''Disco Dancer'' is a 1982 Indian

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

, written by Rahi Masoom Raza and directed by Babbar Subhash. It stars

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and politician who predominantly works in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. In a career spa ...

and Kim in leading roles, with Om Puri, Gita Siddharth and

Karan Razdan Karan Razdan (born 25 April 1961) is an Indian actor, writer and director, who works in Bollywood. Career He began his writing career with an unforgettable television show named ‘’Rajni’’ and then wrote produced and made his debut as dir ...

in supporting roles with

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

in a special appearance. The film tells the rags-to-riches story of a young street performer from the

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. The film is known for its

filmi Filmi () music soundtracks are music produced for India's mainstream motion picture industry and written and performed for Cinema of India, Indian cinema. In cinema, List of Indian film music directors, music directors make up the main body of c ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

Bollywood songs, composed by Bappi Lahiri and written by Anjaan and Faruk Kaiser. Popular songs include "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" sung by Parvati Khan, "I am a Disco Dancer" sung by Vijay Benedict, "Yaad Aa Raha Hai" sung by Bappi Lahiri, and "Goro Ki Na Kaalo Ki" sung by Suresh Wadkar with

Usha Mangeshkar Usha Mangeshkar is an Indian singer who has recorded many Marathi, Manipuri, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Odia and Assamese songs. She is the youngest among four Mangeshkar sisters, after Lata Mangeshkar, Meena ...

. The film was a worldwide success, with its popularity extending across Asia, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. ''Disco Dancer'' was also the second highest-grossing film ever in the Soviet Union and the highest-grossing foreign film. ''Disco Dancer'' established Mithun as a household name wherever the film went well, with Jimmy became a more popular name for

. The

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

was also a success, going

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

in India and receiving a Gold Award in China. Adjusted for inflation, it is still one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.

Plot

Anil, a street performer and wedding singer from the

, is scarred by the memory of the rich P. N. Oberoi beating his mother in an incident during his childhood. When manager David Brown is fed up with the tantrums of current Indian

champion Sam and looks for some new talent, he happens to see Anil dance-walking across a street. Rebranded as 'Jimmy', the rising disco star must take the throne from Sam and win the heart of Rita, Oberoi's daughter. All seems to be going well until Oberoi hires men to connect Jimmy's

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

to 5,000 volts of electricity, causing Jimmy's mother to die in a tragic accident. Jimmy gets guitar phobia after witnessing his mother's death. Later, Oberoi's goons break his legs. With help from Rita, Jimmy begins to walk. Jimmy must claim first place for Team

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at the International Disco Dancing Competition amidst strong competition from Team Africa (Disco King and Queen) and Paris (Disco King and Queen). Jimmy is reluctant to dance, but Rita persuades him to do so. Sam arrives with a guitar to scare Jimmy. Rita manages to drag the show to encourage Jimmy to sing but to no avail. The crowd pelts him with stones which hit his head. Jimmy's uncle Raju arrives and advises him to infuse his mother and his music; he throws the guitar to Jimmy, after which Jimmy begins to sing. Oberoi's goons kill Raju, after which Jimmy travels to their lair and beats them up. In the ensuing fight, Oberoi is electrocuted.

Cast

as Anil / Jimmy * Kim as Rita Oberoi *

as Master Raju * Om Puri as David Brown *

Om Shivpuri Om Shivpuri (14 July 1938 – 15 October 1990) was an Indian theatre actor-director and character actor in Hindi films. A National School of Drama, New Delhi alumnus, Shivpuri became the first chief of the National School of Drama Repertory C ...

as P.N. Oberoi * Gita Siddharth as Radha *

as Sam * Yusuf Khan as Vasco *

Bob Christo Robert John Christo, was an Australian–Indian civil engineer and actor in Hindi films. Starting with Sanjay Khan's '' Abdullah'' (1980), he went on to act in over 200 Hindi films in the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Qurbani'' (1980), '' Kaali ...

as a Russian goon * Kalpana Iyer as Nikki Brown * Chandrashekhar Viadya as Mayor Khandelwal * Master Chhotu as younger Anil * Baby Pinky as younger Rita

Production

The title song ''I am a Disco Dancer'' was shot at Natraj Studio in Mumbai over three days, where scenes featuring Mithun Chakrobarty's signature moves were filmed. Thereafter, the shooting featured crowds scenes at Filmistan Studio in Mumbai.

Soundtrack

The music for all the songs were composed by Bappi Lahiri and the lyrics were penned by Anjaan and Faruk Kaiser. The tracks on the 1982 soundtrack album are as follows: The song "Yaad Aa Raha Hai" has been described as a synthesized, minimalist, high-tempo, electronic disco song. Geeta Dayal described it as a "

anthem for the ages, and one of the best songs Lahiri ever did." The song "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" has similarities to 1980 French

song "T’es OK" by

Ottawan Ottawan is a French pop music duo, who had the hit singles "D.I.S.C.O." and "Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)" in the early 1980s. Fronted by Patrick Jean-Baptiste and formerly Annette Eltice, the band were masterminded through a cooperation betwee ...

. The song "Auva Auva" (picturized on Karan Razdan's character Sam) was inspired by the 1979

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

hit " Video Killed the Radio Star" by

The Buggles The Buggles are an English New wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1977 by singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes. They are best known for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star", which topped the UK ...

. The song "Cerrone's Paradise" by Cerrone was used in the scene when David Brown discovers Anil who is dance-walking down a street. The song "Krishna Dharti Pe Aaja Tu" was inspired by "Jesus" by Tielman Brothers. This version was used in the movie where Jimmy is practicing dance. The ''Disco Dancer'' soundtrack was popular worldwide, particularly in India, the Soviet Union, and China.''Global Bollywood: Travels of Hindi Song and Dance'', page 88

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...

, 2008 The soundtrack went

in India, equivalent to 1million sales, and received a Gold Award in China.

Box office

In India, the film grossed in 1982. It was the 7th or 14th highest-grossing film at the domestic Indian box office in 1982, with its strongest commercial performance in the

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

state, home to actor

and composer Bappi Lahiri. In the

, the film released in 1984, with 1,013 prints. It drew an audience of 60.9million viewers in 1984, becoming the most successful film at the Soviet box office that year,''Indian Films in Soviet Cinemas: The Culture of Movie-going After Stalin''
, page 211,

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

, 2005 the biggest foreign hit in the 1980s, the fourth biggest box office hit of the decade, the eighth biggest foreign hit of all time, and one of the top 25 biggest box office hits of all time. Including re-runs, the film sold an estimated million tickets in the Soviet Union. In terms of

gross revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

, it earned 60 million

Soviet ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, r=rubl', p=rublʲ) was the currency of the Soviet Union. It was introduced in 1922 and replaced the Russian ruble#Imperial ruble (1704-1922), Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks ...

s (

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

75.85 million, 94.28 crore), the highest for an Indian film, surpassing '' Awaara''s 29 million roubles. This made it the highest-grossing Indian film overseas up until it was surpassed by the over 100 crore overseas gross of '' My Name is Khan'' (2010) and ''

3 Idiots ''3 Idiots'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Shar ...

'' (2009). ''Disco Dancer'' was also a success in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, when it released there in 1983. The song "Jimmy Jimmy" was popular there. According to

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and television personality who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. Referred to as "Mr. Perfectionist" in the media, he is known for his work in a variety of film g ...

is famous in China due to the song. Worldwide, ''Disco Dancer'' grossed a combined crore (US$ million) in India and the Soviet Union. This surpassed the 35 crore gross of ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian epic action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired ...

'' (1975),Top 10 biggest commercial hits of Amitabh Bachchan
business-standard.com making ''Disco Dancer'' the highest-grossing Indian film worldwide up until it was surpassed by the 135 crore gross of ''

Hum Aapke Hain Koun ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (''HAHK'', ) is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by Rajshri Productions. The film stars Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan and celebrates Indian ...

'' (1994). ''Disco Dancer'' was the first Indian film to gross 100 crore worldwide.

Remakes

It was remade in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

as '' Paadum Vaanampadi'' with Anand Babu, and in Telugu as '' Disco King'' with

Nandamuri Balakrishna Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), also known as Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, film producer, politician and philanthropist known for his works in Telugu cinema. Balakrishna is an elected member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative A ...

. Babbar Subhash & Nitin Kumar Gupta are producing a remake of a same name and is tentatively being written by V. Vijayendra Prasad.

Legacy

Upon release, ''Disco Dancer'' was a phenomenon, both domestically and internationally. Prior to the film's release,

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

was dominated by "angry young man" Bombay underworld films, an action crime film genre pioneered by screenwriter duo Salim–Javed a decade earlier in the early 1970s. These films often explored

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and "hero versus system" themes, often presented a poor

hero's journey In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's quest or hero's journey, also known as the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home ch ...

from rags-to-riches, and involved violent

revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

plots against villains. ''Disco Dancer'' took the "angry young man" genre and subverted it: instead of having Jimmy fight the villains or get revenge through violence, he instead gets revenge and defeats the villains through disco dancing. This led to a wave of

-themed Bollywood musicals in India, and it become a global phenomenon outside of India. It was a blockbuster in Asia and the former Soviet Union, and drew a large global

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

, from Japan where a Jimmy statue was built in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, to the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

where ''Disco Dancer'' became the defining example of a stereotypical "Bollywood" film. Retrospectively, the film has received a polarizing critical reception, with praise for its music and dance numbers but criticism towards its plot, with Anuvab Pal calling it an

ironic Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

Popular culture

The title song "I Am a Disco Dancer" was the inspiration for

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

's song " Disco Dancer" (1988). The British Sri Lankan alternative rapper M.I.A.

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

"Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" as "

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

" in 2007 for her album '' Kala''. There have been

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja" from other international musicians, including the 1998 hit "Jimmy" by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

group Ruki Vverh, "Jimmy Jimmy" by Russian artists DJ Slon and Angel-A, and a cover version by Tibetan artist Kelsang Metok. The music from "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja" was used in the final fight scene in the

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

film ''

You Don't Mess with the Zohan ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' is a 2008 American Satire (film and television), satirical Action comedy, action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow. Sandler also stars, alongside Joh ...

''. In 2010, the songs "I Am a Disco Dancer" and "Yaad Aa Raha Hai" were used in the 2010

, '' Golmaal 3'', directed by

Rohit Shetty Rohit Shetty (born 14 March 1974) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, stuntman, producer and television personality who works in Hindi cinema. A notable director of Hindi cinema, his movies often mix the genres of action comedy and masala f ...

. The songs were relevant to the performance of

's character Pritam, who reflected on his past as a young mega-hit disco dancer.

's special appearance as Disco Fighter in the

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

starrer 2011 film '' Delhi Belly'' is inspired by Mithun Chakraborty's role in ''Disco Dancer''. "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja" and "I Am a Disco Dancer" are very popular in countries such as

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

such as

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Baimurat Allaberiyev, an ethnic Uzbek from

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, became an internet sensation by singing "Goron Ki Na Kalon Ki" and "Jimmy Aaja" in a warehouse. The 2008 video recorded on a mobile phone got over 1 million views on YouTube. He landed an acting role in a Russian comedy film, ''Six Degrees of Celebration'' (2010). The film's soundtrack was used during the end credits of the 2019 Tamil film '' Super Deluxe''. Korean K-pop artist Aoora in collaboration with

Saregama Saregama India Ltd is an Indian music record label and content company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is the oldest music label in India, established in 1901 as the Indian branch of the British Gramophone Company. It later became ...

released the K-pop version of "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja".

Notes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0208903, Disco Dancer 1982 films 1980s dance films 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s Indian films 1980s Urdu-language films 1980s musical comedy-drama films Films directed by Babbar Subhash Films scored by Bappi Lahiri Films set in India Disco films Hindi films remade in other languages Indian dance films Indian films about revenge Indian musical comedy-drama films Urdu films remade in other languages 1982 drama films Urdu-language Indian films Indian musical drama films Indian action drama films Indian action films 1982 action films 1982 musical films