Slapstick humour disguises what is essentially a critique of corrupt society of the 80's. The movie underlines the theme of the common man's struggle against the rampant corruption in the Indian bureaucracy, business and media which oppresses him. It's ensemble cast includes several established performers of the Hindi film industry like Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Pankaj Kapoor, Satish Kaushik and Om Puri.
The plot which has many twists to it, is basically about Sudhir (Ravi Baswani) and Vinod (Naseeruddin Shah) - two honest chaps who want to earn a decent living by opening a photo studio. The studio doesn't quite flourish but they eventually get some work from "Khabardar", a publication that specializes in sting operations. Along with its editor, Shobha (Bhakti Barve), they work on a story exposing the nexus of corruption between an unscrupulous builder, Tarneja (Pankaj Kapoor), and corrupt Municipal Commissioner D'Mello (Satish Shah). Another builder Ahuja (Om Puri) too is involved in the business of grabbing building contracts by hook or by crook.
The plot thickens when the photographers find that D'Mello has been murdered by Tarneja and Shobha is not as virtuos as she seems. Next up is a madcap race to get his corpse to the authorities and expose the corruption rampant in the govenment, business and media circles with the assortment of bad guys hot on their trail.
The climax is a high point of this movie for its sheer madness and hilarity. The photographers with dead body and their pursuers barge into a stage performance of the Mahabharata. D'Mello's corpse is dressed up as Draupadi while all the other characters take up random parts, from Duryodhan to Salim, in an attempt to make off with the body!
The movie does not culminate in the victory of good over evil or the vindication of the common man. Instead its theme song "Hum Honge Kamyaab" echoes on as a cruel joke as the last scene unfolds and the protagonists stare defeat in the face.
This movie ushered in social satire in cinema - quite unimaginably ahead of its time. Even while the mature viewer appreaciates the symbolism and dark undertones, the film manages to make one laugh out loud because of its slapstick content.
Some of the immortal lines of this movie include
- "Thoda khao, thoda pheko" (Naseeruddin teaching Satish Shah that this is the way foreigners eat cake)
- "Good morning sir. Good morning Ashok" (Satish Kaushik and Pankaj Kapoor to each other as they enter the play dressed in Mahabharata garb)
- "Shant gadhadhari Bheem, shant!" (The guy who plays Yudhishthir in the play trying to pacify the agitated Bheem who has a heavy UP/Punju accent and is ready to jump at anybdoy's throat given a chance)
- "Ye kya ho raha hai!" (The blind Dhritrashtra keeps saying this through the comedy carnival that progresses on stage; also possibly a reflection of the blind, powerless nature of Justice)
JBDY gets a big thumbs up from me and a 9/10 for being so many movies rolled in one - a comedy, a satire, a human drama - and being first rate at all of them.
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