Sharaabi (1984): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1984, Sharaabi is a drama and romance film directed by Prakash Mehra, running about 180 minutes. “Loosely based on Dudley Moore's 'Arthur'. Amithabh plays a spoilt but generous hearted drunk son of an extremely rich and uncaring father. Om Prakash plays the surrogate father and Jaya Pradh” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and a peg of brandy instead of a glass milk, Vicky Kapoor, the only son of multi-millionaire industrialist, Amarnath, grows up to be an alcoholic, albeit with a good heart. Amarnath has detached himself completely from Vicky s life, and provides him money in lieu of affection and care, living this to be taken care off by Munshi Phoolchand. Vicky is very resentful of being ignored by his dad in this manner, and leaves no stone unturned to mock and belittle him at every available opportunity. Amarnath hopes to get his son married, but Vicky loves the daughter of a poor blind man, Meena, which is not acceptable to Amarnath. One day Amarnath decides he has had enough and decides to turn Vicky out of his house. He has him sign waivers, and asks him to get out, which Vicky does so. While Vicky is relieved of being freed from his dad s control, the question remains that with no skills at making a living, how is Vicky to survive in a cold-hearted world

Who’s in it. Sharaabi stars Amitabh Bachchan as Vicky Kapoor, Jaya Prada as Meena, Mukhri as Natthulal and Bharat Bhushan as Master jee, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.8/10, Sharaabi has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Sharaabi page.

If you liked it. Fans of Sharaabi tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.