Disco Dancer (1982) on Netflix
PG-1319822h 15mDramaMusicalRomance
Anil, a street performer from Bombay's slums, is rebranded as disco star Jimmy by manager David Brown. He must take the throne from champion Sam Oberoi and win Rita, Oberoi's daughter.
- Netflix3.0/5
- IMDb6.4/101,976 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Anil, a street performer who also sings at weddings, carries the memory of P. N. Oberoi beating his mother, Radha, during his childhood. Accused later of stealing a guitar, Anil and his mother leave the city in shame. Years afterward in Goa, Anil performs at small functions and dreams of a larger stage, while Sam Oberoi, P. N. Oberoi's son, rules the music world with an arrogance that drives his manager, David Brown, to quit. Brown promises to make someone a greater star, and he notices Anil. Rebranded as Jimmy, Anil performs at a show where Sam's sister tries to disrupt the event, and the crowd follows his dancing. Brown then arranges a show in Bombay, the city Anil and his mother had left.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Disco Dancer (1982)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Disco Dancer became the first Indian film to gross ₹100 crore worldwide; it had overtaken Sholay's ₹35 crore to become the highest-grossing Indian film worldwide until Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) passed it with ₹135 crore.
- Baimurat Allaberiyev, an ethnic Uzbek from Tajikistan, became an internet sensation singing "Goron Ki Na Kalon Ki" and "Jimmy Aaja" in a warehouse; the 2008 mobile-phone video got over 1 million views on YouTube and he landed a role in the Russian comedy Six Degrees of Celebration (2010).
- The film drew a large global cult following: a Jimmy statue was built in Osaka, Japan, and in the West Disco Dancer became the defining example of a stereotypical "Bollywood" film.
SPOILER
Disco Dancer subverted Bollywood's "angry young man" films: Jimmy gets revenge and defeats the villains through disco dancing rather than violence, which led to a wave of disco-themed Bollywood musicals in India.- M.I.A., the British Sri Lankan rapper, covered "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" as "Jimmy" in 2007 for her album Kala, and the song drew further international covers, including a 1998 hit "Jimmy" by Russian techno group Ruki Vverh and versions by DJ Slon and Angel-A and Tibetan artist Kelsang Metok.
- Two of the film's songs echo Western hits: "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" has similarities to the 1980 French disco song "T'es OK" by Ottawan, and "Auva Auva", picturized on Karan Razdan's character Sam, was inspired by The Buggles' 1979 synth-pop hit "Video Killed the Radio Star".
