As the Prakash Mehra directed film Namak Halaal celebrates its 40th anniversary, we take a trip down memory lane and examine some memorable facts about the 1982 Amitabh Bachchan film.
Namak Halaal, directed by Prakash Mehra and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Smita Patil, and Parveen Babi, was released forty years ago. While there is a wealth of information about the making of this classic film and its even more legendary soundtrack, arguably the most well-known is when the late Smita Patil was ordered to lip-sync and dance to “Aaj Rapat Jaye.”
Patil was a gifted performer who was (and still is) best renowned for her outstanding performances in independent and arthouse films. She was a “serious” actress who was taking a risk with Namak Halaal. She had no idea that in the 1982 film, she would have to not only be more dramatic than normal, but also match steps with Amitabh Bachchan while lip-syncing to an apparently intimate song in the rain.
Patil, to put it mildly, was not thrilled with the concept.
Smita was reportedly able to give her best performance in that number thanks to Amitabh Bachchan’s attempts to put her at ease. In fact, in one of his earlier blog entries, Big B retold this incident in part. “‘Namak Halal’ celebrates 34 years…with the amazing Smita Patil, who was quite uncomfortable throughout the entire filming process because she couldn’t understand why she was asked to do what she was asked to do.” But she did it with a great deal of personal coaxing from me, and it worked out perfectly. She looked soft and weak, but she was stronger than any woman you’d ever met… “Truly a gift we never should have received,” the Bollywood star said on his blog at the time.
The everlasting music written by Disco King Bappi Lahiri is one of the main reasons why Namak Halaal is still remembered today. All of the songs were huge hits. And, while the end result was excellent, the process of creating these music was not always easy. When Lahiri first pitched the song “Pag Ghunghroo” to his uncle, famed singer Kishore Kumar, the latter became enraged with the composer after learning that it was a 12-minute song. Kishore had asked Lahiri, “What is this?” in an earlier interview with Film Companion, “What is this?”
Bappi Lahiri gave Hindi film music a bright new sound. In unforgettable songs, he demonstrated his flexibility.
But, obviously, everything works out in the end. Not only was the film’s soundtrack a major hit with the public, but it also made a lot of money at the box office, becoming the third most grossing film of 1982 with a whopping 120 million dollars in box office receipts.