User reviews

I remember when this movie came out it faired poorly at the box office and was off the theatres within a week. But I think it generated an underground sort of movement amongst youth who wanted to watch a different kind of cinema and soon it had a cult of its own. You ask any Indian cine fan between 30s and 40s his/her top 10 favorite movies and I think this movie will figure in the list somewhere.

The plot is simple; two struggling photographers accidentally get involved in the filth that Indian 'system' is and which includes everybody from the police to media to politicians to builders etc. etc. etc. Once involved they try to expose everyone involved but the question is 'will they survive?'

Performance wise, everyone from Naseer to Ravi Baswani to Pankaj Kapoor to Satish Shah to Satish Kaushik to Om Puri have given brilliant performances, probably amongst their best. It's almost like magic that you know that it happened but you never know how. The film is bustling with synergy of all these performers (actors, writers, director and the whole crew) who are just happy to work with each other and in such a creative environment and are out to make a difference. And difference they made. It is and will remain a cult classic with people from our generation.

They've never quite managed to make a movie like this one. Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Vaswani play photographers caught in a messy affair involving corrupt politicians, wicked businessmen, canny journalists (and some hammy actors). Giving director Kundan Shah (who has, surprising, gone on to the make some of the most awful films of the last decade) the chance to unleash his brilliant satire. He hits all his targets. Satish Shah is hilarious as a dead body on roller skates, and the 'Disrobing of Draupadi' scene in the theatre is one of the funniest ever shot. Like the rest of the film, it could have been cringe-inducingly-awful. If it weren't so funny, that is.

The entire movie is very good and tickle you continuously. But the last Mahabharat scene is a real diamond in the entire Hindi cinema. Never again such scene could be produced.

The movie revolves around some set of characters and after the interval it centers around the dead body of the Dmelo. Dmelo is the municipal governor and is murdered by Tarneja (Pankaj Kapur). Unfortunate for Tarneja two young photographers (who think that they are professional), Vinod (Naseeruddin Shan) and Sudhir (Ravi Baswani) succeed to collect evidence against him. Ahuja (Om Puri) the builder and Shobha (Bhakti Barve-Inamdar) the reporter are two enemies of Tarneja and want to have hands on the proofs that Ahuja kills Dmelo.

The main achievement of the movie is the pasteurization of the scenes. Starting from the opening ceremony to the end Mahabharat scene, all the scenes make you laugh like a child. Actors too are well fitted in their roles. All the actors are art film actors and certainly knows their work very well. Will not comment any more on the end scene of Mahabharat. Hardly there will be any who have not seen this scene.

Any time you watch this scene, it has ability to make you fall on ground. The movie not only makes you laugh, but from inside makes you think about the corrupted society that we are living in. The movie has sad ending, which makes it more close to reality. The overall moral of the story will still be true for at least coming 50 years for India.

A lot of comments about this movie have centered on the apparently slapstick comedy, ignoring its usage to lend a sense of the grotesque in what is a essentially a masterful farce, and beneath the surface, more of a tragedy.

This movie centers around the two young protagonists, full of ideals and the will to win against the powers of endemic and ubiquitous corruption, a corruption that is so manifestly present that the others do not seem to question its existence, but implicitly assume it and use it to serve their own ends. However, our heroes find the going quite tough.

Although partly inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni's "Blow-up", this movie is in a class by itself, with dark humor reminiscent of Kafka and Gogol. The star cast includes some of the finest actors to ever grace the screens of Bollywood (or for that matter, anywhere else). Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor and many others deliver stellar performances in this tragi-comedy which is one of finest pearls produced by the New Wave movement in Indian cinema.

Regretabbly, comprehension of the movie requires intimate knowledge of the background, something which you would only have if you have lived in India, where corruption is as natural as breathing, and if you are familiar with the turbulent times when New Wave Cinema was taking off, a time of discontent and idealism among youth, a time of unemployment and the times of the angry young man (as typified by Amitabh Bachchan in many commercial films from this era).

However one can still enjoy it for it is a comedy worth watching. Hopefully, the viewer will see the tragedy beneath the humor.

I rate this movie among the finest movies of all time, and in the class of farces, it stands alongside Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove".

This was a wonderful comedy, no cheap humor, no poor jokes, just a simple inexpensive movie made with a great script, good jokes and wonderful actors. The scene at the theater where the mahabharat is being enacted is by far the funniest 15 minutes in the history of Indian Cinema. A must see for everyone.

Rib-tickling, side-splitting .. but also cynical, intelligent, and very, very dark. Comedy as it should be and so very rarely is. Corrupt politicians in cahoots with thieving contractors, their scheming rivals and their inept secretaries ... add two bumbling, idealistic, naive young photographers in the 'right' place at the 'right' time ..... throw 'em all together and all hell breaks loose, and boy is it hilarious!! I've seen this several times and never failed to collapse in helpless fits of laughter. Wonder why they don't make them like this anymore, and wish they did!

Quite apart from its social satire, unimaginably ahead of its time for the dour early '80's Delhi, JBDY managed to bring together a slew of talent, Shah(s), Baswani, Kapoor, and of course the inimitable Puri 'Ahuja'. Folks over at NFDC still take the movie apart frame by frame, deconstructing its topical references and attempt to interpolate a social conscience to it. More than its concluding 'Draupadi vastraharan' scene, symbolic of the wretched disrobing of the Indian polity however, the film managed to make me cry out loud with laughter even as an impressionable twelve year old, merely for its slapstick content. This is a movie which gets better with every viewing, and reveals slick, symbolic and subversive undertones worthy of Kundan Shah's maverick vision.

Two simple photographers, trying to eke out an honest living, caught in a web of scandal and deceit.

Fantastic direction, outstanding plot, brilliant script, phenomenal casting and amazing acting. This movie has you laughing till the last scene, which is when the laughter is wrenched from your throat!

The movie has great attention to detail. For example, the scene when monkey is being photographed, look into the mirror in his hand. You actually see Tarneja in a checked jacket and gun in hand. Which leads to the single biggest flaw: no gunshot heard?

But that may be forgiven. The comedy is unending!!! For example, the Dhritrashtra, still blind, saying "This is too much! Yeh Akbar kahaan se aa gaya?"... Or Tarneja and Ahuja entering the Mahabharat in complete costumes, but still wearing their specs and sunglasses respectively! That, to my mind, is the single longest comic scene in Hindi cinema!

The laughs do not stop!!! It stays, to date, the best tragi-comedy ever!

Many people don't know that this film is based on real story yet it is so humorous and very much interesting.

Story is similar to political storm of 1980s regarding Bridge collapse. The characters name also matches. Tarneja = Raheja (Builder) shobha = shobha de (Reporter) D'mello = rebello (Commisioner)

Kundan Shah has to be acknowledged for writing this beautiful story with current affairs. Every details of film is outstanding and also dialog's. This is not best comedy film but also best film. Every actor has to be credited for his work. Naseerudin shah, pankaj kapur, om puri and satish kaushk specially.

Practically speaking.. I don't have words to express how you feel watching this movie. I guess this is the only Hindi movie which is end to end comedy. Lung puncture is guaranteed. Look at the star cast.. Nasiruddin Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Bhakti Barve, Satish Kaushik, Neena Gupta and above all, Satish Shah playing his unarguably best roll of his life.. Roll of a dead body. Who can forget dialog like "Thoda khaao Thoda pheko" And scenes like Drunkard Om puri talking to Satish Shah who is in Coffin and Om puri thinks that He is in some sports car. And above all The climax scene of Mahabharata Play.. Just mesmerizing performances... Technically correct and so real to real life talking about corruption, and bribe in such a lucid and comic way. Must say this is a Must Watch movie not once not twice but its like old wine, Every time you watch you are bound to get a different flavor all together.

So if you have not watched it.. go and watch it.. you don't know what you are missing...

A great movie for that time, but quiet unattractive is what I found.

One monkey, two photographers and a murder-mystery form the backdrop to portray the quintessential nexus between the corrupt Indian politico-administrative class and the honest, trying-to-make-ends-meet class. Naseer shows his class as a comedian with excellent timing along with Ravi Baswani who is his usual squeaky-voiced, slapstick self. Satish Shah displays his firang-accented comical side while Pankaj Kapoor is the hair-trigger-temper top builder of Mumbai, with a sexy Nina Gupta as his secretary and Satish Kaushik his henchman-cum-competitor-for-Nina. But Om Puri takes the piece of cake with his booze tinged punjabi-accent with a mania for sports cars.

This movie was a pathbreaker in the field of Indian mainstream-comedy, which usually stuck to the safe, tried-and-tested Chaplin-style "comedy". Unfortunately, innovative scenes, unforgettable dialogues, tickling backdrops and excellent acting were not enough to save this movie from bombing at the box-office.

Although I've seen this movie more than seven times, it has never failed to amuse me. A must-see for a comedy-freak, this movie is a collectors-edition sorts. If it were to be re-released today, there's a distinct possibility of it faring much better at the hands of the XY-generation than the baby-boomers.

May be a bit overrated movie Story was great But comedy was not that good as expected.

I feel a real spoilsport, when so many have thoroughly enjoyed this Indian farce, that I couldn't go beyond the first hour.

The film looked promising (I'm a photographer, for starts) but the broad, base humour jarred after a while and whilst I could see that it might be neatly meshing social comment, satire and slapstick, I could take no more!

Maybe it's because I'm non-Indian, in an older age group or just wasn't in the mood. I can't help thinking that if this was a Hollywood affair, with the genre's usual crass, boorish and sweary 'stars', this wouldn't have worked for anybody and it would be less popular.

Sorry if I can't add much more to this, but feel I should add my, less than praising comments, too.

This is one of India's best comedy movies. Well made, well directed, very well acted, the movies picks up more laughs as it develops and the climax is certainly the most hilarious. The theme is corruption in business, government and the media. Everybody is on the take, the Police Commissioner, the big bucks businessman, newspaper editor, etc.

Two hungry-for-work photo studio owners accidentally take the picture of a murder and then "all hell breaks loose". The climax at a small theater where "The Mahabharata" is being staged will have you in splits. Crime has never been so much fun. Yet the film never loses its edge, its cynicism of what happens in the real world. The good guys always win in the end, right? Yeah, right... See the movie. I have no doubt this is one of India's classic comedy films.

Hum Honge Kamyaab....and they did with Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro! JBDY is one of those rare Indian comedies where you don't have to wait for a funny situation to crop up from under the weight of suspense, action, romance, and tragedy. The most recognizable genres of the film world, practically all of them, have been realized, exploited and stretched to such an extent in this film that they almost border on the edge of not just satire but surrealism and you are left wondering – How in the world did they ever find humor in this one? Who could ever come up with the idea of a male corpse dressed as a woman, on roller skates, "standing" as a prop in a stage production of Mahabharata? It's bizarre but it works because of the stellar performances of the lead cast and some bitingly clever writing by Kundan Shah.

The film takes its central idea from Antonioni's Blow Up and explores the investigation of two struggling photographers Vinod (Naseeruddin Shah) and Sudhir (Vinod Baswani) who in their desperation accept the offer of a local self-serving tabloid editor Shobha Sen (Bhakti Barve) to photograph a clandestine meeting between the corrupt Municipal Commissioner D'Mello (Satish Shah) and the real estate developers who intend on bribing him to get the best deal in town. As the rivalry between the builders, the smooth and vile Tarneja (Pankaj Kapur) and the alcoholic Ahuja (Om Puri) escalates, the threat of murder looms large. The two knuckle-headed photographers, caught in a web of deceit and double crosses, to their horror, inadvertently capture murder on camera that further leads them into the dark recesses of corruption that plagues news media, business, politicians, bureaucracy, and police. We along with our heroes later learn about the extent to which the guilty parties will go to preserve their survival.

It is this very struggle for survival of each character fueled by greed that not just exudes cynicism while adding weight to the story but also acts as a source of non-stop side-splitting fun. Case in point: the scene in which the entire entourage of Tarneja and Ahuja, including the city commissioner, unabashedly usurp the play of Mahabharata because Vinod and Sudhir have hidden the dead body that could serve as the proof of the builder's wrongdoing and our heroes' innocence somewhere in that production. This has to be the most original idea ever to come out of Bollywood. The film clearly hints at the deterioration of the social structure of a society where the entire machinery is immoral and corrupt; breaking allegiances is commonplace, and all we have left to fight for us are two dunderheads who drew inspiration from a monkey and the only weapon that they have is a dead body. And this is where the blackness in this comedy works so wonderfully.

Despite a more somber theme, Kundan Shah and team have done a great job in keeping the tone of the movie light. Even the most intense scenes are so multi-layered and laced with such farce and symbolism that it would be unfair and impossible to reveal all of them here. This movie is an experience and if you want to know why the lines "Thoda Khao, Thoda Phenko" (Eat a little, throw a little) and "Tum commissioner ka bawarchi hai?" (Are you the chef of the commissioner?) still induce a belly laugh among the loyalists, you have to OWN this movie and watch it again and again till your belly hurts.

The movie ranks as one of my favorites. However I am amazed how many people have not seen the film despite the fact that we live in an age where, on any given day we have at least 100 films that are aired on various channels.

Another thing that does not fail to amaze is the fact that this movie actually flopped. Indian audiences some how don't seem to have a stomach for all out comedy films. May be if this film is re released it may give a Sholay a run for its money.

The most memorable flicks in the film are the telephone sequence and obviously who can forget the Mahabhart. We must also realize that the film depicted this before the tele serials immortalized and more importantly popularized the storyline of the epic in non Hindu minds too.

All in all a must watch film for all who appreciate comedy. It's an ageless comedy that promises to entertain generations to come.

worth watching again n again n again .i never got tired n guaranteed neither will any1 who watches.this is a legendary one.this one puts todays comic era to shame no doubt about it.the cinematography the live wired performances.the background score ditto to story the darkness behind the comic lines,friendship,betrayal,business debacle,corrupt law and order,stupidity to its tenth category,dead talking stageplay turns into firing dialogue shadowing the mythological and todays generation,workshop menace,forging documents,spying on the bad,revealing you are the spy and getting chased with a dead man on skates!!!man this is truly awesome to ears what a treat to your senses imagine.go now and grab a copy if you totally want to brainwash your ribs ha ha ha...!

Funniest movie I've ever seen. If you do understand hindi, I would definitely recommend this one. English subtitles loose the comical aspect. A film churned out in the 'Golden Age of Hindi Comedy'; has what most contemporary comedy films lack.

I don't know if this movie is best Indian movie but I also don't know if there is any Indian movie better than this.

(1)This movie has the best casting in Indian movie history including Naseeruddin, Om puri, pankaj kapoor, Ravi Baswani(a surprise and great performance from him), Satish shah, Satish Kaushik, Deepak Qazir(another surprising performer), Bhakti Barve, Rajesh Puri - All at their best. (2)Very few people must have noted the background music. So simple but yet so effective for the movie. Great music!!! . A great usage of song "Hum honge kamyab" also. (3)Arguably the best comedy movie I have ever seen(may be Andaz apna apna is a close contender in Hindi cinema). But this movie is full of memorable scenes that you can even remember the whole movie. Not just comedy it has murder, mystery and some horror also.

Apart from all this the subject of the movie is very very important. It just tells that our legal(law) system itself has the biggest corruption(back then in 1980s & even now) so it is very hard for common men to get justice or to fight against corruption. In fact it may be the case in any country.

This is by far the best black comedy movie I have ever seen.

Truly an Indian Masterpiece!

I had watched the movie years ago and thought it was funniest film I had ever seen. So I sat down one afternoon to enjoy a few laughs all over again. Let me say right off the bat that a comedy this ain't. Is it a good film? You betcha - it is a great film! Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani are two photographers who want to get their photo studio off the ground. Instead they get caught up in a lot of hanky-panky involving corrupt politicians, government officials, and construction magnates. They run from pillar to post trying to get a scoop of a life time, but end up "seeing" a murder in a photograph they took. A Blowup (David Hemmings) type scenario ensues with a lot of bumbling around at night. A corpse is found that does not stay in place and the whole thing is very reminiscent of Weekend at Bernie's that came years later, and was perhaps inspired by this Kundan Shah gem! The comedic moments start with the wandering corpse and end in the most rollicking 15 minutes in cinema when a staging of the Mahabharata goes seriously bad. The Pandavs are desperate for the play to proceed on with Draupadi's Cheerharan (removal of clothes) while the Kauravas are equally desperate to see that Draupadi remains clothed (and I am not confused about the Mahabharata)! Somehow the grand Moghul also makes an entrance - these 15 minutes are worth the price of the DVD and will have you in stitches.

But in the end this is a real commentary on corruption that is rampant in the country, and is actually a rather sad tale.

Naseeruddin Shah is great as the serious photographer, has reasonably comedic moments, but it is Ravi Baswani as the petrified sidekick that steals the show. Om Puri is great at the drunk contractor type and Satish Shah is brilliant as the "corpse".

Early parts of the film are a bit slapstick but this is rewarding fare indeed, so go watch it.

Read the reviews and decided to give it a try, but found all it did was try my patience. Comedy was beyond childish and the protagonists swung one moment from being bumbling stumbling fools to Sherlock Holmes. Situations are so outlandish only a 10 year old from the 80s would laugh at. Naseerudin is an awesome serious actor but loses all credibility in comedic roles. He tries really hard against his natural style of acting and the effort is evident to the discerning viewer. Bhakti Bharve and Om puri are credible mentions in the movie. Pankaj Kapur had a on and off performance. The rest of the cast filled in the space in between. Sorry to say but I had to turn off the movie after enduring it for an hour, as I couldn't bear any further assault on my sensibility. If you're into moronic plots and acting this could be your movie, if not give it a skip.

Let me first clarify that I have been a fan of this movie for a long time. When I say its overrated, I mean to say that its still a very good movie, much much ahead of its times, but its not as great as its made out to be.

I will just outline some of the negatives that may or may not have been pointed out by prior reviewers. Positives are many obviously. The biggest positive is the fact that a film of this nature was conceived, that too back in 1983, with a budget of barely around 800k rupees. The comic sequences are nice, the satire is accurate. I especially loved the portrayal of early 80s Bombay, India. The people and the places of that era.

Coming to the negatives, the whole plot is so superficial, so shallow, so vain. may be that type of a premise was necessary here, to combine the comic and tragic aspects of the movie. But it makes all the characters of the movie seem incredible, in the bad sense. Too inconsistent. They keep switching from being normal, to being idiotic, to being intelligent, randomly. Perfect example of it is the scene between Naseeruddin and Bhakti Barve in her office. It could have been an awesome scene, but it doesn't reach that potential. And the same is true for so many other scenes. May be the film was made in a hurry.

Another thing is, when you watch the movie now, the humor doesn't work much. Its like a movie playing on slow-mo. Even the actor's reactions and dialogue deliveries seem to be delayed, everything seems too slow. There are a number of Priyadarshan movies, that are way funnier than this one. Of course its unfair to compare movies like that. The point is, its just not as hilarious as I first found it to be.

There are other issues too. The whole Murder-Deadbody segment is so flawed logically. Why would Tanreja murder someone in a park, that too in broad daylight? and why would he choose to return there in the middle of the night to pick up the dead body. And then, why would anyone dump the body under a bridge to be inaugurated to the public the next day.

The satire is monotonous. We Indians are all already aware of corruption. the film doesn't really say anything new. and the worst thing is, there isn't really any greater message to the film. I mean if its a satirical movie, it should have something to say. shouldn't it? This one just announces that the COMMON man is doomed in corrupt India.

I still do endorse this movie. My favorite scene is the one under the bridge, where the two innocent citizens, Naseer and Ravi get harassed by the constable. Unfortunately, its 2014 and the same is still happening in India. I guess thats the ultimate message of this movie. To laugh at it, or to cry over that, is left to the viewers choice.

This movie is a classic among avid film goers. All for a good reason. It is made by a phenomenal team: Kundan Shah, Sudhir Mishra, Nasrudeen Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Satish Shah ...

The story packs in a good deal of 'social message' laced through this otherwise funny movie. Some thing like dark comedy. The stupidity of the two photographers does not however stick well with their investigative talents.

The photographers are caught in the double dealings and double double dealings and so on of the mafia between the press, the government officials, and the big contractors in Mumbai. The song 'Hum Honge Kamiyaab' after the revelation of the press editor's dealings with the constructors is one of the most famous ones. It is sad to see that 'conventional wisdom' does not enter their heads even in the last scene. The ending of the movie is possibly not very pleasing but is also a keen aspect of the movie.

The movie is a must watch. But the audience must brace themselves for a not-so-pleasant ending.