The Great Gambler review :
One of the rare underperforming films of Bachchan from his peak era, The Great Gambler is a high octane espionage thriller which has Amitabh in a double role - the titular character and his doppelganger secret agent who is out to retrieve a code book from hands of the villain brigade.
Conceived by Shakti Samanta in late 60s with Shammi Kapoor in mind, the director went on to make blockbusters with Rajesh Khanna in early 70s and finally, started his ambitious project with the reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan in 1977. The film was a mega budget production for its time shot extensively across Europe. The song "Do Lafzon Ki Hai Dil ki Kahaani" was shot on a Gondola in Venice's famous Grand Canal.
Of the cast, Amitabh Bachchan was expectedly brilliant in the double role and he played his Bond like character to the gallery. Total ceetis- worthy performance! Zeenat Aman looked sizzling hot as his female lead. Neetu Singh left an impression even in a small role. Prem Chopra was effective as ever in a villainous role. My personal favourite is of course, Sujit Kumar as the Italiano dude called Marconi who answers the phone with a "Aaloooo" instead of a normal Hello. This character later inspired Chunky Pandey's Aakhri Paasta in the Housefull film series.
Fight master Shetty appears in just one brilliant action scene shot in a mutton cold storage. Its the most thrilling fight of Amitabh Bachchan ever.
My review would be incomplete without the mention of Panchamda RD Burman's excellent music. He made optimum use of Asha Bhosle in the songs - "O Deewana Dil Sambhalo", "Raqqasa Mera Naam" and "Do Lafzon Ki Hai". Her voice suited the sexy Zeenat Aman perfectly.
Despite so many positive factors, The Great Gambler didnt do well at the box office on its initial release. Trade analysts cited two primary reasons for the films failure : One was its title which confused the aam junta that it was an English movie and second, was the A certificate granted by the censors (due to the aforementioned mutton store wala action scene) which limited its audience theatrically.
Amusingly, The Great Gambler was re-released in the 80s as Sabse Bada Juaari and the film became a super hit this time. It also started the trend of Amitabh's old films re-releasing with new titles just to pull in the initial audience.
I recommend The Great Gambler or Sabse Bada Juaari - whatever you wanna call it - to all Amitabh Bachchan fans. Its one of his most underrated works which has the superstar in his asli element. Dont miss!
Regards,
Sumeet Nadkarni
