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Deewana (1992 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Deewana' (, ) is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language melodrama film directed by Raj Kanwar and written by Sagar Sarhadi. It stars Rishi Kapoor, Divya Bharti and Shah Rukh Khan (in his film debut). The film revolves around an effervescent girl Kaajal (Bharti), depicting her travails as a widow after her husband Ravi (Kapoor) is killed and how her obsessive lover Raja (Khan) wins her over. Sushma Seth, Alok Nath and Amrish Puri play supporting roles.
The story for 'Deewana' was written by Ranbir Pushp. Guddu Dhanoa, Lalit Kapoor and Raju Kothari had co-produced the film under the banner, 'Mayank Arts'. The cinematography was handled by Harmeet Singh while A. Muthu edited it. The duo Nadeem-Shravan composed the award-winning soundtrack for the film with lyrics penned by Sameer. The muhurat shot for the film took place on 14 July 1991.
Upon its premiere on 25 June 1992, 'Deewana' was well received by critics, and emerged as a major commercial success. It went on to become the second-highest-grossing film of the year, with a worldwide gross of about , surpassed only by 'Beta'. The soundtrack album turned out to be a chartbuster and was the highest-selling soundtrack of the year. The success of the film consolidated both Khan and Bharti's foothold in the industry, and launched Kanwar's directorial career. At the 38th Filmfare Awards, it received 9 nominations and won 5 awards including Best Male Debut (Khan) and Best Female Debut (Bharti).
Plot
Kajal, a beautiful lady falls in love with and happily marries Ravi, a rich famous singer whose greedy uncle Dhirendra and cousin Narendra want his wealth. Dhirendra hires hoodlums to murder Ravi, who and Narendra fall off a cliff as Ravi kills him before his death. The hoodlums also escape, and come again for revenge. Widowed and depressed, Kajal moves to another city with Ravi's mother Laxmi.
Raja, a handsome guy accidentally hits Laxmi and meets Kajal. He falls in love with her but she reveals about being a widow. Raja's rich father Ramakant who dislikes Kajal tries to get rid of her after which Raja cuts all ties with him and begs Laxmi for marriage with Kajal. Laxmi persuades Kajal who marries Raja, but he tells him he will not touch her until she accepts him.
Raja now looks for a job. His friends open a garage with him. He meets with an accident and is hospitalised. Kajal rushes to see and realises her love for him. They begin a new life. Eventually, Raja saves a man and befriends him who turns out to be an alive Ravi.
When Raja introduces Ravi to Kajal, she is shocked by learning that Ravi survived Dhirendra's attempt to murder him. However, she stays with Raja. Dhirendra learns about Ravi. He kidnaps Kajal and Raja, demanding Ravi's property in exchange.
Raja escapes and beats Dhirendra along with Ravi. They find Kajal tied up with a bomb strapped around her. Ravi manages to switch off it. Dhirendra returns only to kill Raja. Ravi pushes him and sets the bomb off, causing a large explosion that kills the two for all. Kajal and Raja honour Ravi's sacrifice.
Cast
*Rishi Kapoor as Ravi
*Divya Bharti as Kaajal
*Shahrukh Khan as Raja Sahai, Ramakant's son.
*Amrish Puri as Dhirendra Pratap Singh
*Mohnish Behl as Narendra Pratap Singh, Dhirendra's son. (special appearance)
*Dalip Tahil as Ramakant Sahai, Raja's father.
*Sushma Seth as Laxmi Devi
*Deven Verma as Devdas Sabrangi, Kaajal's uncle.
*Asha Sachdev as Chandramukhi Sabrangi, Kaajal's aunt.
*Alok Nath as Mr. Sharma
*Ankush Mohite
*Brahmachari as Chintamani
Production
In the early 1990s, Ranbir Pushp conceived the story of 'Deewana', and Guddu Dhanoa being pleased with it, decided to bankroll the film under his own production banner, Mayank Arts. In an interview to Rediff.com, Raj Kanwar, who had previously worked as an assistant director to Shekhar Kapur in films such as 'Mr. India' (1987) and 'Ghayal' (1990), revealed that he was approached by Dhanoa to direct 'Deewana', becoming his directorial debut. Lalit Kapoor and Raju Kothari coproduced the film along with Dhanoa.
Rishi Kapoor was the first person to be signed, he being Kanwar's first choice. He was given a remuneration of . For the female lead, Madhuri Dixit had been Kanwar's initial choice. Her unavailability and lack of dates led to the casting of Divya Bharti, on the recommendation of Guddu Dhanoa's friend and the former's manager, Jatin Rajguru. Dhanoa addressed Bharti to be "time-punctual" and that once she refused to get off her car as she had come a bit late for the shoot.
Kanwar had several actors in mind for the role of 'Raja'. Some of them included Armaan Kohli, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Govinda and Telugu actor Nagarjuna. Kohli had shot for it a few days, but later opted out citing a misunderstanding between him and Shabnam Kapoor (wife of Lalit Kapoor, one of the producers of the film) on the sets of 'Insaaf Ki Devi' (1992). Shah Rukh Khan, then a budding artist, was finally selected. Kanwar had liked his performance in 'Circus' and 'Dil Dariya' and thus suggested his name to the producers. He worked in the film alongside his prior commitments to 'Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman' (1992), his other film which was supposed to mark his debut. He expressed his enjoyment on hearing that [Rishi Kapoor] was also a part of the film.
Principal photography took place in and around Mumbai and Ooty, being handled by Harmeet Singh. B. H. Tarun Kumar was the choreographer while Ram Shetty and Harish Shetty were the action directors. Leena Daru acted as the costume designer. Songs were shot at various locations in Ooty, such as the Botanical Gardens and Ooty Lake. After filming ended by early 1992, it was edited by A. Muthu.
Music
The soundtrack album features 7 songs composed by Nadeem-Shravan, a duo. Sameer wrote the lyrics and Kumar Sanu, Sadhana Sargam, Alka Yagnik, and Vinod Rathod performed the vocals. The album sold between 7million and 8million units, making it the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack album of 1992.
The soundtrack album is featured by 'Planet Bollywood' in their listing of "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks". 'News18' included "Aisi Deewangi" as one of the "5 Memorable Songs of Divya Bharti" and raved about her presence in it by saying that it made "people swoon over her as well the tune. Her effortless beauty, along with her charming on-screen chemistry with Shahrukh Khan multiplied the X-Factors and made it a delightful watch." 'Rediff' listed it among the "10 Amazing Nadeem-Shravan songs".
Release
The film was released on 25 June 1992. It was promoted with the tagline 'The Power of Love'. When director Raj Kanwar had gone to attend the first screening of the film, along with the distributers, he was shocked to find the theatre deserted. But later, they found it swarming with mostly college kids, ensuring that the film became a blockbuster. It ran at theatres for 50 weeks and emerged a golden jubilee film. According to the film-trade website 'Box Office India,' it collected worldwide and became the second-highest-grossing film of the year, surpassed only by 'Beta'. It was made available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video since 2020.
Accolades
Reception
'Deewana' received positive reviews from critics upon release, with major praise directed towards its [cinematography], soundtrack and the cast performances, particularly that of Bharti and Khan. Nikhat Kazmi published a review of the film in 'The Times of India' on 28 June 1992, writing that Khan's role is clichd but he was able to "interpret it with a fresh zeal and wafts across like a breeze in the traditional role of a young man obsessed with love. Angry, confused, tender, mature and childishly rebellious, 'Deewana' marks the advent of a new talent". On 31 July, a writer in 'The Indian Express' praised the film's cinematography and songs, but was critical to its story which he called "no more than a routine melodrama". The writer added that Bharti had a "pretty ... but ... thin" role and "there is nothing she can do about it". He further observed that Khan is "fairly impressive and brings some life to a conventional role". In an interview, while reviewing the film by himself, Khan said that his performance in the film was "awfulloud, vulgar and uncontrolled" and that he "overacted terribly" in it. According to him, he hasn't contributed anyway to the film's success, and credited NadeemShravan's music for the same, while also praising the performances of Kapoor and Bharti.Modern film reviewers, however, appreciated 'Deewana'. In 2007, the author Anupama Chopra described the film as a "crude and melodramatic" work, with Khan's performance being "equally loud". She said that the film established his position as a leading actor of Hindi cinema, despite his "over-the-top" performance. Rachit Gupta of 'Filmfare' in 2014 stated, "Divya seemed at ease sharing screen space with Rishi Kapoor. She also matched [Shah Rukh Khan]'s manic intensity emotion to emotion. She fit perfectly into the character of a woman dealing with the loss of her husband." In 2018, Sampada Sharma from 'The Indian Express' wrote that her performance is unforgettable, adding, "From playing a newly married girl to being the one who is at a crossroads in her life, 'Deewana' was Divya's film and she delivered a performance that was applause-worthy."
Theme
'Deewana' deals with the central theme of love. [Raj Kanwar] had compared the role of [Divya Bharti] to that of female roles in his other films like 'Laadla' (1994), 'Jaan' (1996), 'Jeet' (1996) and 'Judaai' (1997) stating that they all were "strong female characters", portraying either the plight of women or displaying the acting prowess of the respective actresses. The film also shows how individuals become "obsessed" while in love, through the character of [Khan]. He himself talked about this as a lesson he learnt from the film while at University of Edinburgh to receive an honorary degree. Several critics compared [Rishi Kapoor]'s role to that in 'Chandni' (1989) for in both the films, he was portrayed as the sacrificing husband. In another aspect, [Deewana] emerged as the pathbreaking Bollywood love triangle with its storyline portraying the first lover to be sacrificer, a reversal to the general rule.
Legacy
'Deewana' has been regarded as one of the earliest Indian films based on the social stigma of widow remarriage. The film's music, being composed by the duo [Nadeem-Shravan], became a multi-platinum success. [Divya Bharti]'s performance fetched her critical appreciation; the film's title became synonymous with her. The film is also notable for being the debut film of [Shah Rukh Khan]. Despite having limited screen presence in the second half of the film, his portrayal of an obsessive lover achieved him a major career breakthrough. The song "Koi Na Koi Chahiye" picturised on him has gradually gathered a cult following. Ashok Raj described his role as "A small-town commoner who stalks a rich widow to gain access to a prosperous lifestyle." 'News18' remarks that Kapoor's "filmography came to a head" with 'Deewana' and that it remains it to be one of his most memorable works, his fashion in the film being considered a trendsetter for himself.
Additionally, 'Deewana' has been included in many listings"500 Greatest Bollywood Movies of the 80s, 90s and 2000s", "Top 90 Hindi Movies Of The 1990s" and "100 Greatest Bollywood Love Triangle Movies". The soundtrack album was featured by 'Planet Bollywood' among the "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks" with a conclusion that "'Deewana' was simply one of the best albums of the 90s". 'India Today' ranked 'Deewana' first as one of the "Top Films of Raj Kanwar". Filmfare featured it in their listing of "16 Best Shah Rukh Khan Movies". 'Rediff.com' has placed the film twice in its listing of "Top 20 soundtracks of NadeemShravan" and "10 Amazing NadeemShravan songs". The scene where Khan confronts Bharti and throws red colour on her white saree to confess his love to her was included by 'NDTV' as one of the "Top 10 Holi scenes from Bollywood". Diptakirti Chaudhuri, a film critic, hailed 'Deewana' to be a pathbreaking film in Bollywood, as it showed a complete contrast to the general storyline of love triangles.
The film has been referenced many times in the following years. In 'Pehla Nasha' (1993), Khan says to Deepak Tijori, "You have done a miracle ('Chamatkar') gentleman, I have become a crazy fan ('[Deewana]') of you." Moreover, in the "'Chennai Express' Special - Part 2" episode of the popular television sitcom 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah', Popatlal dances along the song "Koi Na Koi Chahiye". The film's poster is shown in the film 'Dhanak'. A footage from 'Deewana' is also shown in 'Fan'.
Sequel
A sequel to 'Deewana' was announced in 2013 by the producer Guddu Dhanoa.
Notes
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