Fateh (1991) - Review in English

About the story: Karan (Sanjay Dutt), Ranvir (Satyajeet Puri) and Salim (Mohsin Khan) serve in the army under Major Anand (Suresh Oberoi) who cares for them like a father. During "Operation Fateh" against weapon trader and drug smuggler Samrat (Paresh Rawal), Samrat has a narrow escape after having shot at the major and crippled him. Major Anand is forced to leave the army and opens a garage. Soon he gets in trouble with gangster Bablia (Dinesh Anand), a partner of Samrat’s, and during an encounter with Bablia’s henchmen, Samrat shoots the major. Karan, Ranvir and Salim pay their last respects to the major, but as soon as they ask the people about the circumstances of the major’s death, they just meet fearful silence. So the three friends decide to detect and run down the murderer on their own initiative. As a sideline, Karan and Salim still find time to fall in love with Maria (Ekta Sohini) respective Sahira (Sonam). Via Bablia and dubious inspector Doshi (Shafi Inamdar), the friends by and by come closer to the truth...


Those who always wanted to know why Sanjay also is called "Deadly Dutt" should watch the clip "Tere Siva Mere Siva" in Fateh. Surrounded by fascinating-cold illuminated blocks of ice, Ekta Sohini dances around a Sanjay Dutt sporting blue jeans, undershirt and shades, looking forbidden good and – no, he doesn’t dance, but instead he works out, completely cool, as if the song and Ekta didn’t exist at all. Dumb bells, pull-ups, punching, nothing is left out, and close-ups show the working muscles as well as the beads of sweat on Sanju’s face and body, glittering in the beam of the headlights, dropping down... Though the song is clearly inspired by Laura Branigan’s "Self Control", this is exactly what you want to throw overboard in this moment. This clip is absolutely deadly, and those who adore Sanju in his phase as well-conditioned and long-maned puma in the early 90es should not watch it without having heart medicine within reach.

Anything else? Oh yes, the film. Well, it is okay. Sanjay Dutt, Satyajeet Puri and Mohsin Khan are a likeable trio (I love the sweet scene when they appear at the major’s sick-bed with one red rose each), Suresh Oberoi shines in his little role with his usual presence (and I don’t question his ability to wrestle with his enemies despite his stiff leg since I saw Pran funambulating in Don), Paresh Rawal plays his standard villain (I just want to fine his make-up men for the dilettantishly applied burning scar which, moreover, permanently looks different), Shafi Inamdar is wonderful as corrupt inspector, and it’s a joy to see the ladies Ekta Sohini and Sonam having quite large roles; especially Sonam impresses with her intense acting.

But Sanjay deserves another extra chapter, apart from that deadly ice’n’sweat clip. For in Fateh, you can relive his then development towards the action hero. Like most other films at that time, Fateh was shot in unregular schedules and shifts over a longer period, and so it contains even a few scenes where Sanju’s hair wasn’t as long yet as in the later mullet sequences, and where he still was shown more cute and humorous. There Sanju even proves his lovable ability to pull his own leg when he, inebriated, gets shouldered and carried off by Guddi Maruti. Besides, Karan hits the bottle astoundingly often in this film – he dances boozily, he fights boozily and with the bottle in his hand, and even when he introduces himself to his ladylove’s father (Satyen Kappu) he is not sober, even though saved by the fact that daddy loves to hit the bottle too...

Anyway, these scenes had already been shot when Sanjay, in other films, more and more distinguished himself as big action hero and extended fight scenes with a lot of blood pouring became a must in his action movies. I just indicate that Fateh was released at about the same time as Sadak. So besides the scenes of cute and witty Sanju with shorter hair, there are even scenes of fighting and bleeding Sanjay with longer hair in Fateh, and I dare to allege that these scenes were added to the script later as a pandering of Fateh to the public. So Karan’s sometimes a little uneven character supposedly is owed to Sanjay’s then film image development. But this should not prevent anyone from enjoying the film. And be it just for "Tere Siva Mere Siva" which underlines Sanju’s casual comment from 1991 about stripping hunks on the screen, "If you have it flaunt it."

Produced by Mukesh Duggal; Directed by Talat Jani
154 Min.; VCD: Eagle, without subs
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