Gardish () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action crime film written and directed by Priyadarshan, starring Shammi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Aishwarya, Dimple Kapadia and Amrish Puri. It is a remake of the 1989 Malayalam film Kireedam. The film won two Filmfare AwardsBest Art Direction (Sabu Cyril) and Best Action (Thyagarajan), and was nominated for Best Actor (Shroff), Best Supporting Actor (Amrish Puri), and Best Supporting Actress (Kapadia). It marks the debut of actor Mukesh Rishi as an antagonist and Aishwarya's Bollywood debut.
Story
Naive and easily impressionable Vidya Bhalla would like her husband to be a dashing hero, one who is not afraid of anybody, one who can easily jump into a fire to rescue someone, one who is strong and romantic. She sees all of these qualities in Shiva Sathe, the son of Constable Purushottam Sathe, whose only dream is to see Shiva become a Police Inspector. Vidya informs her father, Prithviraj Bhalla, that she has found her dream man; the Bhallas and the Sathes meet and get the couple formally engaged.
Then Purushottam arrests the son of a MLA and as a result he is transferred to the notorious Kala Chowki Police Station in Bombay. Upon arrival, he finds out that the Inspector in charge of the Police Station, Saini, has been severely beaten-up by don Billa Jilani and is hospitalized. Purushottam arranges for his entire family to relocate.
The story takes a new twist. Shiva's brother-in-law approaches Prithviraj and informs him that Shiva has become an underworld don, after beating-up Billa Jilani, and now takes haftas and bribes. Prithviraj finds that Shiva has become a ruffian, and been arrested a number of times, much to the chagrin of his father. Prithviraj breaks off the alliance and informs Purushottam. Shortly thereafter, another fight breaks out and this time Shiva is arrested, held in a cell for several days, beaten up by his father and subsequently bailed out by a woman named Shanti. Eventually, Shiva kills Billa. The film ends with Purushottam declaring to Inspector Saini, that Shiva cannot be recommended to be an inspector, since in the eyes of the law he is a criminal. Shiva's photo is shown on the criminal's display board and credits roll.
Cast
Shammi Kapoor as Prithviraj Bhalla
Jackie Shroff as Shiva Sathe
Aishwarya as Vidya Bhalla
Dimple Kapadia as Shanti
Farida Jalal as Laxmi Sathe
Amrish Puri as Constable Purushottam Sathe
Raj Babbar as Pratap (special appearance) Suresh Oberoi as Inspector Saini Anant Mahadevan as Constable Sawant Rakesh Bedi as Shiva's friend Annu Kapoor as Shiva's friend Asrani as Phoolwa's husband Kunika as Phoolwa Mukesh Rishi as Billa Jilani Tej Sapru as Billa's henchman Shagufta Ali as an Item Number in "Rang Rangeeli Raat Gaaye" Ajay kapoor as Shiva's brother
Music
Score
The film score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh.
Songs
The original songs featured in the film were composed by R. D. Burman along with lyricist, Javed Akhtar.
Critical reception
Mukul Kesavan from the magazine Manushi lauded Gardish as "a powerful, affecting film" The Indian Express praised the film's "script, vivid characters and powerful dialogues" and noted the actors' performances. Anurag Mathur of The Sunday Telegraph was critical of the film, dismissing it as "not even a film, but a series of action sequences strung together by guest appearances", although he singled out Kapadia for "excelling" in her part.