It received positive reviews from critics upon release, with praise for its story, screenplay, dialogues, soundtrack, and performances of the cast. At the

34th Filmfare Awards The 34th Filmfare Awards were held in 1988, after a 2-year gap. ''Tezaab'' led the ceremony with 12 nominations, followed by '' Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'' with 11 nominations and ''Khoon Bhari Maang'' with 7 nominations. ''Qayamat Se Qayamat Ta ...

, ''Tezaab'' received a leading 12 nominations,

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, Best Director (Chandra),

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

(Dixit) and Best Supporting Actor (Pandey), and won 4 awards, including Best Actor (Kapoor), Best Female Playback Singer ( Alka Yagnik) and Best Choreography ( Saroj Khan), the latter two for the song "Ek Do Teen". At the ceremony, Kapoor scored his first Best Actor win, while Dixit garnered her first-ever

nomination. The film was remade in Telugu as '' Two Town Rowdy'', with Daggubati Venkatesh and in Tamil '' Rojavai Killathe'', with Arjun. The core storyline is loosely based on the 1984 film '' Streets of Fire''.

Plot

Inspector Singh (

Suresh Oberoi Suresh Oberoi (born 17 December 1946) is an Indian actor and politician who appeared in Hindi films. He is a recipient of the 1987 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He started his career in radio shows, modelling and later moving ...

) gets a tip about Munna (

), entering his jurisdiction, so he checks Munna's file. Inspector Singh recognises Munna as cadet Mahesh Deshmukh, a brilliant cadet whom he met a few years ago at a bank robbery crime scene in Nasik, whereby Mahesh's parents and many other bank employees were mercilessly killed by a gang of robbers. Inspector Singh tracks Munna, re-kindles his relationship and asks him where he disappeared after the bank incident. To which Munna/Mahesh replies: He had shifted to Bombay with his sister Jyoti, where he met an impoverished and unfortunate but kind-hearted and gentlewoman, Mohini, who was forced to dance to make money for her father Shyamlal (Anupam Kher). He is a drunkard who does not want to marry off Mohini because she made money for him by dancing in nearby nightclubs. He behaved similarly with his wife (Suhas Joshi), and when she had refused to do as he wished, he threw acid on her. Mohini's Mother committed suicide thereafter. In his youth, Shyamlal had taken a huge loan from Lotiya Pathan (a dreaded gangster) and the only way to repay it was to make Mohini dance. Shyamlal also has to deal with Chote Khan, the younger brother of Lotiya, who was involved in the Bank robbery and had killed Mahesh/Munna's parents, and also Chote Khan was arrested due to Mahesh/Munna. After release/bailout, immediately Chote Khan had attempted to rape Jyoti, but Mahesh killed Chote Khan in self-defense. For this, Mahesh/Munna was arrested and sentenced to one year in jail, after which he changed his name to Munna. On learning the whole story from Mahesh/Munna, Inspector Singh allows him to complete his task and stipulates some conditions, including the time and date of return/surrender. When Lotiya hears that Mahesh/Munna is back in town, he kidnaps Mohini. Shyamlal now approaches/begs Munna to get Mohini rescued ASAP and requires that she be returned to him only. Mahesh rescues Mohini, and they rejoice to see each other again after a long time, but Mahesh asks Mohini to return to her father; Mohini becomes sad again as she had expected to follow with her lover. As he had promised Inspector Singh, Munna surrenders whereupon he is tried and tested in Court and then sent to prison for some time. After a retrial, Munna is acquitted of his charges and plans to start afresh in another city –

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. However, his sister Jyoti convinces Mahesh/ Munna not to forget his lover Mohini – so Mahesh/Munna sends his friends- Guldasta and Baban – to explain to Mohini where her lover is now. The evil father, Shyamlal, overhears Mohini's plans to escape and is enraged, and he tries to stop Mohini from leaving. Guldasta and Shyamlal have a fight in which both die, but Mohini manages to escape safely, and Mohini meets Munna again. However, Lotiya, learning of Munna's acquittal, conspires to kill him as revenge for his brother's death – so they all meet up at a dockyard. Baban (

Chunky Pandey Suyash Panday (born 26 September 1962), better known by his stage name Chunky Panday, is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He has appeared in over 100 films in a career that has spanned over three decades. His most successful films ...

) gets a tip of Lotiya's conspiracy and challenges Lotiya. Lotiya gets enraged, and a fight between him and Baban ends in Lotiya getting defeated. Baban wants to kill Lotiya in the fit of rage, but Munna intercepts him and stops him from committing murder. Meanwhile, Lotiya regains his strength and goes to attack Munna with a club. Baban dies, deflecting the attack. Munna fights back at Lotiya and is about to kill him, but Inspector Singh interrupts just in time to stop him from taking the law into his hands. Inspector Singh recognizes he's breaking the law but allows Munna to fight Lotiya as he sees this as a way of Munna letting go of his anger and hatred he holds within himself. As Munna defeats Lotiya, Lotiya quickly gets up and tries to attack and kill Munna, but Inspector Singh kills him with his service pistol, and justice is served finally. ; Alternate ending Baban does not die here; excluding this fact, the rest of the ending is exactly like the original.

Cast

as Mahesh "Munna" Deshmukh *

as Mohini Dhanyekar * Anupam Kher as Shyamlal Dhanyekar, Mohini's father *

as Sushim "Baban" Choudhry, Munna's friend * Suparna Anand as Jyoti Deshmukh, Munna's younger sister *

Kiran Kumar Kiran Kumar (born as Deepak Dhar; 20 October 1953) is an Indian screen and theatre actor. He has worked in numerous Hindi, Bhojpuri and Gujarati television and film productions. His latest work in drama is ''Charlie 2''. Personal life Kumar co ...

as Lotiya Pathan *

Annu Kapoor Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor; 20 February 1956) is an Indian actor, singer, director, radio disc jockey, and television presenter who has appeared in over a hundred films, as well as television series. His career has spanned over 40 years as a ...

as Abbas Ali / Guldasta *

as Inspector Gagan Singh *

Tej Sapru Tej Sapru (born 5 January 1955) is an Indian actor. He is the son of D. K. Sapru and Hemvati, both of whom were actors in the Hindi film industry. He has appeared in a number of Bollywood films of between the 1980s and 2010s, including ''Gupt'', ...

as Rantej Saxena *

Johnny Lever Johnny Lever (born John Prakash Rao Janumala; 14 August 1957) is an Indian actor and popular comedian who is known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is one of the first stand-up comedians in India. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, in ...

as Kainchee Singh, Munna's friend * Mahavir Shah as Inspector Tarachand Gupta *

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

as Rookki *

Jack Gaud Jack Gaud (1958 8 June 2000) was an Indian actor, film producer & military personnel known mostly for portrayal of negative roles in Hindi cinema. He died of a heart attack at the age of 42 in 2000. He entered cinema after leaving the Indian ...

as Mukut Bihari *

Dinesh Hingoo Dinesh Hingoo (born 13 April 1940) is an Indian actor who plays comic & supporting roles in Hindi films. He had appeared in over 300 films, from ''Taqdeer (1967)'' to ''Be Careful (2011)'', and is known for his laughter and impersonations inclu ...

as Marwadi Seth * Achyut Potdar as Namrish Deshmukh, Munna's father *

Vijay Patkar Vijay Patkar (born 29 May 1961) is an Indian theatre, television, Marathi film and Bollywood actor. He is best known for his comic roles in films like ''Tezaab'', ''Apna Sapna Money Money'', ''Golmaal 3'', '' Tees Maar Khan'', '' Daddy Cool'', ...

as Chiraunji Surwadhre, Munna's friend * Jaywant Wadkar as Aman Pratap Ahuja, Munna's friend * Mandakini as Nikita Sharma (

Cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

) *

Suhas Joshi Suhasini Joshi (born 12 July 1947), popularly known by her screen name Suhas Joshi, is a Marathi theater, film and television actress. She is also seen in many Bollywood films. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018 for Acting ...

as Sumira Dhanyekar, Mohini's mother (Cameo appearance) *

Ravi Patwardhan Ravi Patwardhan (6 September 1937 – 5 December 2020) was an Indian actor who appeared in Marathi-language and Hindi-language movies and TV serials and theater plays. He started his acting career in Marathi theatre, then pivoted to movies, an ...

as Lawyer, Public Prosecutor

Soundtrack

The song ''Ek Do Teen'' was inspired by the opening bars of an old popular song "Chanda Mama Door Ke" composed by the famous yesteryears music composer Ravi for the film ''

Vachan ''Vachan'' (Hindi: वचन English: Word) is a 1955 Indian Bollywood film directed by Raj Rishi and produced by Devendra Goel. The film stars Geeta Bali and Rajendra Kumar in lead roles. The film marked the debut of composer Ravi. It was also ...

'' (1955). The film's soundtrack album sold more than 8million units, becoming the second best-selling

Bollywood music Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with danc ...

album of 1988, behind only '' Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak''. ''Ek Do Teen'' was subsequently recreated for another movie ''

Baaghi 2 } ''Baaghi 2'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romantic martial-arts action thriller film directed by Ahmed Khan. Produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, it is the second installment in ''Baaghi'' film series, a spiritual sequel to ...

'', sung this time by

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards ...

. ''So Gaya Yeh Jahan'' also remade for another film. In 2013, this song was remade for

Nautanki Saala! ''Nautanki Saala!'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Rohan Sippy, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Kunaal Roy Kapur along with Pooja Salvi, Evelyn Sharma and Gaelyn Mendonca. The story is based upon ...

sung by

Nitin Mukesh Nitin Mukesh Mathur is an Indian playback singer known for his work as a playback singer in Hindi films as well as Bhajans. He has toured internationally, including to the United States in 1993, and a world tour in 2006 with his show ''Kal K ...

with composer

. On 2019, this song remade again for movie Bypass Road, sung by

featuring

Jubin Nautiyal Jubin Nautiyal (born 14 June 1989) is an Indian playback singer and live performer. In June 2022, he won the IIFA award for “Playback Singer (Male)” for the song “Raataan Lambiyan.” He was awarded Upcoming Male Vocalist of the Year at ...

and Saloni Thakkar with composer Raaj Aashoo.

Awards

;

: ;;Won * Best Actor –

* Best Female Playback Singer – Alka Yagnik for "Ek Do Teen" * Best Choreography – Saroj Khan for "Ek Do Teen" * Best Dialogue –

Kamlesh Pandey Kamlesh Pandey is an Indian screenwriter with more than 30 years' experience in advertising, 20 years in films and 14 years in television. He has won the Filmfare Awards for Tezaab, Star Screen Awards for Saudagar and IIFA Award for Rang De Bas ...

;; Nominated *

– N. Chandra * Best Director – N. Chandra *

–

* Best Supporting Actor – Chunkey Pandey * Best Music Director –

* Best Lyricist – Javed Akhtar for "Ek Do Teen" * Best Male Playback Singer –

Amit Kumar Amit Kumar (born 3 July 1952) is an Indian playback singer, actor, music composer. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, inc ...

for "Ek Do Teen" * Best Female Playback Singer –

Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singer and also as one of the most successful playback singers ...

for "Keh Do Ke Tum"

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0096252, title=Tezaab 1988 films 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s crime action films Indian crime action films Indian action thriller films Indian romantic musical films Indian romantic thriller films Indian crime thriller films Indian vigilante films Indian nonlinear narrative films 1980s romantic musical films 1988 action thriller films 1980s romantic thriller films 1980s crime thriller films Films directed by N. Chandra Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Indian remakes of American films Hindi films remade in other languages Films set in Maharashtra Films set in Mumbai Films shot in Maharashtra Films shot in Mumbai Indian romantic action films 1980s masala films 1980s romantic action films 1980s vigilante films