{ "id": "epq25zs80h", "slug": "albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai", "title": "Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1980s", "label": "Hindi films of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1980s" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1980s", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000: Hindi films of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1980s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1980s", "label": "Hindi films of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1980s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (अल्बर्ट पिंटो को गुस्सा क्यों आता है) is Saeed Akhtar Mirza's 1980 Hindi parallel-cinema film starring Naseeruddin Shah as a Mumbai mechanic whose anger turns from striking workers to capitalists; it won the 1981 Filmfare Critics Award.", "snippet": "Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (अल्बर्ट पिंटो को गुस्सा क्यों आता है) is Saeed Akhtar Mirza's 1980 Hindi parallel-cinema film starring Naseeruddin Shah as a Mumbai mechanic whose anger turns from striking workers to capitalists; it won the 1981 Filmfare Critics Award.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1980s", "markdown": "# Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai\n\n**Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai** (अल्बर्ट पिंटो को गुस्सा क्यों आता है; English: *What Makes Albert Pinto Angry?*) is a 1980 Hindi-language film directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza about a young Mumbai car mechanic whose anger at striking workers is gradually redirected toward the capitalists he once admired. It stars [Naseeruddin Shah](https://www.edgepedia.org/naseeruddin-shah) as Albert Pinto, with [Shabana Azmi](https://www.edgepedia.org/shabana-azmi) as Stella and [Smita Patil](https://www.edgepedia.org/smita-patil) as Joan, and is regarded as a work of Indian parallel cinema.[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/movies/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai) • [2](https://moviemahal.net/2010/12/23/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai-what-makes-albert-pinto-angry-dir-saeed-akhtar-mirza-1980-india-look-back-in-anger/comment-page-1/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Saeed Akhtar Mirza, his second feature, based on his own story[2](https://moviemahal.net/2010/12/23/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai-what-makes-albert-pinto-angry-dir-saeed-akhtar-mirza-1980-india-look-back-in-anger/comment-page-1/) • [3](https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/looking-ahead-in-anger-1500029-2019-04-12) |\n| Release | 1980, India, Hindi; certified in Bombay on 6 May 1980[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/movies/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai) • [4](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2026/09/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai-1980/) |\n| Runtime | 110 minutes[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/movies/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai) |\n| Principal cast | Naseeruddin Shah (Albert Pinto), Shabana Azmi (Stella), Smita Patil (Joan), Om Puri (Madhu, a mechanic)[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/movies/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai) • [4](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2026/09/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai-1980/) |\n| Key crew | Cinematography Virendra Saini; editing Renu Saluja; music Bhaskar Chandavarkar and Manas Mukherjee[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080343/fullcredits/) |\n| Award | Filmfare Critics Award, won in 1981[6](https://www.geo.tv/latest/169527-have-you-heard-about-saeed-akhtar-mirza) |\n| Festival screening | Quinzaine des cinéastes (Directors' Fortnight), Cannes, 1981[7](https://www.quinzaine-cineastes.fr/en/film/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-ata-hai) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nAlbert Pinto is a young Christian garage mechanic in Mumbai who befriends his wealthy customers and accepts their view that good workers do not go on strike, and that strikes are the work of low-class elements. He is angry with the workers around him, whom he believes walk out on any pretext, and he is deluded into thinking that if he works hard and imitates the rich he will one day be successful himself.[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/movies/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai) • [3](https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/looking-ahead-in-anger-1500029-2019-04-12)\n\nThe turning point comes through his own family. His father is a mill worker, and when the father is abused by elements hired by the mill owners, Albert realizes that the capitalists, not the striking workers, are responsible for the workers' plight, and he comes to see the legitimacy of strikes. At the end of the film he remains an angry man, but his anger is now directed against the capitalists rather than the workers.[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/movies/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai)\n\nThe film is episodic, and much of the narrative revolves around Albert's inability to decide what he wants from life beyond repairing his rich clients' expensive cars. His girlfriend Stella argues with him throughout, and at home he witnesses his father's increasing politicization during a textile strike. His failure to understand the social and political dimensions of his situation contributes to the imprisonment of his jobless younger brother, whose vulnerability is exploited by local criminal elements. In the final act, having seen his brother jailed and his father's dignity destroyed, Albert challenges the management's political address in a cinema, yelling at the screen and being shouted down by the audience, a scene that implicates the surrounding society rather than the hero alone.[2](https://moviemahal.net/2010/12/23/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai-what-makes-albert-pinto-angry-dir-saeed-akhtar-mirza-1980-india-look-back-in-anger/comment-page-1/)\n\n## Production and context\n\n**Parallel cinema.** The film displays the characteristics of classic Indian parallel cinema: an art-cinema aesthetic, a low budget, state funding, and a topical script shaped by political and social factors. It was financed by the Film Finance Corporation, the state body that funded much of the parallel movement, and it drew on graduates of the [Film and Television Institute of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/film-and-television-institute-of-india), Pune, including editor [Renu Saluja](https://www.edgepedia.org/renu-saluja) and scriptwriter Kundan Shah, who also served as assistant director.[2](https://moviemahal.net/2010/12/23/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai-what-makes-albert-pinto-angry-dir-saeed-akhtar-mirza-1980-india-look-back-in-anger/comment-page-1/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080343/fullcredits/) • [4](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2026/09/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai-1980/)\n\nMirza produced the film under his own banner, Saeed Mirza Productions, with backing from the Film Finance Corporation. Born in Bombay in 1943, he worked in advertising before graduating in direction from FTII in 1976; his first feature, *[Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan](https://www.edgepedia.org/arvind-desai-ki-ajeeb-dastaan)* (1978), had already won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie. His early films, usually about the working class of Bombay, use a free-flowing narrative influenced by Brazilian cinema.[4](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2026/09/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai-1980/) • [7](https://www.quinzaine-cineastes.fr/en/film/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-ata-hai)\n\nThe film was made while the cotton mills of central Bombay were sliding toward the strike of January 1982, and it reads the mood of the mill district of Girangaon through a single household. The *Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema* notes that Mirza afterwards admitted that, though the film concerns India's minorities, he placed it in a Catholic Bombay setting since he felt unable at that point to tackle Muslim themes, which he would later confront in *Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro* (1989). Mirza also wanted the film to be acceptable to mainstream [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema) and included songs for that purpose, such as the garage workers' number *Paanch lakh ki gaadi hai* (\"The car costs 500,000 rupees\"), shot in a single take.[4](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2026/09/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai-1980/) • [8](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film won the Filmfare Critics Award in 1981 and was screened in the Quinzaine des cinéastes at Cannes the same year. It has since attained cult status, attributed both to the script and to the performances of Shah, Azmi, and Patil.[6](https://www.geo.tv/latest/169527-have-you-heard-about-saeed-akhtar-mirza) • [7](https://www.quinzaine-cineastes.fr/en/film/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-ata-hai) • [3](https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/looking-ahead-in-anger-1500029-2019-04-12) On IMDb it holds a weighted rating of 7.1/10 from 585 user votes, with the most ratings coming from India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080343/ratings/)\n\nContemporary commentary places the film within the 1980s wave of filmmakers, including [Shyam Benegal](https://www.edgepedia.org/shyam-benegal), Govind Nihalani, and [Basu Chatterjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/basu-chatterjee), whose work presented the angst of the urban middle class rather than a rose-tinted view of life. Reviewers have noted that the original was experimental in its approach and found a limited audience at the time, and that its anger has remained legible: as the *Indian Express* put it in 2019, a lot of what the film protests has not fundamentally changed in four decades.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/looking-ahead-in-anger-1500029-2019-04-12) • [10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyun-aata-hai-movie-review-5671889/)\n\nThe title itself has entered common usage. Soumitra Ranade, director of the 2019 remake, observed that the phrase is no longer only the name of Mirza's film but an idiom used to describe anyone in a rage, cited in newspapers in constructions such as \"Sonia Gandhi ko gussa kyun aata hai\".[11](https://films.wavesbazaar.com/media/2587/press_coverage_2016.pdf)\n\n## The 2019 remake\n\nSoumitra Ranade's *Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?*, released on 12 April 2019, is a conceptual remake rather than a scene-for-scene retelling. It stars [Manav Kaul](https://www.edgepedia.org/manav-kaul) as Albert, Nandita Das as Stella, and [Saurabh Shukla](https://www.edgepedia.org/saurabh-shukla) as Nayar, a driver who accompanies Albert on a road journey from Mumbai to Goa told through flashbacks and conversations. Ranade said he used anger as the central point of focus, but redirected it at the middle class's anger against corruption, on a wider canvas than Mirza's capitalism-versus-Leftist-morality frame set in Bombay's cotton mills.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/looking-ahead-in-anger-1500029-2019-04-12) • [11](https://films.wavesbazaar.com/media/2587/press_coverage_2016.pdf) • [12](https://movieomagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/alalalalala.html)\n\nThe remake received mixed reviews. Filmfare gave it a critic's rating of 3.0/5, noting that where the 1980 film was grounded in the real struggles of mill workers, the new film plays more as a crime thriller. The trade paper *Film Information* judged it too class-appealing and reported a very weak opening at the box office.[13](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/bollywood-movies/movie-review-albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyun-aata-hai-33235.html) • [14](https://filminformation.com/reviews/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyun-aata-hai-13-april-2019/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai, TheTVDB](https://www.thetvdb.com/movies/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai)\n2. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai / What Makes Albert Pinto Angry (Dir. Saeed Akhtar Mirza, 1980), Movie Mahal, Omar Ahmed](https://moviemahal.net/2010/12/23/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai-what-makes-albert-pinto-angry-dir-saeed-akhtar-mirza-1980-india-look-back-in-anger/comment-page-1/)\n3. [Looking ahead in Anger, India Today (12 April 2019)](https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/looking-ahead-in-anger-1500029-2019-04-12)\n4. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai? (1980), Art House Cinema](https://www.arthousecinema.in/2026/09/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyoon-aata-hai-1980/)\n5. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai (1980) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080343/fullcredits/)\n6. [Albert Pinto ko ghussa kyon aata hai?, Geo TV (27 November 2017)](https://www.geo.tv/latest/169527-have-you-heard-about-saeed-akhtar-mirza)\n7. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai, Quinzaine des cinéastes](https://www.quinzaine-cineastes.fr/en/film/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-ata-hai)\n8. [Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (entry for Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai)](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Indian%2520Cinema.pdf)\n9. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai (1980) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080343/ratings/)\n10. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai movie review, The Indian Express (2019)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyun-aata-hai-movie-review-5671889/)\n11. [A bitter truth: NFDC Film Bazaar press coverage](https://films.wavesbazaar.com/media/2587/press_coverage_2016.pdf)\n12. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai Movie Review: Daring Look at Societal Ills, News18, Gautaman Bhaskaran](https://movieomagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/alalalalala.html)\n13. [Movie Review: Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?, Filmfare, Devesh Sharma](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/bollywood-movies/movie-review-albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyun-aata-hai-33235.html)\n14. [Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai? review, Film Information (13 April 2019)](https://filminformation.com/reviews/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyun-aata-hai-13-april-2019/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 1980s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-pinto-ko-gussa-kyon-aata-hai. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai is Saeed Akhtar Mirza's 1980 Hindi parallel-cinema film starring Naseeruddin Shah as a Mumbai mechanic whose anger turns from striking workers to capitalists; it won the 1981 Filmfare Critics Award." }