Hero (1983 film)

Hero
Hero
	Theatrical poster
Directed by	Subhash Ghai
Written by	Mukta Ghai; Subhash Ghai; Ram Kelkar
Produced by	Subhash Ghai
Starring	Jackie Shroff; Meenakshi Seshadri; Shammi Kapoor; Sanjeev Kumar; Shakti Kapoor; Madan Puri; Amrish Puri
Cinematography	Kamalakar Rao
Edited by	Waman Bhonsle; Gurudutt Shirali
Music by	Laxmikant–Pyarelal
Distributed by	Mukta Arts Ltd.
Release date	16 December 1983 (India);
Running time	173 mins
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹3cr
Box office	₹17cr.

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]

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

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

Jackie Shroff as Jai Kishan “Kishan” / Jackie Dada
Meenakshi Sheshadri as Radha Mathur
Sanjeev Kumar as Damodar Mathur
Neeta Mehta as Mrs. Uma Damodar Mathur
Shammi Kapoor as Police Commissioner Shrikanth Mathur
Amrish Puri as Pasha
Madan Puri as Bharat
Bindu as Jamuna (Radha's widowed aunt)
Bharat Bhushan as Ramu
Shakti Kapoor as Jimmy Thapa
Urmila Bhatt as Sandhya Mathur
Shaikh Azad as Shaikh Faruk

Production

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

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

Track listing

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Ding Dong"	Anuradha Paudwal, Manhar Udhas	08:27
2.	"Mohabbat Ye Mohabbat"	Lata Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar	06:45
3.	"Lambi Judaai"	Reshma	06:26
4.	"Nindya Se Jaagi Bahaar"	Lata Mangeshkar	06:18
5.	"Pyar Karne Wale Kabhi Darte Nahi"	Lata Mangeshkar, Manhar Udhas	05:55
6.	"Tu Mera Hero Hai"	Anuradha Paudwal, Manhar Udhas	08:03

Reception

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]}