At times the movie was really unbearable, but it had its moments from time to time, though they still did not make it a worthy watch. The action sequences were, as expected, very overdone, and so was everything else in the movie, which was totally melodramatic, often for no reason. Technically the movie is also very bad, though that was the case with most Hindi movies of its sort at that time. The story of the film is very corny and almost every plot element looks familiar, forced and predictable, and is based on impossible coincidences. The movie follows, cliché after cliché, the stories of its main characters, Ganga, Jamuna, Shankar (who is for some reason omitted from the title) and Saraswathi. Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi is an awful film. and so much more of such fun stuff.how could one not expect a cinematic adventure? :) Amitabh fighting with crocodiles and carrying one on his back, Meenakshi sleeping in an upside down bathtub, a feather that plays a rat, an unintentionally funny sex scene, a baby falling right inside a tire that rescues him from drowning, Amitabh stopping a fire with an axe, a milk drinking snake, a villain having his head eaten by a crocodile. Aside the expected songs appearing out of nowhere, the random dishum dishum scenes and the gazillion coincidences, you have: Jaya Prada as a virgin prostitute dancing on a moving truck (as mentioned earlier), Amitabh Bachchan doing a Michael Jackson number (this one is laugh out loud material), Meenakshi Sheshadri banging her head on a rock and consequently losing her memory (amnesia being a required Manmohan Desai ingredient), Mithun Chokroborty and Amitabh Bachchan getting two year jail sentences because Amrish Puri had them arrested. The sound effects are poor and so is the lighting at times but it's a colourful movie and all of this adds to the campiness. On the technical side, the special effects are abysmal and the cinematography is flat. 'Nachegi Saraswati' is another catchy song where of course one sees Jaya Prada dancing on a moving truck (this sequence is an example of one of the worst blue screen filters ever). The movie's got quite a variety of songs: qawali, mujra, semi-bhangra, religious etc. I liked how 'Saajan Mera' and 'Churiyan Khanki' were visualized on the drop dead gorgeous Meenakshi Sheshadri. The music is of the foot-tapping and catchy sort and some of them have very good lyrics. In contrast, nowadays most movies concern themselves either with showing the slums of India or the posh sights of America, Europe and whatever.
I miss watching those marvelous locales of India that one used to see in older movies.
The third strong point, is the beautiful locations. Amrish Puri is fun as Gangaa's evil maternal uncle. It was a welcome change to see Amitabh Bachchan (who was recognized at that time for his on screen angry-man image) a lot more mellow and laidback, even though he's a little too old for his role. Chokroborty is a little loud at times but he is impressive when restrained and his unrequited love for Jamunaa is well displayed. Jaya Prada is wonderful as the virgin prostitute, I mean, virgin cabaret singer and dancer in a brothel (confused?) who doesn't dare to dream of getting married and living a decent respectable life with a husband. Sheshadri is incredibly beautiful and her Jamunaa is vivacious, charming and streetsmart. Secondly, the performances by Meenakshi Sheshadri, Jaya Prada and Mithun Chokroborty are brilliant. It's a pity that he doesn't write for movies anymore as many films lack the necessary wit to charm the viewer. Kader Khan's sharp witty dialogues are hilarious. Let's go to the (well intended) good parts. While it holds nostalgic value for me, it is overall more enjoyable than other campy flicks of the time like the overrated 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Mard', 'Coolie' etc (all made by Manmohan Desai). As a child, this was one of my favourite movies and I had the chance to revisit this one after about 17 years and I have got to say that I still find it entertaining but in a way that one would enjoy a campy film.
I have heard many negative reviews and also am aware of the fact that 'Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi' was a major flop during the year of its release.
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