Aaj Ka Arjun

Aaj Ka Arjun
Poster
Directed by	K.C. Bokadia
Written by	Santosh Saroj
Based on	En Thangachi Padichava (Tamil)
Produced by	K.C. Bokadia
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan Jaya Prada
Music by	Bappi Lahiri
Production company	BMB Productions
Release date	10 August 1990 (1990-08-10)
Running time	164 mins
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹27 million
Box office	₹130 million

Aaj Ka Arjun (transl. Today's Arjun) is a 1990 Hindi-language crime drama film, directed and produced by K.C. Bokadia and starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Prada. The film which was based on the 1988 Tamil film, En Thangachi Padichava follows the crux of the epic Mahabharata, but with its modified storyline through the perspective of Bhima and Arjuna, a deviation from the Vyasa's original version of the epic Mahabharata.

The film became commercially successful and was the 3rd highest-grossing film of 1990. The success of the film helped to temporarily revitalize Bachchan's failing career. The film premiered on 10 August 1990 in Mumbai and was filmed in Rajasthan.

Cast

• Amitabh Bachchan as Bheem Singh "Bheema"
• Jaya Prada as Gauri
• Radhika as Laxmi Singh
• Suresh Oberoi as Mohan
• Kiran Kumar as Lakhan
• Anupam Kher as Police Inspector
• Amrish Puri as Thakur Bhupendra Singh
• Rishabh Shukla as Ajit Singh
• Asrani as Chikoo
• Priti Sapru as Mohan's Wife
• Baby Guddu as Kanhaiya Singh
• Brahmachari as Himself
• Praveen Kumar Sobti as Himself
• Anirudh Agarwal as Himself

Soundtrack

The music for the film was composed by Bappi Lahiri, one of the leading music directors of the time. The film has a memorable number "Gori Hai Kalaiyaan, Tu Laade Mujhe Hari Hari Choodiyaan", music of which was copied from the original composition of music director Shankar–Jaikishan, with voices lent by Lata Mangeshkar and Shabbir Kumar, which earned great popularity that year. Lyrics written by Anjaan.

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Bahena O Bahena"	Kavita Krishnamurthy, Mohammed Aziz	6:21
2.	"Chali Aana Tu Pan Ki"	Amit Kumar, Alka Yagnik	7:37
3.	"Chhod Babul Ka Ghar"	Kavita Krishnamurthy	3:32
4.	"Gori Hain Kalaiyan"	Lata Mangeshkar, Shabbir Kumar	9:40
5.	"Main Teri Mashuka"	Alka Yagnik, Bappi Lahiri, Amrish Puri	9:22
6.	"Na Ja Re" (Female)	Lata Mangeshkar	6:26
7.	"Na Ja Re" (Male)	Amit Kumar	3:18
Total length:			46:16

Awards

Award	Category	Recipients and Nominees	Results
Filmfare Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Radhika	Nominated
	Best Music Director	Bappi Lahiri

Controversy

Amitabh Bachchan was initially reluctant to play the titular name- Arjuna and suggested Bhima for the character instead. Bachchan cited personal reasons for not keeping the name- Arjun, saying that he has been frequent with the great epic- Mahabharata and did not find the character of Arjuna much interesting and cringeworthy, though really liked the character of Bhima, stating— "Bhima is the only warrior in Mahabharata who could come close to Karna in valour and heroism"

Making a contemporary version of the Mahabharata through Bhima's perspective, the director Bokadia in a magazine interview stated:

" It is often said, that 'history is written by elder brothers' but what about younger brothers- Bhima and Arjuna, they also have a story to tell. So, this is basically a contemporary version focusing on Bhima and Arjuna, this has nothing to do with the storyline or plot of the original epic. After the telecasting of BR Chopra Mahabharata on television, names like Karna and Krishna became extremely popular. In the 80s and 90s, each and every household, a child's name would be 'Karan'. You would see parents keeping their son's name like - Karan, Karandev, Karanjeet, Karangopal etc and simultaneously Ramayan was also telecast on television. Also names like Rama, Lakshman became cult and popular in households after telecast of Ramayana. Such was the influence of TV on people. After so much cult of Hindu epics, even films began taking inspiration from Mahabharata. See blockbuster Thalapathi of Rajnikanth and Vijaypath of Ajay Devgn, Kalyug (1981 film) starring Shashi Kapoor. These films are based completely on the original Mahabharata where the storyline and plot both have been inspired by the actual epic itself but in these adaptations, Arjun and Bhima are often sidelined. In some film adaptations, they are 'as good as not in the film even'. I too had thought of making a film on Mahabharata but now everybody had already become familiar with Mahabharata through Doordarshan. So, it seemed boring to narrate the same heroism of Karna which are taught in school books, shown in innumerous serials, worshipped in temples. An idea clicked in my mind to make the epic through Bhima and Arjun's point of view which would be new to the audience. But Amit (Amitabh)was reluctant to keep the name- Arjun, thus played Bhima. My mission is to create films on those mythological characters who have been historically sidelined or didn't get enough representation in history. My next project would be on Indrajeet etc."

External links

• Aaj Ka Arjun at IMDb