The innocence and naughtiness of Aamir Khan and Salman Khan are unforgettable in Andaz Apna Apna, and they are deservedly so. The film, which completes 30 years of its release today, has now become something of a cult classic that the audience failed to recognise back in 1994. Rajkumar Santoshi's action comedy boasted an amazing cast, featuring Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor as the female leads, who not only confused the characters but also the audience by swapping their real names. The film also features Paresh Rawal in a dual role, leaving the audience in splits with his frustrated act. Who can overlook Shakti Kapoor's portrayal of the legendary Crime Master Gogo and his hilarious antics?

Andaz Apna Apna plot overview

Two men, Amar and Prem (Aamir Khan and Salman Khan), who are only interested in the wealth a heiress can provide, court her in the film Andaz Apna Apna in the hopes of inheriting her father's fortune. The heiress (Karisma Kapoor) has assumed the secretary's (Raveena Tandon) identity and the others quickly catch on. At this stage, one of them has developed true feelings for the heiress, while the other has developed feelings for the secretary.

Rajkumar Santoshi's direction

Producer Vinay Kumar Sinha approached director Rajkumar Santoshi about directing a film after his debut feature Ghayal (1990) was a smashing hit. The filmmaker harboured dreams of working with Aamir Khan. After making a film about a serious issue, Santoshi expressed his desire to make a comedy film. Then, Santoshi decided to write a story about two antagonistic friends, akin to Tom and Jerry in real life. Santoshi and Dilip Shukla penned the script, and the characters were based on those from Archie comics. There was a script for every scene and line of conversation, even though the film seemed spontaneous. Production on the film lasted for more than three years.

Following Salman Khan's casting, Santoshi chose Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon, two relative novices at the time, to play the female leads, with Paresh Rawal appearing in double roles. Following the casting, Santoshi completed the writing. On set, he also wrote down a number of lines of dialogue that didn't appear in the script but were clearly in his head. The original casting call for Zorambo, Mogambo's younger brother, called for Amrish Puri. However, the film's running time led to the character's removal. Originally set to make a cameo appearance in the film, Sunny Deol was unavailable, and Govinda went on to bag the role alongside Juhi Chawla.

After initially demanding more screen time than his rival, Salman Khan eventually agreed to share the spotlight. Tinnu Anand received the part about the villain "Gogo", but due to scheduling conflicts, he turned it down, leading to Shakti Kapoor playing it. The collective laughter of nearly the entire crew, including the director of photography, caused Santoshi to request a break in filming. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar scored the Muhurat shot.

Box office performance

Although it was able to recoup its production costs largely from ticket sales in major cities, the film's middling box office performance fell short of everyone's expectations. In India, it made more than ₹6.1 crore net. Its global gross was ₹8.653 crore (equivalent to ₹57 crore or US$6.8 million in 2023), with ₹8.18 crore coming from the home market and $150,000 from the international market. Andaz Apna Apna secured the 17th highest box office receipts of the year.

Legacy and impact

The film performed poorly that year due to a lack of promotion and intense competition from other films. A new distributor, according to Santoshi, is to blame for the film's poor release and distribution. Andaz Apna Apna, which belongs to a distinct genre, was unable to compete with these other films' resounding box office success. But in the years after, it became a beloved classic among Hindi moviegoers.

High regard surrounds some of the film's lines, including "Teja main hoon, mark idhar hai," "Do dost ek cup me chai piyenge," "Crime Master Gogo, Mogambo ka Bhatija," and many more.

It influenced the plots of the Telugu film Veedevadandi Babu, the Kannada film Galate Aliyandru, and the Tamil film Ullathai Allitha.

Where to watch

You can stream Andaz Apna Apna on Prime Video.

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