ChaalBaaz (Devnagari: चाल बाज़ English: trickster) is a 1989 Bollywood film directed by Pankaj Parashar starring Rajnikanth, Sunny Deol, Anupam Kher and Sridevi in a double role. The music was given by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and was a huge success specially the song "Na Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai".

Synopsis[link]

Anju and Manju are twins separated when babies thanks to their mentally retarded nanny. An evil uncle Tribhuvan gets their parents killed in a car accident. He brings up Anju as coy and easily frightened girl. Manju grows up in a basti as a happy-go-lucky stage dancer. After a lot of terrifying days in Anju's life, one day she runs away from home. On that very day, Manju has a fight with her childhood companion and neighbor Jaggu, a friendly beer drinking taxi driver. With twist of fate, their paths cross but they never meet. They somehow end up at each others place. Sooraj is in love with Manju(who is living in the house as Anju).

Differences between the original film and the remake[link]

This film is a remake of an older Hindi film Seeta Aur Geeta

1. It was only the Aunt who was evil in the original film, while the uncle was meek he still supported her passively, but in the remake there uncle is the main antagonist and the aunt also is equally abusive and evil.
2. While in the original the tortures were mainly confined to doing household works and occasional slapping, in the remake the tortures included drugging the girl and whipping her with a proper Cat o'nine.
3. The role of the servant in the remake (played by Annu Kapoor) is more detailed as compared to the original film.
4. The street smart sibling lived with her mother in the original film while in the remake the mother of the street smart sibling was admitted to a mental assylum.
5. The profession of the happy-go-lucky in the was of a street performer, where she used to walk on ropes, (who becomes the love interest of the sibling who was tormented after switching places) was her partner in , in the remake she is a stage dancer and the love interest was her neighbour who was a Taxi Driver.
6. After switching places when the street smart sister reaches the evil uncle's house she is emotionally moved by the tears of her grandmother, while in the remake she decides to stay because of the uncle's son, there is no grandmother in the remake.
7. in the original film the fashionable daughter of the evil aunt also was involved in suppressing the girl, in the remake there is no daughter, but the aunt who also is highly fashionable is the partner in crime along with the evil uncle.
8. During the scene when the hero who comes to see her for an arrange marriage with his parents the suppressed sister was dressed up in extremely short western clothes by the evil aunt and her daughter causes her to tremble and fall which spills tea over the clothes of the boy's father, while in the remake the suppressed sister was drugged that causes her to freak out.

Cast[link]

• Rajnikanth .... Jaggu
• Sunny Deol .... Suraj
• Sridevi .... Anju and Manju
• Anupam Kher .... Tribhuvan/Chachaji
• Rohini Hattangadi .... Amba (Tribhuvan's wife) Manju Bua
• Annu Kapoor .... Daddu (Tribhuvan's servant)
• Saeed Jaffrey .... Vishwannath (Suraj's dad)
• Shakti Kapoor .... Batuknath Lalanprasad Maalpani/Balma
• Aruna Irani .... Anju & Manju's nanny
• Kader Khan .... Blind Beggar
• Aftab Shivdasani .... Raju Raja Twins brother (as Master Aftab)
• Johnny Lever .... Tantrik Johnny Baba (special appearance)

Music[link]

Music:Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Lyricist: Anand Bakshi, Label : T-Series

Soundtrack[link]

Awards[link]

1990 Filmfare Awards[link]

• Best Actress - Sridevi for her breathtaking performance as the twin sisters .
• Best Choreographer - Saroj Khan for song - "Na Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai"
• Best Playback Singer (Female)- Nomination Kavita Krishnamurthy - "Na Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai"

The movie was a super hit on Box Office and the music was also well received.

External links[link]

• ChaalBaaz at the Internet Movie Database