Khuda Gawah
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMukul S. Anand
Written byAbdul Salam Shaikh
Screenplay byMukul S. Anand
Story bySantosh Saroj
Produced byNazir Ahmed
Manoj Desai
StarringAmitabh Bachchan
Sridevi
Nagarjuna
Shilpa Shirodkar
Danny Denzongpa
Kiran Kumar
Narrated byAmitabh Bachchan
CinematographyW. B. Rao
Edited byR. Rajendran
Music byLaxmikant–Pyarelal
Production
company
Glamour Films
Release date
8 May 1992 (1992-05-08)
Running time
193 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Khuda Gawah (transl. With God as Witness, also translated and released as God Is My Witness[1]) is a 1992 Indian epic drama film written and directed by Mukul S. Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi (in a double role) ,Nagarjuna , Shilpa Shirodkar, Danny Denzongpa, Kiran Kumar in pivotal roles. The music was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal. The film marked Sridevi and Bachchan's third collaboration after Inquilaab (1984) and Aakhree Raasta (1986). In the film, Badshah Khan travels from Afghanistan to India to find the killer of Benazir's father so that he can impress her. He succeeds but soon finds himself framed for a murder and trapped in an Indian prison. Made on a budget of ₹57 million, it was one of the most expensive films of its time, just below Ajooba (1991) which also starred Bachchan.

Khuda Gawah was released worldwide on 7 May 1992. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim from critics, praising the performances, direction, and music, with some criticism aimed at its lengthy runtime. It was also the third highest-grossing film of 1992, just behind Beta and Deewana. It also entered Limca Book of Records as the first Indian film to use surround sound technique. The film was dubbed in Telugu and was later adapted into a Pakistani television series of the same name.[2] It is one of the most watched Indian films in Afghanistan's history.[3]

At the 38th Filmfare Awards, Khuda Gawah received a leading 9 nominations, including Best Film, Best Actor (Bachchan), Best Actress (Sridevi) and Best Supporting Actress (Shirodkar) and won 4 awards including Best Director (Anand) and Best Supporting Actor (Denzongpa) and Best Action.

Plot

During a Buzkashi competition with a neighbouring tribe in Afghanistan, Badshah Khan falls in love with Benazir and wants to marry her. Benazir agrees to marry him, on the condition that he must bring her the head of Habibullah, who killed her father. Badshah Khan goes to India to search for Habibullah. He finds Habibullah in a prison and breaks him out to take him back. He has the jailor Ranveer Singh on his trail. He chops off Habibullah's head. When confronted by Ranveer, he tells him that he would be back in a month to receive punishment for taking Habibullah. Badshah goes back to Afghanistan and marries Benazir; after the time limit, he comes back to India and surrenders himself to Ranveer Singh, who he addresses as "Rajput Khan" and is jailed for five years. While Badshah Khan is away, his childhood friend Khuda Baksh assumes the role of a guardian for Benazir.

To avenge Habibullah's death, his brother Pasha kidnaps Heena, the daughter of jailor Ranveer, ransoming her in return for Badshah. Badshah finds out about this and escapes from jail; he confronts Pasha, only to have Inspector Aziz Mirza kill Ranveer Singh. With Ranveer Singh's daughter as a pawn in Pasha's hands, Badshah admits to killing Ranveer Singh and is sentenced to 15 years. When Aziz's wife Salma, who thinks of Badshah as her brother, visits Badshah and ends up killing her husband to protect Badshah, Badshah takes the blame for that murder as well, since he believes that her son Raja needs her.

At that time, Benazir sends Khuda Baksh to check on Badshah. Due to his very extended stay in prison, Badshah makes Khuda Baksh promise to take care of his daughter Mehndi and tell his wife Benazir that he is now dead so that she can move on rather than wait for him. Benazir goes mad when she hears the news that her husband is dead.

On coming out of prison, Badshah meets with his now grown daughter, Mehndi, who has found out that her father is still alive and has come to India to look for him; the daughter of Ranveer Singh, Heena, who is also in the police force and knows all about Badshah's past and respects him as her uncle; and the son of Inspector Aziz Mirza, Inspector Raja Mirza, who has found out that it was Badshah who had killed his father and is out for vengeance. In a twist of fate, Raja is in love with Mehndi, even though he wants to kill her father.

Pasha, now a major crime lord, gets involved. Benazir and Khuda Baksh are kidnapped by him. The truth is eventually revealed to Raja about his father, and he joins of hands with Badshah and Heena to kill their mutual enemy. Badshah and Benazir grab one arm each of Pasha as they ride on separate horses like the beginning of the film and throw him into a huge rock, killing him. They ride off into the sunset, finally together.

Cast

Filming

Khuda Gawah had lavish production values and was extensively shot in and around the cities of Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan as well as Nepal and India.[4][5] Then-Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah, a fan of Bachchan, provided security from the Afghan Air Force during the 18-day shooting of the film in 1991.[6] This movie was also shot in Lo Manthang, Mustang District of Nepal.

Sanjay Dutt was initially cast in the film, and filmed some scenes, but due to his highly published legal issues, he was unable to complete the film.

Soundtrack

Khuda Gawah
Film score by
Laxmikant–Pyarelal
Released1992
GenreSoundtrack
Length56:40
ProducerLaxmikant–Pyarelal

The music is composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal. Lyrics are penned by Anand Bakshi.

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Tu Mujhe Kabool - 1"Kavita Krishnamurthy, Mohammed Aziz08:05
2."Tu Na Ja Mere Badshah"Alka Yagnik, Mohammed Aziz05:08
3."Rab Ko Yaad Karoon"Kavita Krishnamurthy, Mohammed Aziz, Chorus09:02
4."Mere Watan Mein Maine"Alka Yagnik, Suresh Wadkar, Chorus07:54
5."Main Aisi Cheez Nahin"Kavita Krishnamurthy, Mohammed Aziz, Chorus08:41
6."Deewana Mujhe Kar Gaya"Alka Yagnik, Mohammed Aziz, Chorus08:38
7."Sar Zameene Hindustan"Amitabh Bachchan01:07
8."Tu Mujhe Kabool - 2"Lata Mangeshkar, Kavita Krishnamurthy08:05
Total length:56:40

Reception

BBC reported that "It ran to packed houses for 10 weeks in Kabul".[7]

Awards

38th Filmfare Awards:

Won

Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Holden, Stephen (20 August 1993). "Many Indian Movies in One (Published 1993)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ↑ Tfn, Team (17 September 2016). "Best Tollywood Dubbing Celebs". Telugu Filmnagar. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Team, DNA Web. "Happy 76th Birthday Amitabh Bachchan: We bet you didn't know these interesting facts about the 'Star of the Millenium' | Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com". DNA India. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan gets nostalgic as 'Khuda Gawah' clocks 23 years". 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan on shooting Khuda Gawah in Afghanistan - NDTV Movies". NDTVMovies.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Ahuja, Shivani (15 January 2018). "When Afghanistan Deployed Half Of Its Air Force To Protect Amitabh Bachchan". Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "Bollywood eyes Afghan market". BBC News. 27 November 2001. Archived from the original on 19 October 2002. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
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