The Great Gambler
| The Great Gambler | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Shakti Samanta |
| Produced by | C.V.K. Shastri |
| Written by |
C.J. Pavri (adaptation) Vrajendra Gaur (dialogue) |
| Screenplay by |
Shakti Samanta Ranjan Bose |
| Story by | Vikramaditya (novel) |
| Starring |
Amitabh Bachchan Zeenat Aman Neetu Singh |
| Music by | Rahul Dev Burman |
| Cinematography | Aloke Dasgupta |
| Edited by |
R.P. Bapat Pran Mehra |
Release dates | 6 April 1979 |
Running time | 163 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
The Great Gambler is an Indian action thriller film, known in Hindi as Sabse Bada Zuari (Hindi: सबसे बड़ा जुआरी), stars Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh and Prem Chopra. It was directed by Shakti Samanta. It did decent business in Mumbai and has attained cult status.[1] This film is a thriller, and its story is based on international gangsters, spies and secret agents of different countries' intelligence agencies and their undercover operations. This film had high production costs with a significant portions of it being shot in international locations including Cairo, Lisbon, Venice and Rome, and in India many scenes were shot in Goa. The Great Gambler has been widely appreciated for its action, direction and cinematography.
Synopsis
Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) is an expert gambler, has been for as long as he can remember, and has never lost a game. These skills bring him to the attention of the underworld don Ratan Das (Madan Puri), who is interested in hiring him to win large amounts of money from rich people and then influencing them into doing whatever he wants. Jai agrees to do so, and plays successfully, though unknowingly to entrap Nath (Jagdish Raj) who works for the government. After losing large amounts of money, he is blackmailed into revealing the blueprints of a top-secret military laser weapon that can hit any target within 50 miles. When the Indian police come to know of this, they assign the case to Inspector Vijay (also Amitabh Bachchan), who is asked to apprehend Jai at any cost. The only problem is that Inspector Vijay is Jai's look-alike, and is not at all a good gambler.
After this Jai and Vijay get confusingly mixed up as Jai and Vijay both coincidentally are sent to Rome where Vijay is sent to retrieve evidence against underworld don Saxena by his former henchman and Jai is onto a money-making scheme where he would marry his rich girlfriend Mala (Neetu Singh) to inherit her money. Mala however mistakens Vijay for Jai at the Rome airport and Vijay decides to go along with this to find out who his lookalike is. Jai meanwhile meets Shabnam (Zeenat Aman), a club dancer who has been sent by Saxena to distract Vijay and stop him on his mission to retrieve evidence against Saxena. However Shabnam mistakes Jai for Vijay and Jai is embroiled into killing Saxena's former henchman to retrieve the blueprints of the laser weapon.
Cast
- Amitabh Bachchan .... Double role (Jai/Inspector Vijay)
- Zeenat Aman .... Shabnam
- Neetu Singh ... Mala
- Roopesh Kumar ... Sethi
- Madan Puri .... Ratan Das
- Iftekhar ... Deepchand
- Utpal Dutt .... Saxena
- Helen .... Monica (Dancer)
- Jagdish Raj .... Nath
- Prem Chopra .... Ramesh
- Sujit Kumar .... Marconi
- Om Shivpuri .... CID head (Inspector Vijay's Boss)
- Brahm Bhardwaj .... White haired elderly Indian secret agent in Rome.
Music
| Song | Duration | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Tum Kitne Din Baad Mile | 4:32 | Asha Bhosle |
| O Diwaano Dil Sambhalo | 4:24 | Asha Bhosle |
| Raqqasa Mera Naam | 4:32 | Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi |
| Do Lafzon Ki Hai Dil Ki Kahaani | 4:45 | Sharad Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Amitabh Bachchan |
| Pehle Pehle Pyaar Ki Mulaqaatein | 4:35 | Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar |
Notes:
1) The song "Do Lafzon Ki Hai Dil Ki Kahaani" was shot on a Gondola in Venice's Grand Canal.
2) The song "Pehle Pehle Pyaar Ki Mulaqaatein" was shot in Eduardo VII Park, Lisbon.