Shahenshah (1988) on Netflix
Crime baron J.K. Verma frames Inspector Anand Kumar Srivastava, who hangs himself. His son Vijay joins the police and takes bribes. A masked figure called Shahenshah punishes gangsters at night.
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- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb6.3/102,824 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Bank manager Mathur has illegally lent 2.5 million rupees to the crime baron J.K. Verma, who stages a robbery to cover the debt. Inspector Anand Kumar Srivastava closes in on the case, so J.K. has Julie, an exotic dancer, frame the officer for corruption. Anand is imprisoned, and after his release he hangs himself, leaving his wife and young son Vijay, who keeps the noose and resolves to clear his father's name. Vijay grows up in the household of Inspector Aslam Khan and joins the police, accepting J.K.'s bribes and avoiding powerful criminals. At night a costumed figure called Shahenshah, armed with an iron hand, punishes gangsters, and the police cannot discover who he is. Shalu, a small-time trickster, lives with her ailing mother Julie.
Cast
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Shahenshah (1988)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Amitabh Bachchan fell seriously ill only three days before Shahenshah was to begin shooting in Bangalore, and medical tests showed he had myasthenia gravis, a rare chronic autoimmune disease. Tinnu Anand had signed him for the film in 1983, but production could not start.
- Shahenshah's release was repeatedly pushed back from its planned November slot by the threat of a boycott from opposition political parties. Those parties had had conflict with Amitabh Bachchan while he was a Congress MP and stayed bitter after he retired from politics.
- Dimple Kapadia was the female lead of Shahenshah but was replaced by Meenakshi Sheshadri. Shooting had been delayed until 1985 because of Amitabh Bachchan's illness and his commitments to other films.
- The costume Amitabh Bachchan wore in Shahenshah weighed almost 18 kg, and despite his illness he insisted on wearing it in all of his fight scenes.
- Amitabh Bachchan and director Tinnu Anand quarrelled over one scene: Anand wanted Bachchan in his police uniform, Bachchan wanted a blazer, and the heated argument halted shooting. Tinnu's father Inder Raj Anand intervened and convinced Bachchan to wear the uniform, and filming resumed.
