Hindustan Times, 27. September 2007
Priya Dutt: Mein Vater wurde im Stich gelassen, er war ein Einzelkämpfer
Priya Dutt, Tochter der legendären Bollywood-Stars Sunil und Nargis Dutt und Schwester von Sanjay Dutt, hat zusammen mit ihrer älteren Schwester Namrata ein Buch über ihre Eltern geschrieben. „Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents“ wird am Freitag durch Premierminister Manmohan Singh präsentiert werden im Rahmen einer Zeremonie, bei der auch Sonia Gandhi, Vorstand der regierenden Koalition, anwesend sein wird. Priya Dutt ist ebenfalls Parlamentsmitglied aus der Mumbaier Kongresspartei.
Ausschnitte aus einem Interview:
Hindustan Times: Was war das für ein Gefühl, den Lebensweg Ihrer Eltern nachzuvollziehen?
Priya: Das Ganze war ein heilsamer Prozess für uns. Wir haben so viel über unsere Eltern erfahren, und besonders über ihre Beziehung zueinander, die so schön war – mein Vater hat Tausende von Fotos, Briefen und kleinen Dingen aufgehoben, und es war wirklich nostalgisch, die alle durchzugehen. Es war ein schönes Gefühl. Und wir erhielten auch einen Einblick in das Leben unserer Eltern, über unsere Erinnerungen hinaus. Uns wurde bewusst, dass ihr ganzes Leben eine Liebesbeziehung zueinander war – auch nach Mutters Tod.
Hindustan Times: Wie sind Ihre Erinnerungen an ihn als Politiker?
Priya: Er hat sich selbst nie als Politiker betrachtet. Aber ich finde, er war der beste. Jener Padyatra (Friedensmarsch) mit ihm hat mein Leben völlig verändert. Das war überhaupt kein politischer Padyatra, er hat ihn aus rein persönlichen Gründen unternommen, und ich habe mich ihm aus rein persönlichen Gründen angeschlossen. Ich absolvierte gerade mein letztes Jahr am College, und es war eine tolle Gelegenheit für mich, das Land zu sehen und kennenzulernen. Ich empfand es als großartiges Abenteuer. Wir gingen in 78 Tagen eine Strecke von 2.800 Kilometern.
Wie gesagt, ich war 19 und in meinem letzten Collegejahr. Damals bestand meine Welt aus meinem College und meinen Freunden. Ich hatte keine Ahnung, was in der Welt oder auch nur außerhalb der Stadt vor sich ging. Diese Expedition öffnete mir die Augen und erweiterte meinen Horizont dafür, was Indien ist, wie vielfältig unser Land ist. Verschiedene Staaten zu durchwandern, Menschen kennenzulernen, zu sehen, wie unterschiedlich sie waren, ihr Kleidung, ihr Essen – es war ein staunenswertes Erlebnis für mich.
Wir gingen jeden Tag etwa 30 Kilometer. Dabei wurden wir immer wieder aufgehalten von Menschen, die meinen Dad kennenlernen wollten. Und das Lustige dabei war, dass diese Menschen nicht einmal wussten, wer er war. In diesen abgelegenen Gebieten gab es keine Kinos, sie hatten keine Ahnung – sie wussten nur, dass da ein Mensch für den Frieden marschierte. Und sie warteten draußen, um zu sehen, wer dieser Mann war. Das war eine Erfahrung, die mich wirklich bescheiden machte. Sie haben uns Wasser gebracht oder Feldfrüchte, alles Mögliche.
Ich denke, mein Vater hat den Menschen wirklich Gandhismus gebracht, lange bevor sein Sohn ihnen Gandhigiri brachte.
Hindustan Times: Während der Revolten, war er da wütend darüber, wie die Sache gehandhabt wurde?
Priya: Ja, er war wütend. Seiner Ansicht nach hätte etwas unternommen werden müssen, um die Raserei zu beenden. Viele Menschen behaupten, er sei pro-muslimisch und anti-hindu gewesen. Aber das ist nicht wahr. Er hat stets jedem geholfen.
Aber ob es Ihnen nun gefällt oder nicht, die Minderheiten waren am meisten betroffen. Solche Ereignisse haben ihn so richtig erschüttert. Und umso größer war dann seine Entschlossenheit, etwas zu tun. So wie damals, als er die Punjab yatra unternahm... viele warnten ihn damals, aber er sagte, das sei ihm egal, und er tat es einfach. Aber so war er nun einmal.
Hindustan Times: Fühlte er sich von seiner Partei enttäuscht oder im Stich gelassen?
Priya: Ja, das geschah oft, wenn er das Gefühl hatte, dass seine Worte nicht die richtigen Stellen erreichten. Er war ein besonderer Mensch, anders als andere. Selbst in der Politik hatten die Menschen seines Volkes für ihn höchste Priorität.
Mein Vater war ein überzeugter und loyaler Kongressmann. Und er glaubte an die Ideale und die Philosophie der Kongresspartei. Ich würde nicht sagen, dass er jedes einzelne Parteimitglied auf seiner Seite hatte – das hatte er ganz bestimmt nicht. Und das wusste er. Aber das brachte ihn nicht von seinen Überzeugungen ab. Ich sage immer, in der Politik machst du dir mehr Feinde als Freunde, selbst wenn du der unumstrittenste Mensch überhaupt bist – irgendwie machst du dir trotzdem Feinde, wegen nichts. Aber solche Sachen haben meinen Vater nie gekümmert. Und er hätte nie daran gedacht, zu einer anderen Partei zu wechseln; solchen Ehrgeiz hatte er nicht.
Das alles hat ihn nie betroffen. Er war ein Einzelkämpfer. Er tat, was er tat, weil er daran glaubte – und er hatte erkannt, dass er aus vielen Richtungen keine Hilfe bekommen würde, aus welchen Gründen auch immer... Er war hundertprozentig ein Mann seines Volkes, und das war sein krönender Ruhm.
Hindustan Times: Wie war das, als Sanjay verhaftet und inhaftiert wurde? Hatte er damals ähnliche Gedanken?
Priya: Manchmal gab er sich selbst die Schuld für das, was Sanjay zugestoßen war. Er meinte, „vielleicht leidet Sanjay meinetwegen“ – ich weiß nicht, vielleicht wurde er nur wegen der Politik in all diese Dinge verstrickt.
Hindustan Times: Können Sie das etwas näher erläutern?
Priya: Ich denke, er hat dafür bezahlt, ein Dutt zu sein. Die Leute sagen viel, dass er eine Sonderbehandlung bekommen hätte oder so, aber diese Leute waren alle nicht dabei, als es geschah. Wie er behandelt wurde wie jeder andere Häftling auch. Mein Vater war damals Parlamentsmitglied, aber auch er wurde behandelt wie jeder andere. Er saß oft stundenlang außerhalb des Arrestbereichs. So hatten wir unseren Vater nie gesehen. Und meine Schwester und ich pflegten stundenlang vor dem Besuchsbereich zu warten.
Die Leute machen es sich so leicht, wenn sie sagen, er muss gut behandelt worden sein. Auch jetzt noch gibt es diese kleinen kleinen Dinge... das Medienaufkommen ist so riesig geworden, es gibt so viele Sender, und jeder will sein Pfund Fleisch. Ich denke, das sind wir inzwischen gewohnt (lacht).
Wenn du eine Berühmtheit bist, dann wollen alle alles über dich wissen. Es gibt Tausende, die im Gefängnis schmachten – so viele Menschen sind im Gefängnis, weil sie keine tausend Rupien für eine Kaution bezahlen können. Warum schreiben die Medien nichts über sie?
Und ganz ehrlich, ich finde, solange eine Sache noch rechtshängig ist, sollte auch die Medienberichterstattung darüber eingeschränkt werden.
Ich weiß nicht, inwieweit die Tatsache, dass Sanjay ein Dutt ist, gegen ihn gearbeitet hat, als der Terrorismus-Vorwurf aufkam – wie es geschah, wieviel Politik dahintersteckte. Aber ich denke, die größte Erleichterung war, als der Richter sagte, dass er kein Terrorist ist. Ich habe meinen Vater dreizehn Jahre lang leiden sehen. Das war wie eine Last, die er zu tragen hatte.
Hindustan Times: Es gibt ein berühmtes Foto, auf dem Sanjay Sie umarmt, bevor er ins Auto stieg und zum Gericht fuhr. Was sagte er in diesem Augenblick?
Priya: Nichts. Ich sagte: „Mach dir keine Sorgen, wir stehen dir bei.“
Hindustan Times: Erzählen Sie mir von Ihren Besuchen bei ihm im Gefängnis nach dem Urteilsspruch.
Priya: Es war schwer, aber er war sehr stark. Zuerst traf ich ihn im Arthur Road, wohin sie ihn direkt nach der Verurteilung gebracht hatten. Ich saß da und redete mit ihm. Aber der Moment, in dem wir alle wirklich zusammenbrachen, war, als er uns verließ und hineingeführt wurde und wir wussten, dass wir ihn nun nicht wiedersehen würden.
Dann traf ich ihn im Yerawada-Gefängnis, und das war wirklich eine Erfahrung. Er trug seine Gefängniskleidung. Es war ein sehr schwieriger Augenblick. Aber wir waren stark, wir wussten, dass wir das durchkämpfen mussten. Er war sehr stark. Und wir alle wussten, dass wir es aus eigener Kraft schaffen mussten, da unser Dad nicht mehr da ist. Er war immer unsere Zuflucht gewesen.
Hindustan Times: Wie war das mit Ihrem Termin bei Sonia Gandhi?
Priya: Ich bin nie zu Sonia Gandhi gegangen, um sie um etwas zu bitten. Das Ganze ist unnötig aufgebläht worden. Ich war nicht bei ihr, um Hilfe zu ersuchen. Ich wusste ja, dass wir den legalen Weg gehen mussten. Mrs Gandhi hat uns stets sehr unterstützt, meinen Vater und die Familie. Aber wissen Sie, das war schon lustig: Als ich zu ihr ging, waren die ganzen Medien da und haben berichtet, ich wäre eine halbe bzw. eine Dreiviertelstunde bei ihr gewesen und dies und jenes wäre dabei geschehen. Und ich dachte nur, wie zum Teufel wollen die wissen, was da drin geschehen ist? Da ist ein ganzer Raum voller Menschen, die zu ihr wollen und warten. Ich habe eine halbe Stunde gewartet, bis ich dran war, und dann hatte ich gerade mal fünf Minuten mit ihr. Und ich sagte zu ihr, „Ma’am, ich bin hier wegen Sanjay“ – natürlich habe ich sie kurz über die Ereignisse informiert – und ich sagte, dass ich deshalb diesmal nichts ins Parlament kommen könne. Aber ich habe sie nicht um Hilfe gebeten. Ich habe sie informiert, was meine Pflicht als Parlamentsmitglied war.
Hindustan Times: Sanjay hat sich über die Jahre verändert, nicht wahr?
Priya: Ich finde, seit dem Tod meines Vaters hat er sich in mehrfacher Hinsicht verändert. Er hat sich stärker unter Kontrolle. Er hat mehr Charakter denn je. Er ist ja schon seit langem viel ruhiger und nüchterner geworden. Jetzt ist er mehr zu einem Hausmann geworden, viel häuslicher, zielstrebiger, ein Mensch, der das Heft in die Hand genommen hat.
Hindustan Times: Hat er auch Angst?
Priya: Er hatte zuvor sicher Angst; es war eine sehr schwierige Zeit. Aber ich glaube, im Augenblick der Verurteilung verschwand die Angst. Dieses ganze Nicht-Bescheid-Wissen ist viel schlimmer. Wenn man erst einmal weiß, was Sache ist, kann man sich genaue Gedanken darüber machen, wie man mit der Situation umgeht. Und in diesem Punkt, finde ich, war er sehr stark.
Hindustan Times: Es geht zwar die Medien nichts an, aber freut er sich schon darauf, sein Leben neu aufzubauen, vielleicht irgendwann auch wieder zu heiraten?
Priya: Ich weiß nicht, ich weiß es wirklich nicht. Aber ich sehe ihn heute viel öfter zu Hause. Er liebt es, Zeit mit meinem Sohn zu verbringen, er genießt das. Und er genießt seine Arbeit, er macht nicht mehr zu viele Filme. Andere Dinge sind wichtiger für ihn geworden... ich denke, das Leben ist kostbarer für ihn geworden.
Hindustan Times: Wissen Sie, ob er vorhat, zu heiraten?
Priya: Nicht dass er etwas in der Richtung erwähnt hätte (lacht). Ich weiß nichts über Hochzeit und so. Aber er ist glücklich, und das, finde ich, ist wichtig – solange er glücklich ist, ist das alles, was zählt.
Hindustan Times: Braucht er Abhängigkeit?
Priya: Ja, so war er schon immer. Er ist ein Mensch, der Anker braucht. Und unseligerweise passiert es oft, dass andere sich dadurch einen Vorteil für sich verschaffen. Er ist ein sehr offener Mensch, der gerne gibt, und ich hasse es zu sehen, wenn er verletzt wird.
Neelesh Misra; Deutsch von Diwali
Samstag, 29. September 2007
Dienstag, 25. September 2007
Anthony Kaun Hai? (2006) - Review in English
About the story: The killer Master Madan (Sanjay Dutt) was hired by Lucky Sharma (Chetam Hansraj) to kill the sensationalist journalist Anthony Gonsalvez: He filmed Lucky as he strangled a woman and blackmailed him. Master Madan indeed does meet a man who calls himself Anthony Gonsalvez in the hotel-room in question. However, when the man (Arshad Warsi) notices that his live is in danger, he claims that his real name is Champak Chaudhary and that he has nothing to do with this Gonsalvez person. As Master Madan was going to wait with the fulfilment of his commission until Lucky has paid him, he gives Champak the chance to throw light on the situation for him. Champ now tells him that he gorses passports and in prison got to know a man called Raghuvir Sharma (Raghuvir Yadav) who buried some expensive diamonds. After their release he joined Raghuvir’s daughter Jiya (Minisha Lamba) and adopted the identity of Anthony Gonsalves, whose body had been found a short time earlier...
Anthony Kaun Hai? (Who is Anthony?) is no masterpiece but a well-crafted movie in which Arshad Warsi has the lead for a change, while Sanjay supports his inspired partner from the Munnabhai movies, which IMO is a nice gesture on his part. The part is certainly no challenge for him – characters like this sophisticated, cold-hearted and stylish killer (red Ferrari, excellent taste in wines), Sanju is able to pull of in his sleep. On screen his mere appearance exudes so much authority that one becomes almost automatically submissive to him and Arshad’s small time crook Champ submits to him like an obedient child. Obviously, the plot does not allow Arshad and Sanjay to continue their brilliant performance as Munnabhai and Circuit but one nevertheless notes at all times that the two are an experienced team.
Arshad gives a solid performance. From time to time his acting suffers from the slow speed of the entire movie, but he manages to pull of the most important thing: to make Champ loveable enough for the viewer to worry about him and to want him to survive. Gulshan Grover as Inspector Suraj Singh gives a solid performance. He seems to have stepped straight from the set of Tathastu to the one of Anthony Kaun Hai. However, like all minor characters he has little enough to do. Most attention is given to Manisha Lamba but she does not make very good use of this opportunity. Anusha Dandekar as Champ’s ex-girlfriend has more character and presence than her colleague but her time on screen would fit in a thimble. The main focus of the movie clearly is Champ and his story, and therefore the frame where Master Madan rules with his silencer-gun in one hand and wine-glass in the other. With this flashback-narration Raj Kaushal indulges in some enjoyable detail, for example when Master Madan is not impressed with Champ’s narrative style and asks him to start again in a different style, for example in the style of Yash Chopra. Thanks to the solid performances of Sanjay and Arshad this works very well. They are a good reason to watch this movie anytime, although it is not a masterpiece, as I mentioned earlier. In any case, it delivers two hours entertainment. (And afterwards one can always watch Amar, Akbar, Anthony, or at least Amitabh Bachchan’s song “My name is Anthony Gonsalvez”.)
Produced by Nikhil Panchamiya; Directed by Raj Kaushal
126 Min.; DVD: Adlabs, English Subtitles (including songs); the DVD also contains a Making Of.
© Diwali; Translated by gebruss
Pictures
P.S. In a Stardust interview (8/2006) Arshad reveiled that it was his idea to cast Sanju for Master Madan – and that there was no need to talk it into him:
There was a buzz that you convinced Sanjay Dutt to do the film? And that he gave priority dates for this film?
Arshad: That’s right. Actually, I felt that Sanjay would be the best choice for the role of Master Madan, and when I approached and asked him if he would do the film, he immediately called his secretary and had the dates allotted for the film. I was excited and glad that he did the film because I was able to convince him.
Anthony Kaun Hai? (Who is Anthony?) is no masterpiece but a well-crafted movie in which Arshad Warsi has the lead for a change, while Sanjay supports his inspired partner from the Munnabhai movies, which IMO is a nice gesture on his part. The part is certainly no challenge for him – characters like this sophisticated, cold-hearted and stylish killer (red Ferrari, excellent taste in wines), Sanju is able to pull of in his sleep. On screen his mere appearance exudes so much authority that one becomes almost automatically submissive to him and Arshad’s small time crook Champ submits to him like an obedient child. Obviously, the plot does not allow Arshad and Sanjay to continue their brilliant performance as Munnabhai and Circuit but one nevertheless notes at all times that the two are an experienced team.
Arshad gives a solid performance. From time to time his acting suffers from the slow speed of the entire movie, but he manages to pull of the most important thing: to make Champ loveable enough for the viewer to worry about him and to want him to survive. Gulshan Grover as Inspector Suraj Singh gives a solid performance. He seems to have stepped straight from the set of Tathastu to the one of Anthony Kaun Hai. However, like all minor characters he has little enough to do. Most attention is given to Manisha Lamba but she does not make very good use of this opportunity. Anusha Dandekar as Champ’s ex-girlfriend has more character and presence than her colleague but her time on screen would fit in a thimble. The main focus of the movie clearly is Champ and his story, and therefore the frame where Master Madan rules with his silencer-gun in one hand and wine-glass in the other. With this flashback-narration Raj Kaushal indulges in some enjoyable detail, for example when Master Madan is not impressed with Champ’s narrative style and asks him to start again in a different style, for example in the style of Yash Chopra. Thanks to the solid performances of Sanjay and Arshad this works very well. They are a good reason to watch this movie anytime, although it is not a masterpiece, as I mentioned earlier. In any case, it delivers two hours entertainment. (And afterwards one can always watch Amar, Akbar, Anthony, or at least Amitabh Bachchan’s song “My name is Anthony Gonsalvez”.)
Produced by Nikhil Panchamiya; Directed by Raj Kaushal
126 Min.; DVD: Adlabs, English Subtitles (including songs); the DVD also contains a Making Of.
© Diwali; Translated by gebruss
Pictures
P.S. In a Stardust interview (8/2006) Arshad reveiled that it was his idea to cast Sanju for Master Madan – and that there was no need to talk it into him:
There was a buzz that you convinced Sanjay Dutt to do the film? And that he gave priority dates for this film?
Arshad: That’s right. Actually, I felt that Sanjay would be the best choice for the role of Master Madan, and when I approached and asked him if he would do the film, he immediately called his secretary and had the dates allotted for the film. I was excited and glad that he did the film because I was able to convince him.
Freitag, 21. September 2007
Deewaar (2004) - Review in English
About the story: During the India-Pakistan war in December of 1971, 54 Indian soldiers are captured by the Pakistani army. 33 years later more than half of them are still alive, amongst them Major Ranvir Kaul (Amitabh Bachchan) who has never given up hope to see India again. At long last, he manages to get a message to his wife (Tanuja) – but the government wishes to avoid a conflict with Pakistan and does nothing to free the prisoners. At this point major Kaul’s son Gaurav (Akshaye Khanna) takes on the initiative and travels to Pakistan. There he can locate the prison camp and witnesses an attempt of the prisoners to escape which only one of them succeeds in: the Indian spy and maverick Khan (Sanjay Dutt). In cooperation with him Gaurav developes a plan to free the Indian captives. In order to instruct the major and the other prisoners, Khan lets himself get captured again...
The tagline of Deewaar leaves no doubt about the message of the film: "Let’s bring our heroes home." Once again the everlasting and ineffable cliche of "good and brave Indian soldiers versus cruel and heartless Pakistani" is put to work – a cliche that won’t fit the more peaceful tone the Indian film industry started using some time ago towards the northern neighbours. At least not all Pakistani were conjured up to be bad guys; e.g. the Pakistani major Qureshi (Piyush Mishera) always treats major Kaul with sincere respect, and Gaurav finds helpers for his mission among Khan’s muslim friends, while on the other hand the Indian government forsakes its brave soldiers. So in the end you can live with the result, particularly as the patriotic phrases are kept within limits.
This of course is firstly due to Amitabh Bachchan who plays the unbreakable major Kaul with breathtaking intensity. Throughout the film you only wish for his successful escape and the long awaited return to India, his wife and his son, and that applies for his comrades as well. Akshaye Khanna is much better placed in those rather active-aggressive roles than in the romantic ones, although even in Deewaar he falls in love with Radhika, his host’s daugther, echantingly and charmingly played by Amrita Rao. But in the end, the love plot and Amrita are about as unimportant for the film as Tanuja, even if Tanuja is acting very forcefully in her few scenes. Deewaar completely belongs to the men, who are either fighting or helping each other; the Indian prisoners as well as the Pakistani are casted very well, with the crippled and sadistic camp commander Sohail (a great performance by K.K. Menon) at the top. However, beyond any doubts, it is Amitabh who carries the film – supported by Sanjay Dutt who is equally brilliant in developing his role.
Although his role is smaller than Amitabh’s, Sanjay turns it into a perceived main role. Similarly to Plan, he enters the plot after about an hour, but afterwards the movie is unthinkable without him – particularly since his part as "Allah’s pride" Khan is crucial to the conclusion of the plot. As a prisoner he has to endure even more than Amitabh, but in the course he never loses his self-esteem or his diabolical humour. Sanjay is just great in this film and he looks strikingly attractive. The speedy "Marhaba" number, where he dances while his hand is aflame, leaves you just breathless. The Star Screen Awards found his performance worthy of a nomination as best actor in a supporting role.
Amitabh and Sanjay make Deewaar worth watching. Even those who don’t like such patriotic issues in particular, can look forward to a thrillingly staged story with two main actors who by their intense acting and their charisma once again prove that they belong to the top-league of actors.
Produced by Gaurang Doshi; Directed by Milan Luthria
156 Min.; DVD: EROS, English Subtitles (including songs)
© Diwali; Translated by nandini67
The tagline of Deewaar leaves no doubt about the message of the film: "Let’s bring our heroes home." Once again the everlasting and ineffable cliche of "good and brave Indian soldiers versus cruel and heartless Pakistani" is put to work – a cliche that won’t fit the more peaceful tone the Indian film industry started using some time ago towards the northern neighbours. At least not all Pakistani were conjured up to be bad guys; e.g. the Pakistani major Qureshi (Piyush Mishera) always treats major Kaul with sincere respect, and Gaurav finds helpers for his mission among Khan’s muslim friends, while on the other hand the Indian government forsakes its brave soldiers. So in the end you can live with the result, particularly as the patriotic phrases are kept within limits.
This of course is firstly due to Amitabh Bachchan who plays the unbreakable major Kaul with breathtaking intensity. Throughout the film you only wish for his successful escape and the long awaited return to India, his wife and his son, and that applies for his comrades as well. Akshaye Khanna is much better placed in those rather active-aggressive roles than in the romantic ones, although even in Deewaar he falls in love with Radhika, his host’s daugther, echantingly and charmingly played by Amrita Rao. But in the end, the love plot and Amrita are about as unimportant for the film as Tanuja, even if Tanuja is acting very forcefully in her few scenes. Deewaar completely belongs to the men, who are either fighting or helping each other; the Indian prisoners as well as the Pakistani are casted very well, with the crippled and sadistic camp commander Sohail (a great performance by K.K. Menon) at the top. However, beyond any doubts, it is Amitabh who carries the film – supported by Sanjay Dutt who is equally brilliant in developing his role.
Although his role is smaller than Amitabh’s, Sanjay turns it into a perceived main role. Similarly to Plan, he enters the plot after about an hour, but afterwards the movie is unthinkable without him – particularly since his part as "Allah’s pride" Khan is crucial to the conclusion of the plot. As a prisoner he has to endure even more than Amitabh, but in the course he never loses his self-esteem or his diabolical humour. Sanjay is just great in this film and he looks strikingly attractive. The speedy "Marhaba" number, where he dances while his hand is aflame, leaves you just breathless. The Star Screen Awards found his performance worthy of a nomination as best actor in a supporting role.
Amitabh and Sanjay make Deewaar worth watching. Even those who don’t like such patriotic issues in particular, can look forward to a thrillingly staged story with two main actors who by their intense acting and their charisma once again prove that they belong to the top-league of actors.
Produced by Gaurang Doshi; Directed by Milan Luthria
156 Min.; DVD: EROS, English Subtitles (including songs)
© Diwali; Translated by nandini67
Montag, 17. September 2007
Taxi No. 9211 (2006; narrator) - Review in English
In this film Sanjay is just the narrator!
About the story: Jai Mittal (John Abraham), son of a millionaire, always was interested just in the pleasant sides of life and is flabbergasted when he after his father’s death comes to know that his father has left his entire property to his old friend Arjun Bajaj (Shivaji Satham). He insists on another testament which makes him his father’s heir and files a suit. But the evening before the court hearing Jai has an accident with his car so that next morning he is forced to take a taxi. Of all taxis, he gets into the one of choleric misanthrope Raghav Shastri (Nana Patekar) who soon is unnerved by Jai’s arrogant behaviour. To top it all, Raghav meets with an accident, and while he starts fighting with the other party, Jai skives off. But when he wants to take the testament out of a safe-deposit box he realizes that he has lost the box key in Raghav’s taxi. Jai is hell-bent to get the key back – but Raghav is similarly hell-bent to score off this arrogant millionaire, so soon both of them fight each other with all means...
When a star does a cameo or a guest appearance, I love to speculate why he did it and to whom he possibly did a favour with it. There could be several reasons for Sanjay volunteering as narrator in Taxi No. 9211 (for which he was appreciated with "Special Thanks" in the credits). Maybe it was Milan Luthria, his director from Deewaar, whom "Allah’s pride" wanted to rejoyce. Maybe it was John Abraham whom Sanju with this gesture thanked for their cooperation in Zinda. But it’s also possible that Sanjay just simply liked this film, and it would be fully comprehensible.
Taxi No. 9211 is more than just a contest of rich against poor. Both main characters are beautifully shaped with both positive and negative sides so that the viewer makes heavy weather of taking sides, for essentially you would like to grant success to both of them; more than that, both characters develop and change during the film. Nana Patekar is the choleric and loser who for his pride even puts his happy family life with his wife and son at stake by lying to his wife Sunita (Sonali Kulkarni) that he works as an insurance agent while he is actually a taxi driver. John Abraham plays the classical yuppie who just by mentioning his name expects people to go down on their knees before him and who, however, has to undergo an enormous change of thinking when, facing defeat in his fight for his inheritance, his friends turn away from him – including Rupali (Sameera Reddy) whom he wanted to marry. John and Nana with devotion fight their running battle about safe-deposit box key and testament, and they don’t spare each other. But they also credibly carve out how their characters – after the crucial experience of suddenly being left completely alone – by and by start changing their attitude against each other and against the people around them.
Both their partners – Sonali Kulkarni and Sameera Reddy – give them wonderful support; Kurush Deboo as safe-deposit box manager Batliwala is delightfully funny; and also Priyanka Chopra enrichens the film by a short and very vivacious guest appearance. Not to mention Sanju’s unique voice at the beginning of the film. But all in all, Taxi No. 9211 is completely Nana’s and John’s film and is, in short, high class. An unconditional recommendation.
Produced by Ramesh Sippy; Directed by Milan Luthria
114 Min.; DVD: UTV, English Subtitles (including songs); the DVD also contains a Making Of and Milan Luthria’s commentaries about the film. You even get a colourful brochure with information about film, actors and crew.
© Diwali
About the story: Jai Mittal (John Abraham), son of a millionaire, always was interested just in the pleasant sides of life and is flabbergasted when he after his father’s death comes to know that his father has left his entire property to his old friend Arjun Bajaj (Shivaji Satham). He insists on another testament which makes him his father’s heir and files a suit. But the evening before the court hearing Jai has an accident with his car so that next morning he is forced to take a taxi. Of all taxis, he gets into the one of choleric misanthrope Raghav Shastri (Nana Patekar) who soon is unnerved by Jai’s arrogant behaviour. To top it all, Raghav meets with an accident, and while he starts fighting with the other party, Jai skives off. But when he wants to take the testament out of a safe-deposit box he realizes that he has lost the box key in Raghav’s taxi. Jai is hell-bent to get the key back – but Raghav is similarly hell-bent to score off this arrogant millionaire, so soon both of them fight each other with all means...
When a star does a cameo or a guest appearance, I love to speculate why he did it and to whom he possibly did a favour with it. There could be several reasons for Sanjay volunteering as narrator in Taxi No. 9211 (for which he was appreciated with "Special Thanks" in the credits). Maybe it was Milan Luthria, his director from Deewaar, whom "Allah’s pride" wanted to rejoyce. Maybe it was John Abraham whom Sanju with this gesture thanked for their cooperation in Zinda. But it’s also possible that Sanjay just simply liked this film, and it would be fully comprehensible.
Taxi No. 9211 is more than just a contest of rich against poor. Both main characters are beautifully shaped with both positive and negative sides so that the viewer makes heavy weather of taking sides, for essentially you would like to grant success to both of them; more than that, both characters develop and change during the film. Nana Patekar is the choleric and loser who for his pride even puts his happy family life with his wife and son at stake by lying to his wife Sunita (Sonali Kulkarni) that he works as an insurance agent while he is actually a taxi driver. John Abraham plays the classical yuppie who just by mentioning his name expects people to go down on their knees before him and who, however, has to undergo an enormous change of thinking when, facing defeat in his fight for his inheritance, his friends turn away from him – including Rupali (Sameera Reddy) whom he wanted to marry. John and Nana with devotion fight their running battle about safe-deposit box key and testament, and they don’t spare each other. But they also credibly carve out how their characters – after the crucial experience of suddenly being left completely alone – by and by start changing their attitude against each other and against the people around them.
Both their partners – Sonali Kulkarni and Sameera Reddy – give them wonderful support; Kurush Deboo as safe-deposit box manager Batliwala is delightfully funny; and also Priyanka Chopra enrichens the film by a short and very vivacious guest appearance. Not to mention Sanju’s unique voice at the beginning of the film. But all in all, Taxi No. 9211 is completely Nana’s and John’s film and is, in short, high class. An unconditional recommendation.
Produced by Ramesh Sippy; Directed by Milan Luthria
114 Min.; DVD: UTV, English Subtitles (including songs); the DVD also contains a Making Of and Milan Luthria’s commentaries about the film. You even get a colourful brochure with information about film, actors and crew.
© Diwali
Sonntag, 16. September 2007
Tathastu (2006) - Review in English
About the story: Ravi Rajput (Sanjay Dutt) lives with his wife Sarita (Amisha Patel) and his little son Gaurav (Yash Pathak) a modest but content life. But when Gaurav one day collapses during a cricket match, a nightmare begins for his parents. Ravi can hardly scrape together the 30000 rupees for his son's treatment in hospital, and when the doctor tells him that Gaurav has a weak heart and only can be saved by a heart transplantation which costs 1,5 million rupees, Ravi desperately tries to arrange for this amount but faces one setback after the other. Adding to that, there is also another candidate for the heart which could become Gaurav’s – a politician from the ruling party. To save his child, Ravi feels that there is only one chance left for him: He purchases a gun, takes thirty hospital visitors hostages and thus tries to enforce his son’s operation. While doctor Nita (Jaya Pradha), Ravi’s friends and finally even the hostages sympathize with the desperate father, deputy commissioner Rane (Gulshan Grover) arranges for sharpshooters outside the hospital...
A father fighting for his child and not shying back from committing a crime for this. Surely this awakes memories of another Sanjay movie – Pitaah. But there is a crucial difference between Pitaah and Tathastu: In Pitaah the father reacts to an injustice already done while in Tathastu the father wants to avert an unjustice not done yet – that a little boy is denied a life saving operation because his father is too poor to pay for it. Moreover as you may reckon that the other heart patient who probably is able to finance the operation with his petty cash hardly would get an invoice at all due to his state as a ruling politician.
And my compliments to director Anubhav Sinha that he, in spite of every appreciation of Ravi’s situation (also expressed by many people in the film), even brings counter-arguments into play: What if everybody who gets a feeling of being treated unjustly gets himself a gun and starts taking hostages? Not every copycat would treat his victims as cautiously and considerately as Ravi does. And when a spectator in front of the hospital asks whether it is okay to put thirty lives at stake for one life, then you must admit that her question is not unjustified. The same applies to the question about how to judge about such a crime committed out of a feeling of helplessness. Tathastu (= so be it) is thought-provoking in many respects.
Sanjay Dutt is the emotional center of the story. In a manner of speaking, all his co-stars could be wiped aside with a scratch of a pen even though there are also some very felicitous performances e.g. by Jaya Pradha (a nice reunion with Sanjay’s partner from many of his early films) and by Gulshan Grover; and if we leave aside her crying scenes she once again mulled then even Amisha Patel was okay. But the story’s motor is Ravi – and thanks to Sanjay this motor is going nicely. Sanjay neck and crop embodies the desperate father who is ready to sell himself for his son, and he moves to tears with his emotional outbursts. Thanks to his forceful performance the film hits you right into your heart. I even dare to claim that without Sanjay this film wouldn’t have worked at all. For to work, this film needed an absolute authentic leading actor the audience could identify with – and Sanju succeeded hundred per cent.
It says in a Tathastu review in the Hindustan Times City, "The film belongs to Dutt. He once again proves that he has it in him to actually go beyond the script." There is nothing I could add to this.
Produced by Nitin Manmohan; Directed by Anubhav Sinha
111 Min.; DVD: Shemaroo, English Subtitles (including song)
© Diwali
A father fighting for his child and not shying back from committing a crime for this. Surely this awakes memories of another Sanjay movie – Pitaah. But there is a crucial difference between Pitaah and Tathastu: In Pitaah the father reacts to an injustice already done while in Tathastu the father wants to avert an unjustice not done yet – that a little boy is denied a life saving operation because his father is too poor to pay for it. Moreover as you may reckon that the other heart patient who probably is able to finance the operation with his petty cash hardly would get an invoice at all due to his state as a ruling politician.
And my compliments to director Anubhav Sinha that he, in spite of every appreciation of Ravi’s situation (also expressed by many people in the film), even brings counter-arguments into play: What if everybody who gets a feeling of being treated unjustly gets himself a gun and starts taking hostages? Not every copycat would treat his victims as cautiously and considerately as Ravi does. And when a spectator in front of the hospital asks whether it is okay to put thirty lives at stake for one life, then you must admit that her question is not unjustified. The same applies to the question about how to judge about such a crime committed out of a feeling of helplessness. Tathastu (= so be it) is thought-provoking in many respects.
Sanjay Dutt is the emotional center of the story. In a manner of speaking, all his co-stars could be wiped aside with a scratch of a pen even though there are also some very felicitous performances e.g. by Jaya Pradha (a nice reunion with Sanjay’s partner from many of his early films) and by Gulshan Grover; and if we leave aside her crying scenes she once again mulled then even Amisha Patel was okay. But the story’s motor is Ravi – and thanks to Sanjay this motor is going nicely. Sanjay neck and crop embodies the desperate father who is ready to sell himself for his son, and he moves to tears with his emotional outbursts. Thanks to his forceful performance the film hits you right into your heart. I even dare to claim that without Sanjay this film wouldn’t have worked at all. For to work, this film needed an absolute authentic leading actor the audience could identify with – and Sanju succeeded hundred per cent.
It says in a Tathastu review in the Hindustan Times City, "The film belongs to Dutt. He once again proves that he has it in him to actually go beyond the script." There is nothing I could add to this.
Produced by Nitin Manmohan; Directed by Anubhav Sinha
111 Min.; DVD: Shemaroo, English Subtitles (including song)
© Diwali
Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! (2005) - Review in English
About the story: In a big old house in Lokhandwala near Mumbai lives an extended family, headed by grandmother Dadi (Suhashini Mulay) and uncle Harish (Prem Chopra); the responsibility as the housefather, however, lies on the shoulders of young car mechanic Adi (Shahid Kapoor) who, after his brother’s and sister-in-law’s death and because of his other brother Sunil’s (Mohnish Bahl) alcohol addiction, is the surrogate father for all eight children of the house. So that his sister Anjali (Radhika Apte) can get married well, Adi takes up a loan and for this mortgages the house. Estate shark Hirachand (Sharat Saxena) who always has casted a convetous eye on this house, realizes his chance, buys the mortgage and fakes the deadline set for Adi to repay the loan. But soon the family faces worse problems than that: Shortly after Adi and the children’s tutor Priya (Amrita Rao) discovered their love for each other, Adi dies with an accident. Together with little Shakti (Adil Badshah) who also is dead, Adi is picked up by the God of Death, Yamraj (Sanjay Dutt) who, at Adi’s pleading request, grants him and Shakti seven more days on earth – as ghosts. By the medium Fakira (Arshad Warsi), they attain the abilities they need to save Adi’s family from the intrigues of Hirachand and his helpers – while Yamraj makes acquaintance with human achievements like disco and whiskey...
Mahesh Manjrekar’s versatility is really amazing. In front of the camera an adept actor, behind the camera a director of films as different as the underworld classics Vaastav and Hathyar, thoughtful stories about pugnatious family fathers like Kurukshetra, Pitaah or Viruddh, spine-chiller thrillers like Rakht – and now also a cheerful and colourful family film which would do a Disney credit. And yes, Manjrekar can do this, too. The story about a surrogate father of a lively children horde comes very likeable and without unbearable mush – Manjrekar shot the mourning scenes after Adi’s death without holding them up to the audience’s laughter, and with a lot of respect for the feelings of those who have to face such a disaster in reality. Anyway, not everyone meets like Adi a God of Death who every now and then gets emotional.
Without the Munnabhai films, Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! (= wow, life should be like this) without doubt would be Sanjay’s most delightful comedy film. As Yamraj, God of Death with inclination to alcohol and to emotional outbursts (meaning: snivellings) he is adorable and godlike in the true sense of the word. When he protests, "No emotional blackmail!", or when he just casts a glance at the whiskey bottle, I’m rolling on the floor laughing. Sanjay has a delightful sense of humour, and thanks to his very lively mimic art he even without words is able to express more than most of his colleagues manage with big gestures and words. And in my opinion, this is a higher art of acting than expressive dramatic.
Sanju obviously had a ball playing this modern Yamraj with cabriolet and computer equipment ("it's 2005, my boy!"), and he shapes his God of Death as a lovable big child: Behind the cool facade (very attractive in a red suit turning the God of Death in between to a veritable little devil) Yamraj hides a childlike soul and thus now and then also can become stubborn or a classical cry-baby. But never, neither when Yamraj is snivelling nor when he’s boozing, Sanjay succumbs to the danger of hamming. As Yamraj he is pure delight. In Shahid Kapoor he’s got an immensely likeable young co-star who partially (not only in the dance scene with sweet Amrira Rao at the pyramides – kind regards from K3G) astonishingly reminds of young Shahrukh Khan. The other cast members including the children are very good, and a special enjoyment is Arshad Warsi in the (unfortunately much too short) minor role of pragmatic medium Fakira.
In the end, Mahesh and Sanjay even arrange a sort of advanced Sanjay Dutt movie quiz. Those who haven’t seen the film yet and don’t want to spoil the sport, please avoid to read my attached P.S. ;) Apart from that, let me finally state, in short, that Yamraj is an absolute must-see. Cheers, Yamrajji – make us emotional!
Produced by Sangeeta Ahir; Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar
135 Min.; DVD: One, English Subtitles (including songs); after about 105 minutes there is a complete subtitle blackout in one scene. The DVD also contains a Making Of (with scenes from the music launch), deleted scenes and the deleted song "Dil Ke Maare".
© Diwali
P.S. Surely life is not easy for a God of Death when he is a lookalike of film star Sanjay Dutt; no wonder Yamraj is permanently confused with characters he’s never heard of. When he towards the end of the film visibly presents himself to Adi’s family and all of them burst out in a surprised "Sanjay Dutt???", Yamraj indignantly replies that he is fed up being called by strange names like Munnabhai, Khalnayak and Raghubhai (= Sanju’s three most successful roles); then he calms down and tells the family with a big grin that they should tell this Sanjay Dutt that he looks like Yamraj. (And all this is accentuated by the "Bole to" motive from Munnabhai MBBS...) Shortly thereafter his figure appears in front of Adi’s house again, but when he now is joyfully greeted with "Yamraj!", he reacts in bewilderment that this must be a confusion as his name is Sanjay Dutt and he now and then plays small movie roles. His plea for a glass of water is the cue for the children to quote several lines which show that they are perfectly familiar with Sanjay’s movies from Vaastav till Munnabhai MBBS. The scene ends with a collective "jadoo ki jhappi"... ;)
Mahesh Manjrekar’s versatility is really amazing. In front of the camera an adept actor, behind the camera a director of films as different as the underworld classics Vaastav and Hathyar, thoughtful stories about pugnatious family fathers like Kurukshetra, Pitaah or Viruddh, spine-chiller thrillers like Rakht – and now also a cheerful and colourful family film which would do a Disney credit. And yes, Manjrekar can do this, too. The story about a surrogate father of a lively children horde comes very likeable and without unbearable mush – Manjrekar shot the mourning scenes after Adi’s death without holding them up to the audience’s laughter, and with a lot of respect for the feelings of those who have to face such a disaster in reality. Anyway, not everyone meets like Adi a God of Death who every now and then gets emotional.
Without the Munnabhai films, Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! (= wow, life should be like this) without doubt would be Sanjay’s most delightful comedy film. As Yamraj, God of Death with inclination to alcohol and to emotional outbursts (meaning: snivellings) he is adorable and godlike in the true sense of the word. When he protests, "No emotional blackmail!", or when he just casts a glance at the whiskey bottle, I’m rolling on the floor laughing. Sanjay has a delightful sense of humour, and thanks to his very lively mimic art he even without words is able to express more than most of his colleagues manage with big gestures and words. And in my opinion, this is a higher art of acting than expressive dramatic.
Sanju obviously had a ball playing this modern Yamraj with cabriolet and computer equipment ("it's 2005, my boy!"), and he shapes his God of Death as a lovable big child: Behind the cool facade (very attractive in a red suit turning the God of Death in between to a veritable little devil) Yamraj hides a childlike soul and thus now and then also can become stubborn or a classical cry-baby. But never, neither when Yamraj is snivelling nor when he’s boozing, Sanjay succumbs to the danger of hamming. As Yamraj he is pure delight. In Shahid Kapoor he’s got an immensely likeable young co-star who partially (not only in the dance scene with sweet Amrira Rao at the pyramides – kind regards from K3G) astonishingly reminds of young Shahrukh Khan. The other cast members including the children are very good, and a special enjoyment is Arshad Warsi in the (unfortunately much too short) minor role of pragmatic medium Fakira.
In the end, Mahesh and Sanjay even arrange a sort of advanced Sanjay Dutt movie quiz. Those who haven’t seen the film yet and don’t want to spoil the sport, please avoid to read my attached P.S. ;) Apart from that, let me finally state, in short, that Yamraj is an absolute must-see. Cheers, Yamrajji – make us emotional!
Produced by Sangeeta Ahir; Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar
135 Min.; DVD: One, English Subtitles (including songs); after about 105 minutes there is a complete subtitle blackout in one scene. The DVD also contains a Making Of (with scenes from the music launch), deleted scenes and the deleted song "Dil Ke Maare".
© Diwali
P.S. Surely life is not easy for a God of Death when he is a lookalike of film star Sanjay Dutt; no wonder Yamraj is permanently confused with characters he’s never heard of. When he towards the end of the film visibly presents himself to Adi’s family and all of them burst out in a surprised "Sanjay Dutt???", Yamraj indignantly replies that he is fed up being called by strange names like Munnabhai, Khalnayak and Raghubhai (= Sanju’s three most successful roles); then he calms down and tells the family with a big grin that they should tell this Sanjay Dutt that he looks like Yamraj. (And all this is accentuated by the "Bole to" motive from Munnabhai MBBS...) Shortly thereafter his figure appears in front of Adi’s house again, but when he now is joyfully greeted with "Yamraj!", he reacts in bewilderment that this must be a confusion as his name is Sanjay Dutt and he now and then plays small movie roles. His plea for a glass of water is the cue for the children to quote several lines which show that they are perfectly familiar with Sanjay’s movies from Vaastav till Munnabhai MBBS. The scene ends with a collective "jadoo ki jhappi"... ;)
Zinda (2005) - Review in English
About the story: Software engineer Balajeet Roy (Sanjay Dutt) has all he can wish for: a good job in Bangkok, his wife Nisha (Celina Jaitley) he’s been happily married to for one year now, and his relyable childhood friend Joy Fernandez (Mahesh Manjrekar). But then within one second nothing is as it was before: Bala disappears out of Nisha’s life without a trace. No one has a clue that he is kept imprisoned in a dark cell with a TV as his only contact to the world outside. By TV news Bala also comes to know that Nisha was murdered and that he is believed to be the murderer. For fourteen years Bala thus lives in complete isolation without knowing who is holding him captive and why. Then, one day, he suddenly is free again. With the help of taxi driver Jenny Singh (Lara Dutta) Bala starts looking for answers to his questions of who and why. The track leads him to a man named Rohit Chopra (John Abraham) – and soon enough Bala has to realize that even in freedom he still is a prisoner and that his nightmare is far away from ending...
Theatre, so once Aristotle wrote, shall have a catharsic, that means purifying effect on the audience. If this is also valid for the actors themselves, then Zinda must have had an enormous potential for Sanjay Dutt. Solely the memory of his scenes in his cell makes me shiver and I just wonder wherefrom he took the strength to do these scenes as they must have been a gruesome déjà vu for his psyche, a bitter memory of his months in solitary confinement where he also was all alone and did not know how long he would be kept imprisoned. Like such dark times in a cell, Sanjay also knows exactly that you can be free and nevertheless prisoner like Bala – after all, his life has been ruled and regulated by bail provisions since 1995, and even Bala’s longing for family members forcefully taken away from him is something Sanjay unfortunately knows all too well.
However, Sanjay underwent this catharsis to the highest degree voluntarily as Zinda, as a White Feather Film, is his home production, directed by his friend and partner Sanjay Gupta and "in loving memory of Dutt sahab" commemorating his father Sunil Dutt. Mahesh Manjrekar, director with actor roots and almost a kind of lucky mascot for Sanju’s production house after having played a role in every White Feather Film up till then, was even in Zinda in the role of Joy Fernandez a good support for Sanjay. Lara Dutta is convincing, and the scene in which Bala for the first time since fourteen years is meted out a loving touch again by Jenny, is shot similarly decently and tastefully as its equivalent in Shabd. The other actors don’t have very much to do – except, of course, Sanjay’s main opponent: John Abraham plays with very strong presence and intensity which makes especially his scenes with Sanjay, when the two of them fight out emotionally thrilling duels, to highlights of the film. When rediff writes in its review, "Dutt shines in Zinda", then it should rightfully be added, "And Abraham sparkles". A terrific performance – by both of them.
For me, Zinda is a very powerful film – dark, cold (not least for the full use of blue filter), intensely going under your skin and up to a certain degree even suspense-packed. Of course, several scenes are strong stuff, and I’m talking not only about the psychically but also about the physically demanding scenes – I don’t want to give away details, the warning will do that a lot of blood is shed and that not every body makes ends meet safe and sound. The hatred Rohit and, after his torture of fourteen years, even Bala are driven by, leaves no space for mercy. Calmness as a surprising and pleasant contrast is created rather by the music which this time remains more in the background and thus adds an inner strain to the film. Zinda surely is not perfect, it has its weak points, but the thrilling plot and the two excellent leading actors are reason enough for a recommendation. Provided that you are not attuned to two hours of relaxing candyfloss entertainment.
Produced and directed by Sanjay Gupta
114 Min.; DVD: Eros, English Subtitles (including songs); the DVD also contains two music videos ("Zinda Hoon Main" and "Yeh Hai Meri Kahani") featuring Sanjay and an interview with Lara Dutta about Zinda.
© Diwali
Theatre, so once Aristotle wrote, shall have a catharsic, that means purifying effect on the audience. If this is also valid for the actors themselves, then Zinda must have had an enormous potential for Sanjay Dutt. Solely the memory of his scenes in his cell makes me shiver and I just wonder wherefrom he took the strength to do these scenes as they must have been a gruesome déjà vu for his psyche, a bitter memory of his months in solitary confinement where he also was all alone and did not know how long he would be kept imprisoned. Like such dark times in a cell, Sanjay also knows exactly that you can be free and nevertheless prisoner like Bala – after all, his life has been ruled and regulated by bail provisions since 1995, and even Bala’s longing for family members forcefully taken away from him is something Sanjay unfortunately knows all too well.
However, Sanjay underwent this catharsis to the highest degree voluntarily as Zinda, as a White Feather Film, is his home production, directed by his friend and partner Sanjay Gupta and "in loving memory of Dutt sahab" commemorating his father Sunil Dutt. Mahesh Manjrekar, director with actor roots and almost a kind of lucky mascot for Sanju’s production house after having played a role in every White Feather Film up till then, was even in Zinda in the role of Joy Fernandez a good support for Sanjay. Lara Dutta is convincing, and the scene in which Bala for the first time since fourteen years is meted out a loving touch again by Jenny, is shot similarly decently and tastefully as its equivalent in Shabd. The other actors don’t have very much to do – except, of course, Sanjay’s main opponent: John Abraham plays with very strong presence and intensity which makes especially his scenes with Sanjay, when the two of them fight out emotionally thrilling duels, to highlights of the film. When rediff writes in its review, "Dutt shines in Zinda", then it should rightfully be added, "And Abraham sparkles". A terrific performance – by both of them.
For me, Zinda is a very powerful film – dark, cold (not least for the full use of blue filter), intensely going under your skin and up to a certain degree even suspense-packed. Of course, several scenes are strong stuff, and I’m talking not only about the psychically but also about the physically demanding scenes – I don’t want to give away details, the warning will do that a lot of blood is shed and that not every body makes ends meet safe and sound. The hatred Rohit and, after his torture of fourteen years, even Bala are driven by, leaves no space for mercy. Calmness as a surprising and pleasant contrast is created rather by the music which this time remains more in the background and thus adds an inner strain to the film. Zinda surely is not perfect, it has its weak points, but the thrilling plot and the two excellent leading actors are reason enough for a recommendation. Provided that you are not attuned to two hours of relaxing candyfloss entertainment.
Produced and directed by Sanjay Gupta
114 Min.; DVD: Eros, English Subtitles (including songs); the DVD also contains two music videos ("Zinda Hoon Main" and "Yeh Hai Meri Kahani") featuring Sanjay and an interview with Lara Dutta about Zinda.
© Diwali
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