Qurbani (film)

Plot

Rajesh (Feroz Khan) was a motorcycle stuntman in a circus and is now a thief, expert in breaking open treasuries. In one such robbery, he is being watched by a jolly but shrewd police inspector Amjad Khan (Amjad Khan). Sheela (Zeenat Aman) is a gorgeous disco club dancer and singer. Rajesh and Sheela are in love. Rajesh has not disclosed to Sheela that he is a thief. An evil brother-sister duo- Vikram (Shakti Kapoor) and Jwaala (Aruna Irani) seek revenge against crime boss Rakka (Amrish Puri) who cheated Jwaala and siphoned her money. Vikram meets Rajesh in jail. Inspector Amjad Khan arrests Rajesh for theft after he is seen by an officer at a traffic accident. The court sentences Rajesh to two years imprisonment. Sheela is devastated after she realizes Rajesh was a thief.

Meanwhile, Amar (Vinod Khanna) is an ace crime member in Rakka's gang who revolts against Rakka. He is a widower with a daughter Tina (Natasha Chopra) studying in a boarding school. However, before quitting Rakka's gang, Amar has committed a crime, masked, and inspector Amjad Khan is investigating that case. Amar saves Sheela from a gang of rowdy bikers. They meet regularly as Sheela likes Amar's daughter Tina. Soon Amar begins to love Sheela who does not reciprocate because she still loves Rajesh. After short time Amar and Shiela get together. Rajesh completes his jail sentence. While returning, he meets Vikram who again reminds him of the deal to rob Rakka. During the conversation, Amar incidentally reaches the site and a fist fight ensues between Amar and Vikram. While fleeing, Vikram swears revenge against Amar. Thus Rajesh and Amar meet for the first time. Rajesh takes Amar to introduce to Sheela; Sheela and Amar pretend as if they do not know each other since they don't want Rajesh to unnecessarily suspect them.

Later Vikram's goons kidnap Amar's daughter and beat Amar who is hospitalized. In return for Amar and his daughter's safety, Rajesh agrees to do Vikram's job. He nurses Amar back to normalcy and soon they turn thick friends. Amar promises Rajesh he will support him in this one last robbery. They plan to shift to London after the robbery with the money. They concoct a scheme whereby Amar would steal gold bars and jewellery from a safe, phone the police, let Rajesh take over, get arrested, and get a prison term for about 12 to 18 months. After his release, he will join Amar in the U.K. Things don't go according to plan as Rajesh gets arrested for killing Rakka while Amar and Sheela reach London with the money. Rajesh construes that Amar deliberately framed him so that he can get Rajesh out of the way, keep all the money (as well as Sheela) for himself. Rajesh escapes from jail and reaches London to apprehend Amar. After a brief tussle, Rajesh realizes the truth and that Amar did not frame him. Vikram and his goons reach London to take revenge against Rajesh and Amar. In the climax of the movie, Amar sacrifices his life to save Rajesh, Sheela and Tina from getting killed by Vikram.

Production

To draw shock from the audience, a scene was included with the calculated decimation of a Mercedes Benz in an underground parking lot. This was at a time when not many in India had seen a Mercedes, let alone sat in one.

 UK stunts were designed and arranged by James Dowdall, photographed by Eric Van Herren and produced by Nick Farnes who, with James Dowdall, wrote the UK scenario.

Feroz Khan initially asked Amitabh Bachchan to play the role of Amar. Amitabh replied he would be available in 6 months according to Feroz, but Feroz could not wait that long. So the role of Amar went to Vinod Khanna

Box office

Qurbani became a box office success and the biggest Indian hit of the year, with a gross revenue of ₹12 crore (net income of ₹6 crore) at the Indian box office in 1980. This is equivalent to US$15.26 million in 1980, or US$44 million (₹296 crore) in 2016.

Its songs were popular and the movie sold the most number of records and tapes in 1980. The music and songs ushered in the "Disco Revolution" of the Indian subcontinent that lasted until the mid-1980s. "Aap Jaisa Koi", sung by Nazia Hassan and produced by Biddu, had a strong impact on audiences.

Music

Biddu was the music director for the song "Aap Jaisa Koi" which introduced him and Pakistani singer Nazia Hassan to Indian films. The first initial song Biddu recorded for Qurbani was a Hindi version of a Boney M song. When Nazia Hassan and Zoheb Hassan heard it, they refused saying they didn't want to sing a copy.They insisted they wanted an original song. A reluctant Biddu asked them what they had in mind. That's when "Aap Jaisa Koi " was born.

The rest of the songs and the background score were set by Kalyanji-Anandji. The song Laila O Laila was also very popular.

The movie is known for its music and songs, including the title qawwali Qurbani Qurbani, written by the Urdu poet, Faruk Kaiser and rendered by Anwar, Kishore Kumar and Aziz Nazan. It has a song performed by Mohammed Rafi, Kya Dekhte Ho, which was written by Indeevar. Qurbani Qurbani received a special award for 'The Most Amazing Evergreen Song' by Bollywood music Producer, Rajesh Roshan.

Feroz Khan met Biddu and Nazia Hassan at a party hosted by a close friend in England in 1980. Nazias parents insisted Feroz listen to Nazia sing. Feroz did and was highly impressed. But Feroz had his eye on International star Biddu to score a song for Qurbani. Biddu was reluctant to score music for an Indian film. It was with sincere persistence and Feroz telling Biddu to do it for his mom who lived in India. Feroz also played the Banglore card with Biddu since both Feroz and Biddu both hailed from Banglore.

Many music directors (Including the film's original music directors Kalyanji Anandji) opposed Feroz Khan hiring Biddu to score a solo song in the film. Many tried to stop this because they viewed Biddu as an outsider. After several discussions, Feroz Khan stuck to his choice.

Awards and nominations

Remake

Qurbani was remade in Tamil as Viduthalai in 1986 by producer K. Balaji. The film had Rajnikant in Feroze Khan's role and Dr.Vishnuvardhan in Vinod Khanna's role and was shot in United States of America, but was an utter failure.