Animal Instinct, But Make it Manmohan Desai

If there’s one thing that Hindi cinema has been known for, it’s being formulaic and the man who elevated the formulae into a thing of quirks and entertainment was Manmohan Desai. The patron saint of lost-and-found stories, Desai delivered some of commercial Hindi cinemas most beloved and successful titles in the course of his 32-year career. His films, like Sachaa Jhutha (1970), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Naseeb (1981) and many more, effectively defined what we mean today when we say “masala film”. Folding simple and heartwarming messaging into outrageous plot points, Desai’s movies are always about a sense of community — and sometimes, that community is more than human. Here are five films by Desai in which animals save the day for humans.  

Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

This 1977 blockbuster remains a standout among Desai’s lost-and-found stories and for its endearing message of brotherhood across religious lines. It also has an animal that would go on to dominate the Bollywood imagination in the Eighties and Nineties: The snake. As a hapless Bharti (Nirupa Roy) is about to be caught by the bad guys (Jeevan and Ranjeet, the staple villains of Desai’s movies), Desai drops a snake in their path. It comes out of nowhere and is just one of the many divine interventions that inform Bharti’s life. Faced by the snake, the villains return, dejected. Bharti makes her way to a temple. 

Feared in real life for their venom, snakes have fascinated Hindi cinema and been used to denote power and danger. They’re often worshipped or sidekicks to evil godmen (though this traditional masculine and phallic symbol would be given the ultimate redemption arc by Sridevi). In Amar Akbar Anthony, the snake appears as a protector, playing on our fears of the wild and simultaneously reminding us that if we’re on the righteous path (like Bharti), then the natural world poses no threat to us. 

Dharam Veer (1977)

This outlandish costume drama is set in a bizarre land where logic has no place and where fantasy is the only reality. Setting the note is Sheroo, who despite the leonine name is actually a falcon. Sheroo is the pet falcon of the hero’s father, Jwala (played by Pran). After Jwala topples off a cliff while wrestling with a tiger, his son is born and tossed out of a window. Who should catch the baby? Not a stork, but a falcon named Sheroo. Which is how we get the unforgettable image of a baby being carried off by a falcon. It turns out that Jwala didn’t die and Sheroo knows where his master is recovering. In the final act, there’s more work for Sheroo who not only brings the hero a sword at a critical moment, but also cuts his ties. And you thought humans are cool with their opposable thumbs...

Coolie (1983)

Years before the pigeon played courier in Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), we had Allah Rakha the eagle who is our hero Iqbal’s (Amitabh Bachchan) most loyal friend. Aside from coming to Iqbal’s aid at crucial moments, the man and his bird have a secret, telepathic language of their own. In one scene, as a brawl breaks out, Allah Rakha flies to Iqbal, who is elsewhere, and it takes just one shared look for Iqbal to understand he’s needed. Allah Rakha and Iqbal’s relationship is one between a predator and an alpha, and rather than showing the bird as an obedient pet, Desai accords him independent agency. Fittingly for someone with his name, Allah Rakha is the one who drops a locket inscribed with “Allah” on Iqbal when our hero is going through an emotional crisis. Once again, the agent of divine intervention in Desai’s film is from the animal world. In another scene, reminiscent of Sita’s abduction in the Ramayana, Allah Rakha fights the villain and sidekick when there’s an attempt to kidnap Iqbal’s mother. 

Sachaa Jhutha (1970)

Before Tuffy, there was Moti, one of the early movers in Hindi cinema’s canine department. Moti does everything you expect a caring family member to do — he comes to the rescue when a woman is molested; he attacks bad guys; Moti even shows up in court to save the day. He’s the top dog who just happens to be the underdog’s dog. It’s difficult to pick just one scene to describe Moti’s awesomeness, but the one in which Desai has Moti navigate the busy lanes of South Mumbai to make his way to High Court is certainly special. The scene has all the thrill and adrenaline rush of a car chase or an action sequence.

Mard (1985)

Raju Tangewala (Amitabh Bachchan) has not one, but two loyal animal sidekicks: Baadal, his horse, and a dog named Moti. Set in a fantastical version of British-ruled India, Mard is the film that gave us the iconic line “Mard ko dard nahi hota (A true man feels no pain)”. Raju is the mard in question and his relationship with the animal world begins when he’s an infant. A horse saves infant Raju and his mother when British soldiers attack, but that’s just the beginning of animals saving the day, Desai-style. The animals in Mard symbolize loyalty and valour, two qualities that are in short supply among the weak-willed humans. At one point, Moti, with the help of a hat, masquerades as Raju (don’t ask. Just watch the film). In fact, the animals are more humane than most of the humans. They fall in love, they weep (when  Raju’s foster-mother dies, Desai includes a close shot of both Badal and Moti, who are distinctly teary-eyed), and they don’t lose sight of right from wrong. Perhaps the kitschiest and most entertaining example of this is when Raju prays to Maa Sherawali to be reunited with his mother and in response, a tiger leaps out to chase the bad guys away from his mother (played by Nirupa Roy, naturally). That’s not all. The tiger takes Raju’s mother to safety and when she turns to thank to the animal, the tiger folds its paws to do a namaste in return. Take that.