“A Timeless Tale of Brotherly Love”
Welcome back to the series of filmi safar on our favorite legendary actor, Shri Amitabh Bachchan. Today we talk about the classic film Amar Akbar Anthony, a film that started Amitabh Bachchan’s flourishing career in the Hindi film industry. This was a multi-starrer that created a special niche for the lead actor. Besides Amitabh Bachchan in the pivotal role, there were other top actors like Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Parveen Babi, and Shabana Azmi, all in the lead roles, who were much loved by the audience. Nirupa Roy and Pran had significant roles as well, besides Jeevan in the negative role. The 1977 film had super hit songs and was one of the highest-grossing films of the season, and audiences and fans remember the film to this day, and people still watch it again and again.
“Separation, Reunion, and a Story of Three Brothers”
This film was the beginning of the long association between Amitabh Bachchan and the duo music directors Lakshmikant Pyarelal. They had received their Best Music Direction Award for this film.
Amitabh Bachchan’s role as Anthony in the film was a huge hit, thanks to its perfect blend of humor, action, and memorable one-liners. Amar Akbar Anthony pioneered the trend of multi-starrer films and is a classic example of a Bollywood masala film. The movie had a mix of emotions, family values, romance, comedy, and action. It performed well at the box office and earned Amitabh one of his highest paychecks of the year.
A Manmohan Desai film, Amar Akbar Anthony, was shot simultaneously with the shooting of Parvarish, again an Amitabh-starring film, in the same studio. Both films had almost similar star casts, so it was convenient for the actors and the directors. In 1977, there were other releases like Dharam Veer, Chacha Bhatija, and Parvarish besides Amar Akbar Anthony. Amitabh was to essay the role of Amitabh Fernandes, but Laxmikant Pyarelal suggested it should be changed to Anthony Gonsalves. Anthony Gonsalves was one of the very famous musical composers and music arrangers in 1930. Hence the director changed Amitabh’s name in the film from Anthony Fernandes to Anthony Gonsalves. Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic song “My Name is Anthony Gonsalves” was a showstopper. He appeared in a memorable cameo, sporting a top hat and emerging from a giant Easter egg.
Manmohan Desai was so happy with the name change that was so apt for the song. Thereafter he made many films like Naseeb, Desh Premee, Mard, and Toofan, and Amitabh Bachchan’s career graph rose with these films. Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977 is said to have earned 7.25 crores. Considering it was almost 45 years ago, the said figure is enormous!!
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