General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20266 min read

Major Saab (मेजर साब)

Major Saab (मेजर साब) is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Tinnu Anand and produced by Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL), starring Amitabh Bachchan as army Major Jasbir Singh Rana, with Ajay Devgn, Sonali Bendre, and Nafisa Ali in the principal roles.¹ Set largely at the National Defence Academy (NDA), it follows a strict major's effort to reform a wealthy cadet who wants to be discharged.² The film released on 26 June 1998 after a public dispute with the Indian army over its portrayal of academy life, and it finished its run as a semi-hit at the Indian box office.³^•⁴

Key fact	Detail
Release	26 June 1998, Hindi-language action film, censor rating U/A⁵
Director / producer	Tinnu Anand (credited as Verinder Raj Anand); Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited¹
Lead cast	Amitabh Bachchan (Major Jasbir Singh Rana), Ajay Devgn (Virendra Pratap Singh), Sonali Bendre (Nisha), Nafisa Ali (Dr. Priya J. Rana)⁶
Music	Aadesh Shrivastava composed 'Sona Sona'; Anand Raj Anand composed the remaining songs⁷
India nett gross	₹131 million (₹13.10 crore); opening day ₹9.1 million (₹0.91 crore); first week ₹45.8 million (₹4.58 crore)⁴
Verdict	Semi Hit (Box Office India and Bollywood Hungama); Sacnilk lists it as Hit⁴^•⁸
Budget	₹87.5 million (₹8.75 crore) per Box Office India; Sacnilk lists ₹80 million (₹8.00 crore)⁴^•⁸

Spoilers

Plot and characters

Major Jasbir Singh Rana (Amitabh Bachchan) trains cadets to become officers at the National Defence Academy. Virendra Pratap Singh (Ajay Devgn), a spoilt rich man who must join the academy under a clause in his late father's will, deliberately breaks every rule so the major will throw him out; the strict disciplinarian instead takes it on himself to make him a soldier.²^•⁵ Virendra falls for Nisha (Sonali Bendre), the sister of the gangster Shankar, who pretends to accept him and then has him brutally beaten; the major comes to the young man's aid, and according to the film's press brochure he was court-martialled for doing so.²^•⁷ Nafisa Ali plays the major's wife, Dr. Priya J. Rana.⁶

The trade journal Film Information described the film as a love story set against an army backdrop, noting that the romance itself has little to do with the military setting, and that the first half is slow and belongs to Devgn while the second half belongs to Bachchan.⁹

Dispute with the army

At a preview in June 1998, officials from the defense ministry and senior officers of the three wings of the armed forces objected to what they called a wrongful and distorted portrayal of discipline, particularly at the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla.³ Officers listed specific complaints: cadets shown with stubble and long hair when academy cadets must be well-dressed and shaved, eight cadets sharing a dormitory when they are given individual cabins, cadets leaving the academy at will for romantic encounters, use of academy weapons and even rocket launchers against a local don, a marriage conducted at the NDA, and a commandant shown as a brigadier when the academy is actually headed by a lieutenant-general.³ Bachchan reportedly met army chief General Ved Prakash Malik to seek an early release, and defense ministry sources said the film could be released only after major changes.³

The dispute was settled within days. Bachchan issued a statement calling the film a commercial work in the realm of fiction and make-believe, saying the incidents shown do not reflect what happens at the NDA and that the producers meant no disrespect to the institution; with all recommended changes made, the film released on 26 June as scheduled.¹

Production

Filming took place at the National Defence Academy in Pune, in Australia, at Mumbai's Mehboob Studio and Film City, and at Neemrana Fort Palace.⁵ The 'Kehta Hai Pal-2' song was filmed at the Millaa Millaa waterfalls in Queensland, Australia.⁶ Robin Bhatt wrote the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Santosh Saroj, who also wrote the dialogue; Ravi K. Chandran was the cinematographer and Sabu Cyril the art director.⁶

The production was troubled. Director Tinnu Anand later said that ABCL was going through its worst phase during the 54-day NDA shoot in Pune: Bachchan's houses were mortgaged, the unit from Chennai went on strike repeatedly over unpaid wages, there was no production manager, and Anand handled direction and production together, was hospitalized twice, and swore off directing afterward.¹⁰ Film Information also recorded a technical snag just before the final prints were prepared, and that publicity materials were not ready three weeks before release.⁹^•¹¹ Abhishek Bachchan worked on the film as an uncredited assistant, and Ajay Devgn reportedly took over directing for a time when Anand was ill.⁷

Music

'Sona Sona', composed by Aadesh Shrivastava, became the film's signature number. Film Information called it a rage and the best thing in the film, noting that in the pre-climax it drew applause, whistles, cheers, and dancing along with Bachchan.⁹ Anand Raj Anand composed the other songs, with lyrics by Anand Raj Anand and Dev Kohli.⁷ According to a 2023 retrospective, 'Sona Sona' was originally meant for the film Lal Badshah.¹¹

Box office

Trade sources agree on the shape of the run but differ on totals. Box Office India and Bollywood Hungama both record an opening day of ₹9.1 million (₹0.91 crore), an opening weekend of ₹25.9 million (₹2.59 crore), a first week of ₹45.8 million (₹4.58 crore), and a lifetime India nett of ₹131 million (₹13.10 crore), against a budget of ₹87.5 million (₹8.75 crore), with a worldwide gross of ₹232.2 million (₹23.22 crore; ₹213.7 million (₹21.37 crore) India gross plus $435,000 overseas) and about 11.4 million (1.14 crore) footfalls; both give the verdict Semi Hit.⁴^•¹² Sacnilk instead reports an India net of ₹129.7 million (₹12.97 crore), a worldwide total of ₹221.8 million (₹22.18 crore), a budget of ₹80 million (₹8.00 crore), and the verdict Hit.⁸ Box Office India ranks the film tenth among 1998 Hindi releases by adjusted nett gross, at ₹1,093,645,240.¹³

Contemporary reporting was harsher than the eventual verdict. A Rediff column in late June 1998 called the film a major disaster with a lukewarm opening across the country, noting heavy rains in Bombay and that the survival of ABCL was seen as dependent on the film.¹⁴ Film Information, by contrast, reported an astounding, cinema-shattering opening everywhere except Jaipur, with the film released on 25 June at Metro in Bombay and on 26 June at 19 other Bombay cinemas through Shringar Films, and predicted distributors would stay satisfied on the strength of the 'Sona Sona' song, Bachchan's performance, the opening, and the film's reasonable price.⁹

Reception and aftermath

Film Information praised Devgn's acting, called Bachchan's performance one of the film's four selling points, found Sonali Bendre's work average, and criticized the loose editing, saying the film would improve if cut by about 10 minutes.⁹ The film is remembered chiefly for 'Sona Sona' and as one of Amitabh Bachchan's few successes between his 1997 comeback film Mrityudaata and his career revival with Mohabbatein in 2000.¹¹ For Tinnu Anand it was his last film as director; he moved into acting afterward.¹⁰

References

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 1990s › Action and thriller films › Released 1996 to 1999

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

Notice something wrong?