FILM · 1984 · INDIA
Sharaabi
90 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (90)
- #001
Prakash Mehra owned a camera that could be used for shooting without the need for dubbing, and it was used on this film. Om Prakash won a best performance award for this film. Composer Bappi Lahiri's second film acting alongside Amitabh. The screenplay of this film was given to Kader Khan about 4 months before shooting began so that he could concentrate more, which is why the dialogues are so good.
- #002
In the song "Mujhe Naulakha Mangwa De Re," when Amitabh Bachchan struck the ghungroo on his left hand, real blood was shown and it was not artificial color.
- #003
For this film, Kishore Kumar received all five nominations in the best male playback singer category at the Filmfare Awards, the highest number among all singers in Filmfare Awards history. He won the award with the song "Manzilein Apni Jagah."
- #004
The director decided not to dub the scene of Munshi's death, which was not the climax, because they felt very emotional after Amitabh's performance.
- #005
Amitabh initially planned to deliver his lines slowly like a drunkard, but Mehra thought the film would run 5 hours.
- #006
Prakash Mehra claimed that during the making of Laawaris he met a well-known industrialist who had sharp business acumen but was a heavy alcoholic. However, his work never suffered because of his addiction. Prakash Mehra decided to use this character as inspiration for Sharaabi.
- #007
Mayur had previously played Amitabh's child artist role in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar and Laawaris. In this film he portrayed an important character who works as a waiter in a bar.
- #008
During the song Jahan Chaar Yaar, Amitabh wears a wig and mustache. The same look was reused in the song Murga Hua Deewana in Jaadugar.
- #009
Amitabh's yellow shirt and white suit in the song "De De Pyar De" in Sharaabi were later repeated by him. Amitabh wore the same outfit in Agneepath in the scene where he visits his mother for dinner and then goes unexpectedly and without notice to Madhavi's house.
- #010
The scene in Sharaabi where Amitabh meets his potential fathers-in-law one by one and makes short, funny remarks about each as he passes them recalled Zeenat Aman's scene in Mahaan. In Mahaan, Zeenat Aman meets her potential future husbands and makes short, funny, derogatory remarks about each as she passes them.
- #011
Smita Patil made an uncredited cameo in the song Jahaan Chaar Yaar. Scenes shot for Namak Halaal and later edited out were included here by Prakash Mehra.
- #012
At 4:19 in the song "Intezaar Ho Gayee," a sample was taken from "The Runner" by The Three Degrees. The same melody can be heard at 1:06 in the song "Rock N Roll" from Main Balwaan.
- #013
The song De De Pyar De was first recorded by Runa Laila on the album Superuna, produced by Bappi Lahiri. The source of inspiration can first be heard in Bangladeshi singer Abbas Uddin's song "Allah Megh De Pani De." The song was also used in Dev Anand's Film Guide.
- #014
There were reports that Amitabh was not pleased with the final product. While Amitabh was hospitalized due to Myasthenia Gravis, Mehra had put the final touches on the film. Amitabh was unhappy with the unimaginative background music used in the scenes where he employed vocal modulation and long dialogue delivery. Amitabh made his suggestions but Mehra ignored them. These were the first cracks in his relationship with Prakash Mehra.
- #015
Prakash Mehra accused Manmohan Desai of pulling strings and preventing Sharaabi from being released at Mumbai's Alankar theatre. Alankar was a major theatre in Mumbai. Desai stated that he did not even visit the Alankar theatre when his film Coolie was released there. It was all lies and Mehra was just making excuses.
- #016
Manmohan Desai criticized the film. He pointed out what kind of message Prakash Mehra was giving to the audience: one should drink day and night, squander the money his father earned with difficulty, and then verbally abuse him in front of everyone.
- #017
The song "Inteha Ho Gayee" was sampled from Toto Cutugno's song "L'Italiano."
- #018
Madlib's song "More Rice" was sampled from "De De Pyar De."
- #019
The song "De De Pyar De" was sampled from "Allah Megh De" from Guide.
- #020
Mos Def's "Ms Fat Booty" sampled the song "De De Pyar De".
- #021
The song "De De Pyar De" was inspired by "Nahin Lagta Dil" from Jail Yatra.
- #022
The song "Jahan Chaar Yaar" was sampled and remixed in Una Bomba's "Bombay Skyway (Una Bomba Live in Mumbai)". The song was released internationally.
- #023
The song "Mujhe Naulakha Manga De" was later sampled by Runa Rizvi and Bappi Lahiri in the song "Pyar Ka Nasha".
- #024
The film has a scene in which Amitabh gets Ranjeet drunk and makes him dance. Bappi Lahiri composed a melody with an Arabic sound. Its source is still unknown. Channi Singh of Alaap was also inspired by this melody and used it in the intro of his song "Asi Pyar De Pujari" (1986). Bappi later used the same melody/rhythm for the intro music of the song "Main Pyar Ki Pujarn" in Hatya (the remake of Asi Pyar De Pujari).
- #025
Om Prakash's dialogues were sampled for the song EastSide [Ms. Chang remix] on Adi Alamuru's (Malfkntion) album Vote for Worms.
- #026
Inteha Ho Gayee was sampled by Adi Alamuru (MALFNKTION) in the song "Inteha" for the album Vote For Worms.
- #027
The song Inteha Ho Gayee was sampled in the song One Night Stand Up on DJ HMD's album WTF! Bollywood?
- #028
The Runner by Bananarama was a cover version of The Three Degrees' The Runner. This is the same song sampled in "Intezaar Ho Gayee".
- #029
Inteha Ho Gayi had a cover version by The Bartender.
- #030
This is the only film directed by Prakash Mehra in which Ram Sethi never acted with Amitabh Bachchan. In all the other films directed by Prakash Mehra, he acted alongside Amitabh Bachchan.
- #031
It was the last hit film of Amitabh and Prakash Mehra.
- #032
Only Bappi Lahiri won the Filmfare award for best music for the film.
- #033
After Zanjeer (1973), Prakash Mehra and Amitabh Bachchan worked directly with Pran in Sharaabi (1984).
- #034
After Zanjeer (1973), the duo of Prakash Mehra and Amitabh Bachchan worked directly with Pran in Sharaabi (1984).
- #035
Suresh Oberoi approached the producer to act in the film. The producer told Suresh that there was no role in the film worthy of his talent. Eventually the role of the butcher was created for Suresh Oberoi. When asked why he would ask for a role, Suresh stated that he owed his career to Prakash Mehra. He would do any role for him in any film for free. He was grateful that Prakash gave him Laawaris.
- #036
"Mina!" by Zombies for Money is a modern party remix version of "De De Pyaar De".
- #037
In 1996, Jeet Films was making a film titled De De Pyar De (1996), starring Raj Babbar, Moushami Chatterjee, Sikander, Sneha and Kulbushan Kharbanda, with music by Anand Raaj Anand and direction by Madan Sinha. Reels: 5. Shelved.
- #038
Amitabh Bachchan said: "The next year, after myasthenia, a bomb went off in my hand, yes again my left hand, during Diwali. It was a fake 'anar', a sparkling fountain, and it exploded in my hand as I lit it. My entire palm and the area below my wrist were almost reduced to pulp. My left hand melted and took the shape of a fist, and nothing was left — no fingers, no nails, nothing. Treatment began; at the time I was in Delhi and in the middle of a film shoot in Chennai. The film had a deadline and I was eager to get back. The doctors told me I would not heal sooner than I wanted. I asked them to do their best and leave me alone. I did not want them to give me another hand to do the complicated work at hand. When the pain became unbearable I would tell them to stop and continue the next day. After working on it for days and gaining some basic function, I asked for leave and went to work with my hands bandaged. A style statement. Ha ha. But the hand was taking very long to heal, its skin was raw, and even a light breeze on it made me wince in pain. The fingers and palm slowly began to return along with the nails, but they had lost all their strength and were still unusable because they could not be moved. I had another film ready to start: Sharaabi. I was in a dilemma about what to do and how. So I made another style statement. I put my damaged hand in my pocket and performed the entire film that way, with my left hand. If you watch the film, you will notice that most of my left hand stays in my trouser pocket. In 'Mujhe naulakha dilwa de re' there was a song sequence where I had to play dancer Jayapradha's 'ghungroo' with my bare hands. That shot in the sequence is real. I took out my damaged hand and struck the ghungroos with it. In the scene in the film, my hand bleeds from this action and the dancer comes over and stops me. The blood you see in the film was real, because the wound was very raw, it bled and it hurt, but I continued and did it. When the camera starts rolling there is a madness that takes over us. That moment in the film was one such moment. It took me a month to move my thumb and touch my index finger! And it took months for all my fingers to move and become functional, and years for the burn marks to disappear. Until then my hand would have been made up for the film. But one thing did not heal: the web between the thumb and the index finger. It had melted too much to be repaired. So now the web on my left hand does not open fully and my index finger has become crooked."
- #039
The portion at 2:40 in the song "Gussa Chodh Dil Na Thod" from Maqsad resembled the drunk dance music for Ranjeet in Sharaabi — the part where he wears a sari and Amitabh fires a gun. The music in that portion (when Ranjeet dances in circles) resembles the portion in the aforementioned Maqsad song.
- #040
The film created rage and frenzy in overseas video rental circles in America and Canada. This was the time when Indian cinema halls were closing.
- #041
Before Sharaabi came to the screen, a very bad dispute occurred between producer Satyendra Pal Choudhary and Prakash Mehra. They had been friends for 31 years and had even lived in the same house. The friendship was tarnished when Prakash Mehra told Satyendra to leave his house. Satyendra did so but claimed he owned 50% of the house. Many speculated about why the friendship ended. Satyendra claimed Prakash Mehra took all the limelight for himself. Satyendra helped a great deal on Laawaris, but Prakash Mehra did not acknowledge his contributions to the script. Satyendra claimed he was happy for Prakash Mehra to draw all the attention in the foreground while Satyendra stayed in the background. Many stated that Prakash Mehra accused Satyendra of swindling money from Prakash Mehra Productions. Many stated that it ultimately came down to a clash of egos. After the dispute, Prakash Mehra feared Satyendra would shelve Sharaabi. But that was not the case. Mehra even insisted that Satyendra move back in with him. However, Satyendra decided to keep the relationship professional. They continued to work together.
- #042
After Sharaabi, Amitabh Bachchan was to make his directorial debut with a film titled Ek Gunah Aur Sahi, to be produced by Prakash Mehra. However, Ek Gunah Aur Sahi was later shelved when Amitabh Bachchan entered politics.
- #043
Kader Khan's finest work earned him the award for best dialogues for Sharaabi.
- #044
The next film Kader Khan and Prakash Mehra worked on together was Jaadugar. Due to a misunderstanding, Kader Khan had written only half of the film's dialogues and left Jadugar midway. The dialogues were then written by another writer, Laxmikant Sharma. So Sharaabi was the last film for which Kader Khan wrote the dialogues throughout.
- #045
When the film was released, Amitabh's name appeared above Kishore Kumar's name in the playback singers' credits in the title sequence. This upset Kishore Kumar to the end. He vowed never to sing for Amitabh. Eventually, the playback singer's credit was corrected in later released editions.
- #046
The song "Kuch Log Mohabbat Ko" from Dhanwaan was filmed with Reena Roy performing on stage while Rajesh Khanna sits alone among the audience after buying up all the seats. The same scene was done in the song "Mujhe Naulakha Manga De" in Sharaabi with Jaya Pradha and Amitabh Bachchan.
- #047
In Sharaabi, all of Amitabh's potential future wives get into a catfight with one another. In Jaadugar, all his ex-girlfriends join together and beat up Amitabh.
- #048
Kishore Kumar's entry alaap style in "Salaam E Ishq" in Muqaddar Ka Sikander was later copied. Kishore Kumar sang the same alaap style/rhythm at the end of the song "Mujhe Naulakha Manga De" in Sharaabi, when Amitabh used the ghungroo in his hand.
- #049
The set used in the fight scene between Amitabh and Dev Kumar in Namak Halaal was reused in the song "Jahan Chaar Yaar" in Sharaabi.
- #050
The bus stop set from "Aaj Rapat Jaye" in Namak Halaal was reused in "Jahan Char Yaar" in Sharaabi.
- #051
This was the only time Amitabh acted alongside Geeta Khanna. They had a rapid exchange of dialogue.
- #052
The background music used in Amitabh's bride-choosing scene in Sharaabi was inspired by "Saath Mere Aaogi" from Justice Chaudhury. In the exact portion where Pran sings "Hum Ab Tumahara Ghar Basana…" to Amitabh, an instrumental piece (Tara Taram Pum) from "Saath Mere Aaogi" can be heard at 1:31.
- #053
In Pran's entry scene in Sharabi, Pran steps out of a small private plane. In Jaadugar, Amitabh and his group disembark from the same plane.
- #054
Laawaris had a storyline in which a village was to be demolished with a bulldozer. Sharaabi has a similar scene.
- #055
While reciting his bad poetry in front of his friends at the bar in Sharaabi, Amitabh turns to a man on his left and says "Dekho…". Before the song "Tu Maike Mat Jaiyo", Amitabh said the same "Dekho" to Zeenat Aman in Pukar. In both scenes Amitabh is drunk.
- #056
Amitabh's first reference to "Tambu" and "Bumboo" came in a comic-strip scene with Om Prakash in Sharaabi. The following year, in Mard, he went on to sing the song "Hum To Tambu Mein Bumboo."
- #057
Amitabh has a unique loud laugh that he used only a few times. The first was before the song "Aaj Rapat Jaye" in Namak Halaal. The second was in several scenes in Sharaabi.
- #058
Amitabh joined Rekha in the middle of the song "Salaam e Ishq" and began singing with her. He did the same with Jaya Pradha in "Mujhe Naulaka Manga De" in Sharaabi.
- #059
Amitabh's character in Sharaabi is named Vicky and is a wealthy industrialist. His name is also Vicky in Namak Haraam, where he is likewise a rich mill owner.
- #060
Amitabh caused a major commotion in a comic scene in Namak Halaal in which potential hotel bidders attend a board meeting dinner. He caused a storm once again in Sharaabi when he arrived drunk at the board meeting and lectured the potential investors.
- #061
Shashi Kapoor had an elaborate birthday in Namak Halaal. Amitabh also had a big birthday in Sharaabi.
- #062
Amitabh was seen sitting and playing a black guitar at the start of "Inteha Ho Gayee" in Sharaabi, which was later compared to Feroz Khan sitting and playing a similar guitar in the song "Har Kisi Ko Nahi" in Jaanbaz.
- #063
In "Inteha Ho Gayee" in Sharaabi, Amitabh plays the conga drum for the first time in his career.
- #064
In Namak Halaal, Smita Patil had a blind brother played by Harish Magon. In Sharaabi, Jaya Pradha's father, A. K. Hangal, is blind. Both live in a similarly looking apartment.
- #065
While Jaya Pradha sings the song "De De Pyar De" on TV, the smile and small smirk on Amitabh's face were expressions he was making for the first time in a film. The expressions were very new and subtle.
- #066
Amitabh is shown driving a Mercedes car. It was the first time he was filmed driving a Mercedes.
- #067
In the song "Aaj Rapat Jaye" from Namak Halaal, Amitabh is seen dancing in the street with a wedding ring behind him. He repeats the same action in "De De Pyar De" in Sharaabi.
- #068
In Silsila, Rekha is seen lying on Amitabh's chest and playing with his chest hair. In Sharaabi, Jaya Pradha does the same thing to Amitabh while sitting on the stairs.
- #069
The scene in Sharaabi in which Amitabh suffers a mental breakdown and holds his head in pain was identical to the scene in Majboor in which Amitabh has a severe pain attack caused by a tumor.
- #070
In Laawaris there is a scene in which Amjad Khan stands on stage outside and addresses the public with a microphone. He is later interrupted by Amitabh. Amitabh takes the stage and conveys his views and thoughts. Prakash Mehra was inspired by this scene and recreated it in Sharaabi. Pran is on stage and about to take part in the elections. Amitabh interrupts the speech, takes the stage and gives his opinion about Pran.
- #071
This was the only time Amitabh acted alongside Huma Khan. They had a brief scene together in a car.
- #072
Prakash Mehra did not dub Amitabh's hospital scene with Om Prakash. He left it as it was.
- #073
Amitabh shared a deep bond of affection with Om Prakash in both Namak Halaal and Sharaabi.
- #074
Amitabh had a fight scene at the climax with Harmail Pannu, Bob Christo, Gurbachan and Hercules. They did not exchange any dialogue.
- #075
Pinchoo Kapoor, who played the main villain in Prakash Mehra's Hera Phei, was little more than an extra in the film. He stood in the same frame as Amitabh but there was no dialogue between them.
- #076
Mohan Sherry appeared in the same frame as Amitabh, but the two did not exchange ideas or have any dialogue.
- #077
In Sharaabi, Amitabh wears a striped blazer sport coat while speaking on stage at Pran's election campaign. He would wear the same coat again in Agneepath, when he leaves the hospital after being shot and speaks with well-wishers.
- #078
Amitabh stood in the same frame as Jankidas, but there was no dialogue between them.
- #079
Amitabh appeared in the same frame as C. S. Dubey, but there was no dialogue between them.
- #080
Prakash Mehra initially wanted Vijayendra Ghatge for the film. When Mehra offered a very large sum, he preferred Deepak Parashar. Through Padmini Kapila, Mehra let it be known that he wanted Deepak Parashar for the role. Deepak was nervous because Mehra was a major director. Padmini told Deepak that he too was a major actor and that he needed to show confidence in himself.
- #081
Suresh Oberoi stated that Prakash Mehra initially wanted Shashi Kapoor to appear in the film as a guest actor. For whatever reason, Prakash Mehra decided that Suresh Oberoi was better suited to the role. His dialogue "Main Kasai Hoon, Jallad Nahi" provoked anger among viewers.
- #082
Raj Kapoor had plans, together with Randhir Kapoor, to remake the Hollywood film Arthur in Hindi. Raj Kapoor was to serve only as producer. When he heard that Prakash Mehra was going to make Sharaabi, all the plans fell through.
- #083
Prakash Mehra initially wanted Dilip Kumar for the father role. After listening to Prakash Mehra's narration, Dilip Kumar turned the role down. He did not like the grey shades. Pran was signed later.
- #084
Amitabh Bachchan had injured his hand while lighting firecrackers on Diwali. Two people closed up his wound and he hid his hand in his trouser pocket. To do this, he took inspiration from Meena Kumari, who concealed her injured finger to cover the wound.
- #085
The idea for the film was developed in flight while Amitabh Bachchan and Prakash Mehra were travelling with the Kalyanji Anandji orchestra from New York to the West Indies for a show.
- #086
The opening line of the song Humko Nasha Ho Gaya (Nasha Sharab Mein Hota To Naachti Botal) — "Nasha sharab mein hota to naachti botal" from Munimji (1972) — was reused in the hit Hindi film song "Mujhe Naulakha Manga De Re" ("Sharaabi", 1984).
- #087
Baj Gayee Ghanti Baj Gayee from Pyar Ke Naam Qurban was copied from De De Pyar De from Sharabi.
- #088
Jaya Prada said this the night before shooting the female version of the song De De Pyar De. She spent a sleepless night because she had to look glamorous wearing modern clothes.
- #089
The scene in Sharaabi in which Om Prakash does heavy labour by pulling a heavy tram along the street had previously been shot by Kader Khan in Kaalia. In both cases the two were completely broke and needed money to help Amitabh.
- #090
Amitabh was in the same frame as Rajan Haskar, but he had no dialogue with him.
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