We Love the 80s: Disco, Glitz and Art

Masala Zindabad

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This week, we take on the mammoth froth of catchy music and bad fashion that is the 1980s in Hindi cinema with Anandini from the amazing retro-blog Bollystalgia.
Given the general lack of love experienced by this decade in Hindi fandom, the decade where the parallel movement was put on life support, we thought it might be fun to compare a list of movies that won the Filmfare Award for Best Film through the 80s with their blockbuster counterparts. The two lists threw up a few surprises to say the least! This chart will show you what we mean.

Of course, lists don't always represent the reality. For example, Amitabh Bachchan delivered some of his greatest hits during this decade without rating a mention in these lists. Meanwhile, the list is full of the old guard, which isn't an accurate description of a decade dominated by newcomers like Sunny Deol and Anil Kapoor. The trend continues today - the Khans dominate the box office even though the chatter is all about the young guns like Ranbir Kapoor, Imran Khan and Shahid Kapur.
Yes, you really DO need to watch Toofan!
In this episode we discuss

• our list of the quintessential 80s movies / actors
• why Sridevi was hot and Jayaprada was not
• where is Amitabh? Delivering some of his greatest hits followed by some of his greatest clankers.
• the star kids of yesteryear like Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Kumar Gaurav
  
• where is Mithun? Becoming a national icon.
  
• Rishi becomes Sweater Uncle
• Jeetendra was the hero of our childhood
• the always fascinating topic of 80s fashion! Say yes to apsaras in netting!
  

PS - According to an interview with Anusha Rizvi (Peepli Live) Kamal Swaroop's Om Dar-ba-dar - the title makes more sense once you figure out the pronunciation - was an excellent film that was either never released or couldn't manage a distribution deal. If anybody has seen it or knows where we might get to see it, do let us know!