''Mr. India'' is a 1987 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language superhero film directed by Shekhar Kapur and produced jointly by Boney Kapoor and Surinder Kapoor under the former's banner Narsimha Enterprises, with the story and screenplay written by the duo

Salim–Javed Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters o ...

in what was their last collaboration before their split. Starring

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...

, and Amrish Puri, the film tells the story of Arun Verma (Kapoor), a poor street violinist and philanthropist who receives a

cloaking device A cloaking device is a hypothetical or fictional stealth technology that can cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Fictional cloaking devices have bee ...

that grants him invisibility. While renting out his house to pay his debts, he meets the journalist Seema Sohni (Sridevi) and falls in love with her. Meanwhile, the criminal Mogambo (Puri) has plans to conquer India. After watching his previous directorial venture '' Masoom'', a 1983 family drama about children, Boney Kapoor approached Kapur to make another film with similar themes.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

, handled by

Baba Azmi Sayyid Baba Azmi is an Indian film cinematographer and member of the Akhtar-Azmi film family.Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, and other locations in India, starting in July 1985, and finished after 350 days. Laxmikant–Pyarelal composed the soundtrack, while Akhtar wrote the lyrics. After filming ended, Waman Bhonsle and Gurudutt Shirali jointly edited it; Peter Pereira completed the special effects. ''Mr. India'' was released on 25 May 1987. It emerged as a commercial success and became the second highest-grossing film of the year at the Indian box office, where it earned against a budget; it was also an overseas hit in China. It received widespread acclaim from contemporary and modern critics, with most of them appreciating the performances of Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. In 2013, Sridevi was awarded the

Special Award Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

at the

58th Filmfare Awards The 58th Filmfare Awards were held honoring the best films of 2012 from the Hindi-language film industry (commonly known as Bollywood). The nominations were announced on 13 January 2013. The ceremony was held on 20 January 2013 at Yash Raj Stu ...

. ''Mr. India'' was a breakthrough for its director and cast members and became a milestone in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

for its rarely filmed superhero genre, which was followed by several Indian films in later years. It was remade in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

as ''

En Rathathin Rathame ''En Rathathin Rathame'' ( ''Oh, blood of my blood'') is a 1989 Tamil-language science fiction action film directed by K. Vijayan, and finished by his son Sundar K. Vijayan, following his father's death. The film is the Tamil debut of actress M ...

'' (1989) and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

as ''

Jai Karnataka ''Jai Karnataka'' is a 1989 Indian Kannada-language superhero film, directed and produced by Dwarakish. The film stars Ambareesh, Rajani, Jr Narasimharaju and Mukhyamantri Chandru in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Vijayanand. The ...

'' (1989). A 3D sequel, titled ''Mr. India 2'', was announced in 2011 but has not entered production.

Plot

Mogambo is a criminal whose goal is to conquer India. From his hidden island, he monitors all the evil-doings perpetrated by his henchmen. His catchphrase, "Mogambo khush hua" ("Mogambo is pleased") and "Hail Mogambo!", used by his subordinates, shows his complete authority over his minions. On the other hand, Arun is a street violinist and philanthropist who rents a large, old house to take care of ten orphans with the help of his cook named "Calendar". Arun is seldom able to make ends meet and owes many debts, so he decides to rent out the room on the first floor. Seema, his first tenant, is a local journalist who eventually becomes friends with everyone. Arun falls in love with her. He receives a mysterious letter from a family friend, Professor Sinha, which reveals that Arun's late father—who was a renowned scientist—had created a

that would make its user invisible. It still needed to be patented, and because Arun was the only son, it was his responsibility to complete the protocols and sign the paperwork for it. Arun saw this as an opportunity and immediately hatched a plan to get the device. With the directions in the letter, and accompanied by his ward, Arun enters his father's old laboratory. When the device is activated, it makes the wearer invisible unless red light is focused on the wearer. Arun decides to keep it a secret. After a few months as a tenant, Seema is invited to a lavish party hosted by an acquaintance, and she performs a song under the guise of a famous Hawaiian dancer, who is unable to make it to the party. After the performance, she is nearly killed by criminals who think she is a spy, but Arun comes to her rescue, styling himself as an invisible person and introducing himself to them as "Mr. India". Seema subsequently falls for her rescuer, however, Arun keeps his identity as Mr. India secret for a few more months. One day, Arun uses the device to trick one of Mogambo's henchmen to foil his criminal plans; he reports the incident to his leader. Thereafter, Mogambo has bombs disguised as toys planted in public places. Tina—one of the orphans who stays at Arun's house—finds the traps and takes them, resulting in her death. Arun, Seema, Calendar, and the other orphans are all captured by the Mogambo's henchmen as prime suspects and brought for interrogation before him. Mogambo tortures them so he can reveal Mr. India's identity and the location of the device. Arun eventually admits to this when Mogambo threatens to kill two children; but because Arun has lost the device by accidentally dropping it somewhere during the capture, he cannot become invisible to prove himself. Mogambo sends them into the dungeons temporarily. However, they are able to escape by stealing the keys from a guard. Meanwhile, Mogambo activates four

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

s, which are poised to destroy all of India. Arun confronts him, the two fight, and Arun gains the upper hand. But as he is about to stop the missiles, Mogambo warns that everyone present will die if Arun succeeds. Nevertheless, Arun deactivates the launch, and the missiles detonate on the launch pad. Arun, Seema, Calendar, and the children escape; Mogambo's fortress is destroyed, and Mogambo dies.

Cast

as Arun Verma *

as Seema Sohni * Amrish Puri as Mogambo * Annu Kapoor as Mr. Gaitonde, Seema's newspaper editor *

Ramesh Deo Ramesh Deo (30 January 1926 – 2 February 2022) was an Indian film and television actor who worked in more than 285 Hindi films, 190 Marathi films and 30 Marathi dramas with over 200 showings in his long career. He also produced feature films, ...

as a police inspector * Gurbachan Singh as Captain Zorro * Ajit Vachani as Teja (cameo appearance) * Ashok Kumar as Prof. Sinha *

Bob Christo Robert John Christo, was an Australian-Indian civil engineer and actor in Hindi films. Starting with Sanjay Khan's ''Abdullah'' (1980), he went on to act in over 200 Hindi films in the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Qurbani'' (1980), ''Kaalia'' ( ...

as Mr. Wolcott * Harish Patel as Roopchand (cameo appearance) * Anjan Srivastav as Baburam *

Satish Kaushik Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter. Early life Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is an ...

as Calendar * Ahmed Khan as an orphan * Aftab Shivdasani as an orphan * Yunus Parvez as Maniklal * Sharat Saxena as Daga

Production

Development

After watching Shekhar Kapur's family film '' Masoom'' (1983), producer Boney Kapoor approached him to make another film with themes related to children; Kapur immediately accepted the offer and received a salary. Kapur had been a fan of

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

and always wanted to make a superhero film. He had written several comic books that received international acclaim: ''Devi'', ''Snakewoman'', ''The Warlord'', ''The Omega Crystal'', and ''Mantra''.

, a duo consisting of Salim Khan and

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 200 ...

, was signed to write the story and screenplay for . Several publications claimed they took inspiration from the science fiction films ''Mr. X'' (1957) and ''Mr. X In Bombay'' (1964), but Kapur denied these reports saying that he never found copies of the films. Kapur wrote the dialogue in Hindustani, a mix of

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Surinder Kapoor, under the Narsimha Enterprises banner.

Casting

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi were cast as the main protagonists, Amrish Puri as the principal antagonist. Anil Kapoor plays Arun, a poor street violinist and philanthropist who rents a large, old house to help ten orphans. Salim–Javed made the role specifically for

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

, but later they asked

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

to play it when they found Khanna did not suit the role. Bachchan, however, felt that the concept of an invisible man would overshadow his performance, saying, "The real hero of the film is an invisible character. So why do you need me?". The duo took this as an "insult", and at a

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

festival held a few days later, Akhtar told him that neither he nor Khan would work with him again. In fact, Khan never said that and blamed Akhtar for this misunderstanding. This resulted in their split, making ''Mr. India'' their final collaboration. In an interview with

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

, Anil Kapoor admitted he added his "own style" to the role so the audience would not realize it "was going to be done" by Bachchan. Sridevi was given the role of Seema, a journalist who becomes a friend and then falls in love with Arun. After watching several of her

-language films from the 1970s, Boney Kapoor cast his future wife in the film and went to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(present-day Chennai) to meet her. Kapur said he cast Sridevi solely because she "represented every Indian male's dreams" with "her baby-face" and "luscious body". Having established herself as one of the most popular actresses, she charged the producer to , while her mother Rajeswari Yanger, who often accompanied her, asked for . Kapur actually paid her a higher amount, around . This was the first film Kapur had shot with the actress. Satish Kaushik, who also served as an associate director alongside Raj Kanwar, portrays Calendar, Arun's assistant. When asked by ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' about his character's name, he explained it originated from his father's (a

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

-based salesman) dealer who liked to insert the word ''calendar'' while talking. After hearing the story from his father, Kaushik suggested the idea to Kapur, who liked it immediately. Annu Kapoor features as Gaitonde, Sridevi's newspaper editor; he was paid . Amrish Puri was cast as Mogambo, a character that was inspired by

Ibn-e-Safi Ibn-e-Safi (26 July 1928 – 26 July 1980) (also spelled as Ibne Safi) ( ur, ) was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad ( ur, ), a fiction writer, novelist and poet of Urdu from Pakistan. The word Ibn-e-Safi is an Persian expression which litera ...

's ''

Jasoosi Dunya Jasoosi Dunya (Urdu: جاسوسى دنيا) is a popular series of Urdu detective stories created by Ibne-Safi. Its first novel, ''Dilaer Mujrim'' (دلير مجرم) was published in March 1952. In the following 27 years, Ibn-e-Safi wrote 127 bo ...

'', following his meeting with Boney Kapoor and Kapur while shooting the 1987 thriller '' Loha'' in

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

. It was reported that he received a salary of , making him the highest-paid Indian villain actor of all time. The part was initially offered to Anupam Kher, however, after his screen test, the crew believed he looked "more funny than ferocious". According to Kaushik, Puri was chosen later because of his "menacing" persona. Kapur asked him to imagine he is playing a

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

character to "nine-year-old kid" while portraying Mogambo.

Filming

Baba Azmi Sayyid Baba Azmi is an Indian film cinematographer and member of the Akhtar-Azmi film family.principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

of ''Mr. India'' on 6 July 1985. In later years, Kapur recalled it as "terrible days" for him and spoke the difficulties he and the film's cast and crew members faced in this period. According to Kapur, " thad to be shot slowly because of all the trick photography and technical innovation it entailed."

Saroj Khan Saroj Khan (born Nirmala Nagpal; 22 November 1948 – 3 July 2020) was an Indian dance choreographer in Hindi cinema. She was born in Bombay State (present day Maharashtra), India. She was best known for the dance form mujra and the fir ...

and

Veeru Devgan Veeru Devgan (25 June 1934 — 27 May 2019) was an Indian action choreographer, actor and film director who worked in Bollywood films. He worked on more than 200 Indian films including ''Roti Kapada Aur Makaan'', ''Kranti'', ''Mr. Natwarlal'', ...

were the choreographer and action director, respectively, while Bijon Dasgupta finished the production design. A big set was built at the R. K. Studio for Mogambo's sequences. The film's opening scene, featuring a group of governmental officers alighting from heavily armoured vehicles, was shot at the

Sophia College for Women Sophia College (Autonomous) is an undergraduate women's college established in 1941 by Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The governing body of The Society for the Higher Education of Women in In ...

. The sequences where Sridevi dresses up as

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

's on-screen character

The Tramp The Tramp (''Charlot'' in several languages), also known as the Little Tramp, was English actor Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character and an icon in world cinema during the era of silent film. ''The Tramp'' is also the title of ...

took between 30 and 35 days to finish. In an interview in ''

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...

'' December 1992 issue, she called the sequences "my all-time favourite" and revealed that the film's crew loved her while she wore the costume. The song "Kate Nahin Kat Te" was shot in

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

. Saroj Khan found it to be the "most difficult song" of her career, and said she took fifteen minutes to do the choreography, requiring her to create "sensuous movements". Filming was finished after 350 days and Waman Bhonsle and Gurudutt Shirali edited it. Kapur asked them to cut several repeats of the line, "Mogambo khush hua", as he felt it appeared too often in the film. Akhtar disagreed with him, convincing him that the line would be popular with the audience. Peter Pereira handled the special effects. He used

mechanical effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

to make Anil Kapoor's character invisible and

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

technique for his footprints.

Soundtrack

The duo Laxmikant–Pyarelal composed the film's soundtrack with lyrics written by Akhtar. The title of the song "Hawa Hawai"—initially "Kahate Hain Mujhko Hawa Hawai" ("They Call Me Hawa Hawai")—originated from an Urdu phrase, "''Bhai kahan hawa hawai ghoom rahe ho?''" ("Brother, how come you are floating about?"). Akhtar used only the words ''hawa hawai'' because he felt it was "more interesting".

Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singer and also as one of the most successful playback singers ...

, Alisha Chinai,

Kavita Krishnamurthy Sharada Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kavita Krishnamurthy or Kavita Subramaniam, is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojp ...

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

, and Shabbir Kumar performed the vocals. The song "Hawa Hawai" was originally sung by another singer (sources do not mention who), but Laxmikant–Pyarelal chose Krishnamurthy months later because they believed she was the "perfect" choice. T-Series released the album on 30 October 1986; it became a commercial success. 2.5 million cassettes were sold, according to a 24 July 1987 ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' report. M. Rahman of ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...

'' wrote it "has started a trend and film-goers will be hearing similar music over and over again in several forthcoming films". In 2018,

Scroll.in ''Scroll.in'', simply referred to as ''Scroll'', is an Indian digital news publication owned by the Scroll Media Incorporation. It publishes content in both Hindi and English languages. Founded in 2014, the website and its journalists have won ...

praised Kapur's ability to "insert grown-up feelings into an otherwise family-friendly film without being tasteless" in "Kate Nahin Kat Te". The song, which Nikhat Kazmi labelled as the "encapsulation of the feminine nonpareil", was parodied in '' Rangeela'' (1995), ''

Aiyyaa ''Aiyyaa'' () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language parody film starring Rani Mukerji and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles. It was written and directed by Sachin Kundalkar and jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures. Th ...

'' (2012), and '' Gunday'' (2014), and sampled in the song "O Janiya" from ''

Force 2 ''Force 2'' is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Abhinay Deo, which features John Abraham, Tahir Raj Bhasin and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead roles. It is a sequel to the 2011 film ''Force'', and the second installmen ...

'' (2016). "Hawa Hawai" was referenced in '' Salaam Bombay!'' (1988), inspired the title of Amole Gupte's 2014 drama film, and was remixed for '' Tumhari Sulu'' in 2018; Sridevi performed it at the Hope '86 concert in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

(present-day Kolkata).

Release

''Mr. India'' was one of the most anticipated Indian films of 1987, and journalists expected it to be a breakthrough for Anil Kapoor's acting career. Made on a budget of , a big budget for an Indian film at the time, Sujata Films distributed the film and released it on 25 May 1987. It ran at theatres for over 175 days, becoming a silver jubilee film. The ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'' declared it "the talk of the town" in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(present-day Mumbai), while ''Sunday'' magazine reported Kapur had become one of Bombay's "hottest directors". Trade analysts raved about Sridevi's performance, suggesting the film's title be changed to ''Miss India''. Several film festivals have screened ''Mr. India'' since its release. In August 2002, it was shown at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...

. On 22 April 2007, the film was selected for the Bollywood by Night section at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Anil Kapoor attended a special screening for the film at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

on 7 October 2014. Following Sridevi's death, on 23 June 2018, the

London Indian Film Festival London Indian Film Festival is a film festival established in 2010 to showcase Indian independent film.DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in all regions as a single-disc pack in

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

and PAL widescreen formats on 9 August 2007 and 10 February 2009, respectively.

Box office

A commercial success, it emerged as the second highest-grossing film of the year at the Indian box office, surpassed only by '' Hukumat''; the film-trade website

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014. About Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its owne ...

estimated the total earnings at . ''Mr. India'' was also an overseas box office hit

in China IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

, upon its release there in February 1990. Adjusted for inflation, the film grossed the equivalent of () in .

Critical reception

''Mr. India'' garnered positive reviews, with most critics praising Anil Kapoor and Sridevi's performances. On 31 May, ''

The Illustrated Weekly of India ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' was an English-language weekly newsmagazine publication in India. It started publication in 1880 (as ''Times of India'' Weekly Edition; later renamed as ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' in 1923) and ceasin ...

'' editor

Pritish Nandy Pritish Nandy (born 15 January 1951) is an Indian poet, painter, journalist, parliamentarian, media and television personality, animal activist and maker of films, TV and streaming content. He was a parliamentarian in the Rajya Sabha from Mahara ...

described it as an "enjoyable potboiler", and opined Sridevi's '' joie de vivre'' uplifted the film. He praised, "Her sense of spoof: the effortless sensuality that results in collective orgasm at the rise of a single eyebrow, let alone elaborate song sequences in the rain where she flaunts her every single asset, with easy insouciance." On 30 June, ''India Today'' said that Sridevi "breathes life into every scene that she appears in", adding that she had delivered a "scintillating" performance. In his 31 July review for ''The Indian Express'', the critic C. D. Aravind praised Anil Kapoor for giving "a reasonably good performance". He also appreciated Sridevi, writing that she was the "perfect choice" for the role of Seema; he felt the film's special effects were "commendable" and "on par with any foreign film". In October 1987, a reviewer from ''Sunday'' observed she has "given the best performance" of her career, attributing the film's success to the actress. ''Bombay: The City Magazine''—in the 1987 issue—commended the film for heralding "a new hero who does the disappearing act to turn the tables on the enemies of the nation". ''Mr. India'' received favourable reviews in the twenty-first century; several reviewers considered it to be a "balance between novelty, technology and all the ingredients of a typically entertaining potboiler".

Saibal Chatterjee Saibal Chatterjee is an Indian film critic, an author of a book on Gulzar, co-editor of a book on films; and a documentary scriptwriter. He was a columnist at BBC News, Business Standard, Hindustan Times and Financial Express. And a staff writer of ...

summarized, "The comic-strip simplicity of narrative and the infectious exuberance of the storytelling made it extremely easy for the massed to relate to the film." K. K. Rai, writing for '' Stardust'', found the screenplay to be "fun-filled" and complimented Kapur for directing the film with "spirit". Sukanya Verma wrote, "Shekhar Kapur's 1987 classic is a labour of love, ambition and ingenuity. Under his direction and Salim–Javed's penmanship, it celebrates compassion and human spirit with generous doses of humour, thrills, music and contrivances." She observed the special effects "don't feel dated" and likened it to the computer-generated images from nowadays' films. Planet Bollywood's Shahid Khan felt the director "deftly mixes all the elements of sci-fi, romance and comedy so well. The mixture is so irresistible that the film tempts more than one viewing." ''The Indian Express'' Shaikh Ayaz noted that the film "features one of Sridevi's most immensely enjoyable performances".

Accolades

In 2013, Sridevi was awarded a

by the

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

for her performances in both the film and ''

Nagina Nagina is a town and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. History Nagina is the word for ''"Jewel"'' (See Negin), it was named by Syed's who received this place as jagir by the Mughals. During the British ...

'' (1986).

Legacy

''Mr. India'' attained cult status in Hindi cinema, and many critics have considered it one of the greatest Indian films of all time. Director and critic Raja Sen claimed the film "remains one of the most watchable of that decade, a groundbreaking piece of work with the power to create a new Bollywood genre". Rediff.com's Suparn Verma said it "belongs to every kid and teenager of the 1980s ..It was a film that gave us hope, a film that made us believe in something extraordinary existing amongst us." It is dubbed as the first mainstream Bollywood science fiction film, and became a turning point for Kapur. In an article published in ''

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

'', Karthik Keramalu credited the film for " peningthe gates to the idea of a superhero" and " nspiringa generation of directors". According to Scottish tabloid '' Glasgow Times'', he has built a reputation as "the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

of India". Kapur has said: Following its success, people asked him to make another film with the same cast of children, and several producers offered him a chance to direct their films. Kapur said, " ..someone told me I would make a lot of money, I realised it was a fundamental reason not to make a film, as it is the beginning of making a bad film".

Kunal Kohli Kunal Kohli is an Indian film director, producer, actor and writer in Bollywood. He is best known as the director of '' Hum Tum'' (2004) and '' Fanaa'' (2006). He also owns the production house Kunal Kohli Productions, whose first was his ''T ...

, who had watched the film 200 times as of 2008, elaborated that the film's "spirit and essence is just fantastic" and said he had always wanted to make the same type of film.

Prawaal Raman Prawaal Raman is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has written and directed films like ''Darna Mana Hai'' (2003), ''Gayab'' (2004), ''Darna Zaroori hai'' (2006), '' 404'' (2011) and ''Main Aur Charl ...

declared it as his "all-time favourite", adding, "That's why while making ''

Gayab ''Gayab'' ( en, Invisible) ( hi, ग़ायब) is a 2004 Indian Hindi supernatural thriller film, directed by Prawaal Raman and produced by Ram Gopal Varma. It stars Tusshar Kapoor and Antara Mali as the lead protagonists. The film was decla ...

'' 2004) I never even thought of comparing my film to ''Mr. India''. It is a classic." The film was remade in

as ''

'' and

as ''

'' (both 1989). ''Mr. India'' also became a landmark for Anil Kapoor and Sridevi's career, and in 1992, ''Sunday'' featured the film amongst the latter's "landmark films". The actress

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fi ...

told ''The Hindu'' that she was impressed by Sridevi's acting, and thought that " there ever was an encyclopaedia on acting, it would be called Sridevi". In 2003, the ''

Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema The ''Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema'' is a 2003 film encyclopedia and criticism book that was edited by Gulzar, Saibal Chatterjee, and Govind Nihalani, detailing the history of Bollywood from silent era to sound era. The book was contributed by ...

'' noted, "''Mr. India'' is most remembered for the outrageously exaggerated villainy of Mogambo who seems to have been inspired by the combined eccentricities of the amesBond villains." ''Filmfare'', in 2013, named Mogambo the second-most iconic villain in the history of Indian cinema. Puri's dialogue, "Mogambo khush hua", became popular, and he was subsequently offered the same type of roles in later films. His son, Rajeev Puri, revealed that the actor would be asked to speak the dialogue at every award function he attended. He became the highest-paid villain actor at the time. The dialogue was included in several listings, including ''

Film Companion Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...

'' "50 Iconic Bollywood Dialogues", ''Filmfare'' "20 Most Famous Bollywood Dialogue", and

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

's "10 Killer Lines Made Famous by Bollywood Villains". The actor

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an actor, ...

's role in '' The Hero: Love Story of a Spy'' (2003) and the musician

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...

's 2018 single (from '' The Long Goodbye'' album) were modelled and named, respectively, after the character. Several lists have featured the film. In 2005, Rachna Kanwar of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' considered it to be one of "25 must-see Bollywood movies", noting, "The audiences were thrilled every time Amrish Puri glared down at them with his fiercely bulbous eyes sporting an atrocious blond wig and garish knee high silver heeled boots. They came back again and again to hear him mouth possibly the most repeated line of Hindi cinema (post 80s) .. The film was featured by CNN-IBN on their 2013 list of "100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time". The next year, ''Filmfare'' included it in their list "100 Filmfare Days". As part of Indian Independence Day's celebration in 2015, the ''Hindustan Times'' listed it on its "Top 10 Patriotic Bollywood Films" list. The newspaper ''

Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...

'' has featured the film in their listings three times: "10 Bollywood Superhero Films" and "Children's Day: 10 Memorable Bollywood Films" in 2016, and "70 Iconic Films of Indian Cinema" in 2017.

Sequel

Boney Kapoor announced in 2011 that ''Mr. India'' will have a 3D sequel, titled ''Mr. India 2'', and was expected for release in November 2014. While Anil Kapoor and Sridevi would reprise their roles,

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

was cast for the role of Mogambo, marking his third collaboration with the producer after '' No Entry'' (2005) and '' Wanted'' (2009). Co-produced the film with Sahara Motion Pictures, Boney Kapoor chose

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

as the music director. With a budget of , the filming was originally planned to start in 2012; however, as of April 2021, it has not begun production. In June 2018, at the 19th IIFA Awards, Anil Kapoor admitted that Sridevi's death four months before and the absence of Puri (who died in January 2005) affected the production, but he added: "We will try our best to follow their legacies so that we can make them proud that we made good films and they all appreciate what we have done."

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* * * {{Salim–Javed 1980s Hindi-language films 1980s Indian superhero films 1980s science fiction action films 1987 films Cultural depictions of Charlie Chaplin Films about nuclear war and weapons Films directed by Shekhar Kapur Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Films set in Mumbai Films shot in Mumbai Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed Hindi films remade in other languages Indian children's films Indian science fiction action films Indian vigilante films Indian superhero films Indian science fiction adventure films

Plot

Cast

Production

Development

Casting

Filming

Soundtrack

Release

Box office

Critical reception

Accolades

Legacy

Sequel

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links