Aankhen (1993)

First of all I can't hold it; Govinda is a turn off ! That guy, while being acceptably comic some times, wants to do all; comedy, action, romance, melodrama, and singing. Well dear, you're not Amitabh Bachchan ! I don't know for whom he makes his unbelievable movies? Why doesn't he stick to comedies? God, would I live long enough to watch a good, sane, entertaining movie for him ?! Sure Aankhen isn't that movie at all. However I kept laughing in front of it nearly all the time. Of course not for being funny, but for being idiot ! Originally it's a comedy, but it's full of blood; at extremely awful moment a kid is being shot in a rare scene for a movie of that sort ! It's not a melodrama, but at one of the strangest writing moves in history, the movie creates a lost-and-found theme with 2 look-alikes for the lead's father and the lead, and – try not to laugh – they are the father's twin brother and his son?? So, either the twin brothers married a twin sisters to born identical sons (unlikely!), or one of the brothers slept with the other's wife to gave birth to a twin kids he stole one of them (likely!), or maybe the crack, that the writer was on, was so BAAAAAAAAAD (as likely as not!). Another thing; this movie actually has an Indian god in it, the monkey, yet not as a wise adviser but as an action figure. See how many precedents this movie has ?!Then, Did you see the monkey? It seemed like a cat with a terrible mask for a monkey?, how it appears suddenly with the same outfit of the heroes? (In fact how any god could support this couple of slackers ?!!), Did you see how Govinda turned out to be alive? Or how the thieves of his match do nothing but to shave him (Did you heard about thieves that shave their victim before ?!), Did you see how Shakti Kapoor has a hate for wearing a shirt ?, Did you see the unknown man who the fake Chief Minister shots in the hospital, the one standing behind Chunky Pandey?! WHO WAS THAT MAN? AND HOW HE, NEITHER PANDEY, COULDN'T SEE KAPOOR HIDDING UNDER THE CHAIR IN FRONT OF THEM ???!, and please, Did you see how Govinda killed the evil man brutally at the end (by throwing him to a plane's fan), while he could have been easily handed over to the police?!, most probably they would have executed him later by exposing him to a copy of this movie. On second thought, throw him to a plane's fan more mercifully !Well, I can go forever with this "Did you see.." routine, since the idiot moments are endless, and forced is what this movie is all about. Still the most overblown one is the matter of the provincial look-alikes ?!! I still ask, what was the need to that storyline ?? This is one of the biggest mysteries I have ever met ? But wait a second, is it "I have ever met" or " I have ever met in an Indian movie?" Because there is an important difference, since at the second the sky is the limit (even if it wasn't a fantasy !).Despite that the editing could form a sane personality for a chain of absolutely crazy events, it's still so nervous movie. So with the overdone action, countless coincidences, Govinda, another totally incomprehensible and useless Govinda, a Rambo monkey (that wasn't meant for laughing), shouting everybody, and blood (not mine thankfully).. then it's a wild ride of Bollywood hallucination ! Near its end I felt hysteria. And when I read that it was 1993's biggest Bollywood hit I felt both mad and sad. You have to really pity the Indian moviegoers for loving such a movie that much. Mindless entertainment wasn't that mindless and unentertaining like that before. So how come a camp masterpiece, like Aankhen, IS a masterpiece for them at the moment ?!P.S : Again, why all the bad Indian movies that I have watched has to belong to the decade of the 1990s ?!

1993's Biggest Box Office Hit, 'Aankhen' is a Superb film! Though I had seen it ages back, but, even today, the film manages to hold my attention. David Dhawan directs this Out-And-Out Time-Pass fare nicely, while the performances are memorable.'Aankhen' tells the story of Two wealthy good-for-nothing kids, Munnu and Bunnu, played by Govinda & Chunky Pandey, who, get involved in a conspiracy to replace a Chief Minister with a lookalike by some corrupt government officials.It's an entertaining film. In fact, the first hour is full of hilarious moments. The second hour becomes intense, but the interest remains alive in it's viewer. David Dhawan knows his job, and he proves it once again. Music by the legendary Bappi Lahiri, is foot-tapping.Performance-Wise: Govinda is absolutely fantastic. He plays both the roles with unseen ease. Chunky Pandey does a good job. Raj Babbar is excellent. Kader Khan, Bindu & Sadashiv Amrapurkar, stand out. Shakti Kapoor shines. Gulshan Grover leaves a mark. Shilpa Shirodkar, Raageshwari & Ritu Shivpuri are passable.On the whole, A Must Watch for those who enjoy Entertaining Cinema, where anything can happen. Two Thumbs Up!

This movie has a lot of firsts. Although David Dhawan and Govinda had worked together before this was the first comedy the 2 made together which would be followed by all those hits. This was the first (and it happened only once more) that the competitors of those days Govinda and Chunky came together in a movie. Of course Govinda ate Chunky alive in his dual role. Finally this is one of the first times that a remake is actually better than the original which is a classic itself. AANKHEN is a remake of S. Raamanathan's DO PHOOL with Mahmood in Govinda's role and Vinod Mehra in Chunky's role. The heroine of the movie was Anjana Mumtaz, nowadays better known as the screenmother of Akshay Kumar. Kadar Khan in a dual role is also good as usual but (except for Govinda of course) the best in the movie is Sadashiv Amrapurkar in his FIRST comedy role. Raj Babbar is oke and Ritu Shivpuri (daughter of Om Shivpuri) is watchable. From the heroines Shilpa Shirodkar is the best. With the hitsongs LAL DUPATTE WALI AND ANGANA MEIN BABA

This movie is a typical David Dhawan fare. Be sure to turn off your brains while watching the movie. After that well the movie is pretty enjoyable and the gags are rather effective. Chunkey and Govinda are in a double role; as a result comedy of errors follows and hence laughter ensues. The supporting cast also fits in to the fullest. Kader Khan is at his best. The villains are pretty much dirtiest type a comedy can have and are rather menacing. Overall its a fun filled 3 hours ride, I would recommend it to anyone who can digest and enjoy Govinda-David Dhawan brand of humour. And yes look out for the monkey who's the third most important member of the cast.