The Great Gambler
| The Great Gambler | |
|---|---|
Film poster | |
| Directed by | Shakti Samanta |
| Written by | C. J. Pavri (adaptation) Vrajendra Gaur (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Shakti Samanta Ranjan Bose |
| Story by | Vikramaditya (Bengali novel) |
| Produced by | C. V. K. Shastri |
| Starring | Amitabh Bachchan Zeenat Aman Neetu Singh |
| Cinematography | Aloke Dasgupta |
| Edited by | R. P. Bapat Pran Mehra |
| Music by | R. D. Burman |
Release date |
|
Running time | 163 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
The Great Gambler is a 1979 Indian Hindi-language crime action film co-written, directed and produced by Shakti Samanta, under his banner of Shakti Films. Based on Vikramaditya's Bengali novel Great Gambler, the film stars Amitabh Bachchan in dual roles, alongside Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh, Prem Chopra, Utpal Dutt and Madan Puri in pivotal roles. Its story follows international gangsters, spies, and secret agents of different countries' intelligence agencies and their undercover operations.
The film marks the first collaboration between Samanta and Bachchan, having high production costs with a significant portions being shot in international locations including Cairo, Lisbon, Venice, and Rome, and in India, many scenes were shot in Goa. The film was a box-office flop on initial release due to high distribution price, but has been widely appreciated for its action, direction, and cinematography. Later, it became profitable on repeat releases and attained cult status.