Before the 2020 remake starring Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan, here’s a recap of the memorable 1995 rib-tickler…

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Revisiting Coolie No 1 (1995): 25 things you probably didn't know about the Govinda-Karisma Kapoor super-hit

Team CE

Updated:9th Dec, 2020 at 1:59 PM

Coolie No. 1 was written by Rumi Jaffery and Kader Khan. Kader Khan also plays Malti’s father Hoshiyar Chand.

The film is a remake of the 1993 Tamil comedy Chinna Mapillai, starring Prabhu and Sukanya.

Juha Chawla was first offered the role of Malti, which went to Karisma Kapoor.

Govinda and Karisma were a hit ‘90s pair, appearing in films like Raja Babu, Dulhara and Hero No. 1.

The film was initially called just Coolie. It had to be changed as the title was registered with Manmohan Desai (who directed Amitabh Bachchan in the 1983 film).

Kader Khan penned both Coolie and Coolie No.1. He also appears in both films.

Coolie No. 1 kickstarted David Dhawan’s ‘No.1’ movies. It was followed by Hero No. 1, Aunty No. 1 and others.

Govinda starred in most of David’s No. 1 films. Only Shaadi No. 1, released in 2005, starred Sanjay Dutt.

In 1997, Govinda and David Dhawan launched a film titled ‘London Coolie’, which was shelved.

The film has many connections with Andaz Apna Apna (1994). Karisma Kapoor stars in both films. In the song, Main To Raste Se Ja Raha Tha, AAA is playing in a theatre. Govinda also did a cameo in AAA.

The theatre in Main To Raste Se is the Lido in Bangalore. The establishment is now shut.

The film marked the production debut of Vashu Bhagnani, who went on to make several films with David Dhawan.

No facts. Just admiring Lolo-Govinda rock the matching animal prints.

Late actor Kanchan played the second female lead in Coolie No. 1. She appeared in several notable Hindi and South films in the ‘90s.

Actor-comedian Dinesh Hingoo has a special appearance in the film as a game show host.

The hit comic pairing of Govinda and Shakti Kapoor started from Raju Babu and continued till Jodi No. 1. They last reunited for Rangeela Raja (2019).

Govinda was crowned ‘performer of the decade’ by Star Screen Awards for Coolie No. 1

The ‘marriage under false pretenses’ was a popular ‘90s gambit. Raju (Govinda), enrolled by a peeved matchmaker, pretends to be a rich heir to marry Malti.

The upcoming remake stars Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan in the lead roles. It is expected to release on Amazon Prime Video.

In 2017, Govinda made headlines by commenting that “Varun Dhawan can never be like me”. The actor has had a fallout with Varun’s father. This is Varun warming up to Govinda at an award function.

The film's soundtrack album sold around 3.5 million units, making it one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtracks.

Although Tips films Vashu Bhagnani and David Dhawan were confident that 'Husn Hain Suhana' would be the selling factor of the album, it was the song 'Main To Raste Se Ja Raha Tha' that did the trick.

The music of Coolie No. 1 strengthened Anand-Milind and Govinda/David Dhawan's track record of coming up with super hit music with each outing.

The film, made on a budget of ₹3.5 crore (equivalent to ₹10 crore in 2020) made ₹23 crore (equivalent to ₹110 crore in 2020) at the box office.

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