Wonderfully offbeat film!

Wonderful character development!

Better Late Then Never

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I was blown away with movie when I saw its first time in 1995 .. and probably it was my 2nd or 3rd Amitabh bachchan movie back then. I became instant fan .. the persona, the larger than life presence, the voice, Best Entry scene ever , the comic timing, Dance sequence, fights .. everything simply blow me .. probably first time I became fan of any actor and I was 14 years old in 1995. Its fifteen years .. and I have seen all movies of Amitabh bachchan, no need to say bachchan movies are treasure of sort .. but Coolie is still my All time favorite, I have seen more than 100 times, have VHS, CD, DVD .. all formats at home, and still buy any DVD/CD if found any new cover .. :) Such a crazy fan of this movie. Coming to review .. This is probably ONLY movie in this world which made on life of Coolie .. Entire movie and each scene is attributed towards them only including songs. Movie is so true to its subject(coolie) yet so much entertaining. Right from entry scene of Iqbaal(Amitabh) to Climax .. movie packs a SOLID punch of entertainment. Some best scenes : 1. Zafar breaking DAM and flood scene 2. Zafar Kidnapping Salma 3. Puneet Issar trying to kill Iqbaal(Kid) and breaking hands of Mama. 4. Iqbaal(Amitabh) Entry scene 5. Coolie on Strike 6. Strike ends and "Saari duniya ka bhoj" song. 7. Mujhe Peene Ka Shaunk Nahi Song 8. Amitabh and Rishi first confrontation 9. Lambu Ji Tingu Ji Song 10. Iqbaal taking coolies to Puri and Vicky house 11. Iqbaal kidnapping Rati and Omelet scene 12. Umbrella Scene and Amitabh proposing Rati 13. Rati Confession of love to Amitabh followed by "Dono Jawani Ki Masti" Song 14. Coolies getting their Home and Chitfund fight scene where Amitabh hurt 15. Amitabh met his mother Salma 16. Salma shot bullet and Hazi Ali sequence 17. Rishi get to know about his identity. 18. Amitabh electing and Climax speech sequence between Amitabh, Zafar and Salma. 19. Climax fight and Amitabh shot bullets 20. Amitabh rescued and saved .. and his final thanks to Audience.Background score and Music is another high point .. Specially BG music during Amitabh Entry scene and Climax scene when he was shot dead .. is SUPERB. I can watch Coolie umpteen number of times .. this is wholesome timeless entertainer. A MUST watch for all Bollywood and masala movies fans. Best Masala movie ever made .. even better than Amar Akbar Anthony.

This is a movie which's clips will be shown on every channel when GOD Amitabh comes to die, i hope at least a hundred years from now. Because this is the movie in which that Punneet issar guy almost killed Amitabh bachchan during the shooting. About the movie itself, not the best Amitabh-Rishi movie, not the best Amitabh-Manmohan Desai movie (though not as bad as Ganga Jamuna Saraswati), actually not the best Amitabh movie. Worse is that you have Suresh Oberoi in it. rati Agnihotri is the leading lady. Okay, so they couldn't get Hema, Parveen or Zeenat, at least take jaya Pradha. The director has a song in this movie which says it all about the movie " accident hogaya rabba rabba" . But i may be prejudiced because they actually freeze the shot where Amit gets hurt and you see the man inb pain. And to see that happening to The Man who has given me and so many other people hours and hours and hours of joy in our life through his movies is painful. But to be a real bachchan fan, you need to own this movie just for the historic value

Becoming a mega-star in the late 70s proved to be a double-edged weapon for Amitab Bachchan. On one hand, films would be specifically written for him. On the other, his roles became repetitions of his star persona, with popular gags and situations endlessly recreated film after film. Compared to the embarrassing shows in which Mr. Bachchan would later be involved, "Coolie" is quite enjoyable and dignified.From the very beginning, it is pretty clear that Amitab Bachchan IS the movie. The opening credits (with his name above the title) do not roll till halfway into the film, when the main star makes his appearance: the camera pans towards him while he runs to the rescue of his father figure. "Coolie" somehow features the highest number of lost children, missing parents and secret identities per square meter. Bachchan plays Iqbal, a Muslim coolie (train porter), raised by a Hindi old man and in love with independent Julie, a Christian girl. Religious differences do not seem to matter in this movie, which curiously has Communist undertones, and not only for the coolies red shirts. The scene in which they invade the engagement party to demand decent homes looks like the camp version of an Einseinstein movie: Amitab fights against the villain while holding the sickle and hammer, which he calls "the weapons of the worker." Waheeda Rehman, still stunning in her late forties, perfectly plays Amitab's estranged mother (in real life she was just six years older than him). To some extent she is the heroine: she is the goal of his quest and the one for whom he confronts the villain at the end. Rishi Kapoor is lovable as the hero's sidekick (nicknamed "tingu-ji/ shorty" in contrast to Iqbal's "lambuji/ tall" in a hilarious song). His dance with the child version of his sweetheart is absolutely cute. In addition, the love songs between Iqbal and Julie (an elegant Rati Agnihotri) are nice to watch.Nowadays, this film is mainly remembered for the accident that almost killed Bachchan: during one of the numerous fight scenes, he knocked against a table and ruptured his spleen. India literally came to a halt, while fans camped outside the hospital, afraid that their beloved star would die. It is reported that blood donations (of which Bachchan would later become an advocate) dramatically increased. The actual take of the accident was the one used in the film. At that point, the screen freezes and an inter-title in English, Hindi and Urdu appears: "This is the shot in which Amitab Bachchan was seriously injured." The ending also blurs the limits between fiction and reality. The original one, in which Iqbal died, was changed (it would have looked like a bad joke). Instead, the last scenes recreate the real-life vigils of his fans outside the hospital. We see Muslims, Hindis, Christians and Sikhs all offering prayers for his recovery. The final speech truly sends shivers down my spine: a visibly pale Amitab (as Iqbal) thanks his friends (audience)for their support from the hospital balcony. Tears roll through his face while he says "It was your prayers what kept me alive", and you know that he is NOT acting. If you want to know what it means to be a Bollywood mega-star, "Coolie" is the film for you.

"Coolie" is a film with something for everyone. We have plenty of action for macho guys, a love story for the ladies, and even political and social themes for artsy folks such as myself. Of course this is nothing new for a Bollywood movie, they are designed to reach as wide an audience as possible. What made "Coolie" stand out for me however, was the way "Coolie" turned everything up a notch. There was more action! More Romance! More elaborate musical numbers! It was almost as if the movie was defying other Bollywood films to try and top it. Of course, it's not just the over the top quality that makes the film memorable. "Coolie" combines the spectacular action and musical scenes with a genuine sense of style. Most importantly however, it is the presence of the legendary Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan that makes the film a fulfilling piece of entertainment. Most Bollywood films are fairly easy to follow, since the producers know what their audience wants, and time and time again recycle the same story elements (examples being "Mother India" [1957] and "Deewar" [1975], two very different films on the surface, but with almost identical story lines). Although Coolie contains many of the classic thematic elements of many Bollywood movies (absent fathers, a quest for revenge, the "little guy" standing up against a powerful villain), it also differs from the norm in many ways. The plot is much more complicated and difficult to follow than most Bollywood movies (there are about five story lines happening at once), but the action set pieces and musical numbers help distract from that minor problem.Indeed it is the action scenes that are the major attractions of "Coolie". These have to be the most surreal, artfully constructed action scenes I've ever witnessed. In many other Bollywood films, the action is kind of slap-dash, with actors running around hitting each other randomly, while the camera doesn't seem to know what to shoot. Although of course in "Coolie" the action scenes are fast paced and energetic, the directors Manmohan Desai and Prayag Raj infuse smooth tracking shots, slow motion and freeze frames. This could threaten to turn the action scenes into cheesy John Woo style set pieces, where the action scenes look more like a karaoke video, but Desai and Raj wisely keep a sense of humour to the proceedings. Possibly the strangest and most striking action moment comes towards the end. At one point Amitabh Bachchan is thrown against a table. Suddenly, the frame freezes. A title appears on the screen: "Amitabh Bachchan was seriously injured during this shot". The freeze frame ends, and the scene continues as if nothing had happened! Apparently there really is something for everyone, action, music, and even news!Unfortunately, it's impossible for me to explore the film as deeply as I would like to here, but I wouldn't want to finish before briefly discussing Amitabh Bachchan's star persona. I understand why he is a legend in India. He absolutely commands this film. From his introduction (a hawk lands on his arm, and the camera slowly pans to reveal his face), even those not familiar with him know they are in store for something special. Bachchan proves himself to be adept at not only fierce action, but comedy as well, as evidenced by a goofy but funny scene where his female captive tricks him into getting his legs stuck over his head. Now I'm not trying to say that Bachchan is God's gift to the art of acting, but he does what he does well, and there is no denying that, regardless of your usual cinematic tastes (I'm more partial to Ray, Ghatak, and Sen films myself), Coolie is superior entertainment.