Hero is a 1983 Indian Hindi-language romantic action film directed by Subhash Ghai. Starring Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri, it marked Shroff's debut in a lead role. Its music directors were Laxmikant–Pyarelal.[2] Upon release, it became a blockbuster at the box office and established Shroff as a leading Bollywood actor.[3]

Hero
Theatrical poster
Directed bySubhash Ghai
Written byMukta Ghai
Subhash Ghai
Ram Kelkar
Produced bySubhash Ghai
StarringJackie Shroff
Meenakshi Seshadri
Shammi Kapoor
Sanjeev Kumar
Shakti Kapoor
Madan Puri
Amrish Puri
CinematographyKamalakar Rao
Edited byWaman Bhonsle
Gurudutt Shirali
Music byLaxmikant–Pyarelal
Distributed byMukta Arts Ltd.
Release date
  • 16 December 1983 (1983-12-16) (India)
Running time
173 mins
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget3cr
Box office17cr.[1]

It was remade in Telugu and Kannada in 1980s and got remade in Bollywood in 2015 with the same title.[3] A Tamil remake was planned, but later dropped.[4]

Plot

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The film starts with Pasha (Amrish Puri) being taken to prison. To get out of the situation, he writes to his best man, Jackie (Jackie Shroff). Jackie goes to Police Commissioner Shrikanth Mathur (Shammi Kapoor) and warns him. He then kidnaps Shrikanth's daughter Radha (Meenakshi Sheshadri). He tells her that he is a police officer and they fall in love; however, she finds out that he is a gangster but does not leave him and urges him to surrender. Transformed by her love, Jackie surrenders to the police and is imprisoned for two years.

Back home, Radha tells her brother Daamodar (Sanjeev Kumar) the truth. To prevent Radha from marrying somebody else, he calls his friend Jimmy (Shakti Kapoor) to put on a show that Radha and Jimmy love each other. Jimmy misunderstands the situation and falls in love with Radha. When Jackie comes back, he starts working in a garage and tries to reform himself. Despite everything, Shrikanth kicks him out of his life. After many days and events that follow, Daamodar finds out that Jimmy is a drug smuggler. After his release from prison, Pasha desires revenge against both Shrikanth and Jackie, so he kidnaps Radha, Shrikanth and Daamodar. Jackie comes at the last moment and frees all of them. In the end, Shrikanth lets Radha marry Jackie.

Cast

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Production

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Subhash Ghai had initially wanted Kamal Haasan to play the film's lead role, when the project was titled as Sangeet, but his unavailability led to the producers casting debutant Jackie Shroff.[5]

Jackie Shroff revealed in a 2017 interview that he is a huge fan of veteran actor Dev Anand, and during the filming of Hero often said his dialogues in Dev Anand's style. Ghai wanted him to deliver his dialogues like Shatrughan Sinha instead.[6]

Soundtrack

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Composed by the musical duo Laxmikant Pyarelal with lyrics written by Anand Bakshi.

Track listing

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Ding Dong"Anuradha Paudwal, Manhar Udhas08:27
2."Mohabbat Ye Mohabbat"Lata Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar06:45
3."Lambi Judaai"Reshma06:26
4."Nindya Se Jaagi Bahaar"Lata Mangeshkar06:18
5."Pyar Karne Wale Kabhi Darte Nahi"Lata Mangeshkar, Manhar Udhas05:55
6."Tu Mera Hero Hai"Anuradha Paudwal, Manhar Udhas08:03

Reception

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The film was declared a "blockbuster" at the Indian box office,[1] with Shroff and Sheshadri becoming stars after its release. Hero ran for 750 days in many cities in India.[citation needed] Both actors were in demand after its release and began a long association with Ghai.[citation needed] Younger audiences enjoyed the performances, and critics applauded Ghai for using fresh faces at a time when Amitabh Bachchan was the dominant star in Bollywood.[citation needed] The Yamaha Rajdoot 350 bike was heavily promoted in this movie.[citation needed]

Awards

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31st Filmfare Awards:

Nominated

Remakes

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Year Film title Language Director
1986 Vikram Telugu V. Madhusudhana Rao
1988 Ranadheera Kannada V. Ravichandran
2015 Hero Hindi Nikhil Advani[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Box Office 1983". Boxoffice India. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Hero Was an Important Film for Me: Subhash Ghai". News18. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
    - "Jackie Shroff and Subhash Ghai watch 'Hero' together as the film turns 34". WION. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
    - Sukanya Verma (6 February 2014). "Hero: Revisiting Subhash Ghai's flamboyant take on romance". Rediff. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
    - ""'Hero' made Jackie and Meenakshi into overnight stars but 'the flute' was the real hero in the film" - Subhash Ghai". Mukta Arts Ltd. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
    - Thombare, Suparna (16 November 2018). "5 memorable roles of Meenakshi Seshadri – Birthday special". Cinestaan. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Jackie..." India Today. 28 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Throwback: When Crazy Star Ravichandran declined Superstar Rajinikanth's offer to star in Ranadheera remake". OTTPlay. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  5. ^ "This Tamil Star, Not Sunny Deol, Was Director's First Choice for Ghatak". 31 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Jackie Shroff talks about his experience shooting the 1983 Hero as a huge Dev Anand fan". The Indian Express. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Nikhil Advani begins shooting for 'Hero'". IBN Live. 16 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
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