Mashaal movie is a 1984 Indian Hindi action film. The Producer cum director is Yash Chopra. This film’s leading star cast are Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Anil Kapoor, and Rati Agnihotri. The lead role played by Anil Kapoor was initially offered to Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan, but after they refused the offer, the role was given to Anil Kapoor.
A well-respected, law-abiding person who commits to crime in order to get revenge is portrayed by Vinod Kumar (Dilip Kumar). The Marathi drama Ashroonchi Zhali Phule, authored by Marathi author Vasant Kanetkar, served as the inspiration for the movie. Mammootty played the lead in the Malayalam remake of the movie, Ithile Iniyum Varu.
Cast and Crew
- Director: Yash Chopra
- Writer: Javed Akhtar
- Producer: Yash Chopra
- Star Cast: Anil Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri
- Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman
- Gulshan Grover, Saeed Jaffrey
- Alok Nath, Amrish Puri
- Cinematography: Santosh Sivan
- Music Director: Hridaynath Mangeshkar
- Production company: Yash Raj Films
- Genres: Action, Drama, Family
- Distributor: Yash Raj Films
- Release date: 9 February 1984
- Running time: 170 minutes
- Country: India
- Language: Hindi
Mashaal movie 1984 Trailer
Star Cast
| Actor | Name | Character/Role | Notes |
| Dilip Kumar | Vinod Kumar | Reporter/Newspaper Editor | Working under Vinod Kumar for Drug trafficking, Black Marketing/Hooch Selling |
| Waheeda Rehman | Sudha Kumar | Wife of Vinod Kumar | |
| Anil Kapoor | Raja | Press Reporter/Newspaper Editor and Raja’s Love Interest | Later becomes a Drug trafficker, Black Marketer/Hooch Seller |
| Rati Agnihotri | Geeta | Later became Press Reporter/Newspaper Editor | |
| Amrish Puri | S.K. Vardhan | Blackmarketer/Liquor Seller | |
| Madan Puri | Tolaram | Assistant to S.K. Vardhan | |
| Saeed Jaffery | Kishorilal | Drug trafficker, Black Marketer/Liquor Seller | |
| Nilu Phule | Vitthal Rao | ||
| Mohan Agashe | Keshav | Partners/Friends Working under Vinod Kumar in Drug trafficking, Black marketing/Hooch Selling | |
| Avtar Gill | Mohan | ||
| Annu Kapoor | Nagesh | Later, Joins S.K. Vardhan After Being Removed By Vinod Kumar | Cameo Role |
| Harish Magon | Damodar | Becomes Traitor and joins S.K.Vardhan/Keshav Gang | |
| Gulshan Grover | Munna | ||
| Madan Jain | Somu (Somesh) | Later Becomes a Taxi Driver | Becomes a Traitor and joins S.K.Vardhan/Keshav Gang |
| Alok Nath | Dinesh | Press Reporter/Newspaper Editor | |
| Iftekhar | Doctor | ||
| Vikas Anand | Police Inspector | ||
| Amrit Pal | Amrit | Goon/Casino Manager, Under S.K.Vardhan | |
| Jaspal Sandhu | Friends of Raja, Drug traffickers, Blackmarketers/Hooch Sellers |
Story of the film
“Mashaal” is a publication run by Vinod Kumar, a man of integrity and honesty. Through his publication, Vinod reveals the social evils. When Sudha, Vinod’s wife, spots Raja, a vagrant, she attempts to teach him some culture and values. Though skeptical, Vinod agrees when Raja shares his traumatic upbringing and begins to see Sudha as a mother figure. In the end, Vinod chooses to support Raja by sending him to Bangalore to finish his studies and pursue a career in journalism. Raja makes friends with Geeta, a future journalist and Vinod’s paper assistant, during regular meetings with Vinod and Sudha, and the two fall in love.
Vinod discovers throughout his investigations that S.K. Vardhan, a well-to-do and well-respected individual in the community, is responsible for several malpractices. Vinod begins to expose S.K.’s illegal drug-trafficking and alcohol-selling operations. S.K. first tries to buy Vinod’s silence by bribing him, but when Vinod chooses to defend himself, S.K. causes him suffering by having him evicted from his rental home through the landlord. S.K.’s goons set fire to Vinod’s newspaper office that same evening. Tragic events befall Vinod and Sudha further while they are homeless and helpless. Vinod is devastated and grieved when Sudha, who is ill, passes away on the road.
A disillusioned Vinod understands that, as people favor S.K., he would always win. Vinod now chooses to follow S.K.’s lead to destroy him rather than attempting to expose him. Together with Kishorilal, Vinod begins making illegal alcohol and pursuing other unlawful ventures to make money—the thing that, in hindsight, he felt he lacked and that, in turn, caused the catastrophes in his life. Vinod soon gets wealthy. Raja, who is studying in Bangalore at the moment, is not aware of these changes. Geeta is the only other individual who has been exposed to this reality; she has become bitter toward Vinod and has begun working for another newspaper.
Vardhan’s enterprise is now in danger from Vinod’s company. After finishing his studies, Raja soon returns and sees Vinod. He is shocked to discover that the latter has altered his lifestyle, but he is unaware of the reality.
When Raja runs with his old buddy Munna, he finds out that a new criminal has joined the ring and established himself in the drug and alcohol trade. Unbeknownst to him, Vinod is the crook whom Raja chooses to expose. When Vinod finds out that Raja is attempting to destroy his empire, he is troubled but does not stop him. Geeta also works for another journalist, Dinesh, with whom Raja begins working. Vinod is revealed to be the new drug boss after a fortuitous conversation between Raja, Dinesh, and Geeta. When Raja finds out, he is shocked and rushes to confront Vinod about it. Vinod tells him what occurred and accepts the truth. Following a period of emotional turmoil and serious reflection, Raja resolves to stick to the moral path Vinod taught him, even if it means revealing the criminal identity of the guy who raised him as his own son. When Raja acknowledges that he still considers Vinod to be his mentor, Vinod feels humbled and permits him to carry on with his chosen career.
When Raja begins writing about Vinod and S.K., their animosity escalates. At last, Raja is abducted by S.K. and threatened. After saving Raja, Vinod enters and engages S.K. in combat. Vinod throws S.K. onto the printing press wheels, killing him. S.K. henchman Keshav attempts to shoot Raja, but Vinod intervenes and is shot and killed. While Vinod passes away in Raja’s arms, happy and at last content, Keshav is taken into custody.
Music/Songs
| No. | Title | Singer |
| 1 | “Zindagi Aa Raha Hoon Main” | Kishore Kumar |
| 2 | “Om Namah Shivaye Sanso Ki Sargam Pe Dhadkan Ye” | Lata Mangeshkar |
| 3 | “Mujhe Tum Yaad Karanaa Aur Mujhako Yaad Aanaa Tum” | Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar |
| 4 | “O Holi Aayee, Holi Aayee Dekho Holi Aayee Re” | Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Mahendra Kapoor |
| 5 | “Footpathon Ke Ham Rahane Vaale, Raaton Ne Paalaa Ham Vo Ujaale” | Anup Jalota, Shailendra Singh, Hariharan, Suresh Wadkar |
Box office
Despite having a budget of 29 million rupees, the movie only made 25 million at the box office, earning it the title of “Flop” from Box Office India. The movie was Dilip Kumar’s first box office failure, the year before Duniya, his second failure. Nonetheless, both films, especially Mashaal, praise his performance.
Influence
Famous Marathi playwright Vasant Kanetkar’s well-known Marathi play “Ashroonchi Zhali Phule” served as the inspiration for the movie.
Based on the same Marathi drama, but presented differently, Satyen Bose’s film “Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool” was released in 1969. Ashok Kumar, Debu Mukherji, and Pran played important parts.
Awards
32nd Filmfare Awards:
Succeeded
- Best Supporting Actor – Anil Kapoor
- Nominated
- Best Actor – Dilip Kumar
- Best Story – Javed Akhtar
References
- Wikipedia contributors. (2025c, April 17). Mashaal. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashaal
- Mashaal (1984) ⭐ 7.2 | Action, Drama, family. (1984, February 9). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085912/
