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This article was first published 13 years ago

Re-visiting Amitabh's Agneepath

Last updated on: January 5, 2011 15:20 IST
Image: A scene from Agneepath

Karan Johar is all set to remake his father Yash Johar's 1990 production Agneepath for which Amitabh Bachchan won a National Award. The film was directed by Mukul S Anand.

Hrithik Roshan will step into Amitabh's shoes while Priyanka Chopra will take over from actress Madhavi.

Mithun's famous character Krishnan Iyer, MA has been chopped off, and a new character will be introduced instead.

Sanjay Dutt will play Danny Denzonpa's villain role. Rishi Kapoor will also be a part of the film.

As the remake makes headlines, we re-visit the old film and re-introduce you to those famous characters.

Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay Dinanath Chauhan

Vijay's righteous father gets framed by Kancha Cheena and his men, and the villagers of Mandwa beat him to death.

Vijay has to flee from the village, and come to the city, along with his mother and sister. But he vows to give the Mandwa village back to his mother.

Vijay feels that if he has to survive, he will have to take up the path of crime. So he becomes a dreaded gangster.

Did you know? To get the gangster look, Amitabh applied kohl in his eyes and stuffed his mouth with cotton, like Marlon Brando did in The Godfather.

Danny Denzongpa as Kancha Cheena

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Kancha Cheena does not want Mandwa to progress, and so makes sure there is no electricity in the village.

He sees to it that every man and boy in the village is drunk, so that they can lead a useless life, and Kancha Cheena can carry on his drugs business easily.

Did you know? Danny excelled in the role of Kancha Cheena. His dialogues are so good that in some scenes, he even outshines Amitabh.

Mithun Chakraborty as Krishnan Iyer, MA

Image: A scene from Agneepath

As the name suggests, Krishnan Iyer has a Masters degree. Yet he does not get a job, and is reduced to selling coconut water on a cart.

One day, when he selling his wares, he sees some people shooting at Vijay. He immediately rescues Vijay, and carries him on his cart to the hospital. That's how he wins Vijay's confidence. 

Did you know? Mithun's character is the only comic relief in this violent story. His character Kishnan Iyer was inspired by one of his roommates from his struggling days.

Madhavi as Mary Matthew

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Mary Matthew is a nurse, who takes care of Vijay when he gets hospitalised after being shot by his own gang members. Vijay then falls in love with her, and goes to her every time he needs a shoulder to cry on.

Did you know? Madhavi has now retired from the movies. Married to businessman Ralph Sharma, she has three children and lives in New Jersey.

Alok Nath as Master Dinanath Chauhan

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Dinanath Chauhan is an honest school teacher, who teaches son Vijay to lead a righteous life.

He gets framed by Kancha Cheena. The villagers get enraged and kill him.

Did you know? The poem called Agneepath that Alok Nath's character teaches Vijay was written by Amitabh's father Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Rohini Hattangadi as Suhasini Chauhan

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Suhasini Chauhan wants her son Vijay to lead a good honest life even after everything she has been through in life.

When Vijay becomes a gangster, she cannot come to terms with it, and despises him.

Did you know? In the last three decades, Rohini Hattangadi has acted in over 70 films. One of her most recent roles in Munnabhai MBBS won her much appreciation.

Neelam Kothari as Siksha Chauhan

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Vijay adores his sister Siksha so much that he sends Krishnan Iyer to be her bodyguard, as Vijay is always scared for his family's safety.

But when they fall in love, Vijay opposes it. Siksha's mother, however, feels there is no one as honest as Krishnan.

Did you know? Neelam, who has been missing from the acting scene for a long time, is now engaged to Bigg Boss contestant Samir Soni.

Vikram Gokhale as Commissioner M S Gaitonde

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Commissioner Gaitonde knows Vijay from the time he was a child, committing his first crime, to the time he becomes a dreaded gangster. And so, he always has a soft corner for Vijay and keeps advising him to give up the life of a criminal and lead a good life.

Did you know? Not many know that Vikram Gokhale's great grandmother, grandmother and father were veterans in the Marathi film industry. Vikram himself is quite involved in Marathi cinema; his directorial debut film was in Marathi, called Aaghaat.

Archana Puran Singh as Shanti aka Laila

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Master Dinanath Chauhan gets framed, thanks to Shanti's mother, a prostitute. Shanti hates Kancha Cheena, and enters his gang to seek revenge.

She is Vijay's mole in Kancha Cheena's gang, and leaks out important information the latter's various deals.

Did you know? Archana made her debut with Jalwa opposite Naseeruddin Shah but after that, she started getting roles in B-grade movies. So she opted for smaller roles in bigger films, her most famous one being the flirtatious professor Miss Braganza in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Tinnu Anand as Nathu

Image: A scene from Agneepath

Nathu is drunk wastrel, whom Master Dinanath Chauhan helps to sober up. When Chauhan gets killed, it is Nathu who takes Vijay and his family to a safe place in Mumbai.

Nathu feels that Vijay will free Mandwa from Kancha Cheena some day.

Did you know? Even though Tinnu Anand was almost the same age as Amitabh, and they in fact, started their careers together, he is shown as much older than Vijay in Agneepath. In order to look old, Tinnu Anand shaved his head.