The acting by Amitabh and Sharmila was OK...not great like others on this board would have you believe. In terms of a narrative, it is contrived and silly at several junctures. The characters are uniformly paper-thin and clichéd.
There was no evident connection (that appeared even marginally sincere) between any of the characters. As a student studying overseas, I thought the suggestion that John Abraham was somehow helping to support his family at home while studying in London rather unrealistic. Its actually in bad taste since the scene is played out after the son's death with dramatic value compromised for face time for Western Union. It was symbolic of what this movie really is. A movie made with the sole intention of profiting by pandering to an all too easily emotive audience who are wowed by the mediocre acting of has-beens. Someone compared Amitabh's acting in this movie to Pacino in the Godfather, has that person SEEN the Godfather? Okay, Amitabh wasn't horrible either, there's only so much you can do with a script that is apparently being written just before its time to shoot the scene. That is presumably why John Abraham is portrayed as the dutiful son, the responsible husband/boyfriend, model citizen, alcoholic, moron, a fourteen year old child that needs mommy's permission, as well as a character from the spirit world of the Mahabharat all at once. If you think this may be a wonderfully layered, complex character, it isn't. Its just a very badly written, inconsistent, schizophrenic one.
Now lets get to the crux of the story...or rather, the lack of one. If I saw someone get killed, the logical thing to do would be to take down the license plate number, perhaps use my camera phone to get a shot of the guy as he slips away and to testify in court when needed. I don't really see what jumping an armed murderer really accomplishes. John Abraham's death wasn't heroic, it was stupid. It would have accomplished nothing even if he hadn't ended up getting shot. His death was merely a plot device as was the ridiculous climax where the killer not only invites the father of his victim into his office but confesses to his crime as well, without so much as a cursory security check. Did it not occur to him that the old man might try and harm him? Probably not, since he was stupid enough to hire three thugs to drag his girlfriend out of the club so he could shoot her himself in front of several witnesses.
And then there's the scene where Amitabh's lawyer says the case is lost and he would do well not to take it any higher (implying he's switched loyalties)and he gets thrown around the room by Sanjay Dutt, breaking all the furniture in the room. Its not enough that the old couple lost their son, now their furniture must be broken too. This stuff is just so absurd, it seems to have been made specifically to appeal to our baser instincts that take pleasure in watching a person get the $&^& kicked out of him even if he isn't a legitimate target. Besides, isn't violence always the solution in Hindi movies? Oh no, Shah Rukh's puppy dog eyes and girly eyebrows changed that. Don't worry though, its back...in slow motion too.
Add to all the aforementioned goodness, the ludicrous idea of promoting Western Union, Sandoz tablets, Reebok shoes, Nerolac paints , Elf motor oil (and possibly more products I can't remember) in the middle of the film. There were scenes that served as built-in endorsements for these products that did nothing to further the narrative. They were in there purely to please the sponsors. they even borrowed a few cinematographic tricks from ad filmmakers. In the old days we used to watch video cassettes of Hindi movies with advertisements every 5 minutes, that were much more watchable than this tripe. At least the filmmakers and the artistes weren't peddling the products in character. Okay, I know Bollywood isn't the place to go for high art but this is just downright cheap.
The transitions between scenes are also extremely patchy. Another highlight is that the film is narrated by John Abraham's "spirit" which dissolves at the end of the movie, aided by vintage 1980's special effects that would have been perfectly at home on the original Doordarshan Mahabharat series.
There's nothing wrong with making movies for the masses. Engage the masses, inspire them, make them think, or learn..or feel something beyond melodramatic clichés...show them beauty. At the very least, ..don't pander to the lowest common denominator. I thought this was going to be a deep character study of the changes that the death of a loved one brings about: how you perceive your place in the world and dare I say it, the meaning of life and how it is altered when such a tragic event occurs. Instead, I got the typical revenge shtick. Amitabh playing the angry OLD man, merely a pale, commercial sold out shadow of the original angry young man.
I find it disturbing that a movie like this can gain so much recognition and attention and even be hailed as Amitabh's finest performance to date. There are fine filmmakers in India but there really isn't a market for their movies. Instead, we are drawn to mindless drivel like this. I can't understand why a society comprised of this many talented, intelligent people even tolerates this kind of rubbish. Our standards must be very low indeed.
There was no evident connection (that appeared even marginally sincere) between any of the characters. As a student studying overseas, I thought the suggestion that John Abraham was somehow helping to support his family at home while studying in London rather unrealistic. Its actually in bad taste since the scene is played out after the son's death with dramatic value compromised for face time for Western Union. It was symbolic of what this movie really is. A movie made with the sole intention of profiting by pandering to an all too easily emotive audience who are wowed by the mediocre acting of has-beens. Someone compared Amitabh's acting in this movie to Pacino in the Godfather, has that person SEEN the Godfather? Okay, Amitabh wasn't horrible either, there's only so much you can do with a script that is apparently being written just before its time to shoot the scene. That is presumably why John Abraham is portrayed as the dutiful son, the responsible husband/boyfriend, model citizen, alcoholic, moron, a fourteen year old child that needs mommy's permission, as well as a character from the spirit world of the Mahabharat all at once. If you think this may be a wonderfully layered, complex character, it isn't. Its just a very badly written, inconsistent, schizophrenic one.
Now lets get to the crux of the story...or rather, the lack of one. If I saw someone get killed, the logical thing to do would be to take down the license plate number, perhaps use my camera phone to get a shot of the guy as he slips away and to testify in court when needed. I don't really see what jumping an armed murderer really accomplishes. John Abraham's death wasn't heroic, it was stupid. It would have accomplished nothing even if he hadn't ended up getting shot. His death was merely a plot device as was the ridiculous climax where the killer not only invites the father of his victim into his office but confesses to his crime as well, without so much as a cursory security check. Did it not occur to him that the old man might try and harm him? Probably not, since he was stupid enough to hire three thugs to drag his girlfriend out of the club so he could shoot her himself in front of several witnesses.
And then there's the scene where Amitabh's lawyer says the case is lost and he would do well not to take it any higher (implying he's switched loyalties)and he gets thrown around the room by Sanjay Dutt, breaking all the furniture in the room. Its not enough that the old couple lost their son, now their furniture must be broken too. This stuff is just so absurd, it seems to have been made specifically to appeal to our baser instincts that take pleasure in watching a person get the $&^& kicked out of him even if he isn't a legitimate target. Besides, isn't violence always the solution in Hindi movies? Oh no, Shah Rukh's puppy dog eyes and girly eyebrows changed that. Don't worry though, its back...in slow motion too.
Add to all the aforementioned goodness, the ludicrous idea of promoting Western Union, Sandoz tablets, Reebok shoes, Nerolac paints , Elf motor oil (and possibly more products I can't remember) in the middle of the film. There were scenes that served as built-in endorsements for these products that did nothing to further the narrative. They were in there purely to please the sponsors. they even borrowed a few cinematographic tricks from ad filmmakers. In the old days we used to watch video cassettes of Hindi movies with advertisements every 5 minutes, that were much more watchable than this tripe. At least the filmmakers and the artistes weren't peddling the products in character. Okay, I know Bollywood isn't the place to go for high art but this is just downright cheap.
The transitions between scenes are also extremely patchy. Another highlight is that the film is narrated by John Abraham's "spirit" which dissolves at the end of the movie, aided by vintage 1980's special effects that would have been perfectly at home on the original Doordarshan Mahabharat series.
There's nothing wrong with making movies for the masses. Engage the masses, inspire them, make them think, or learn..or feel something beyond melodramatic clichés...show them beauty. At the very least, ..don't pander to the lowest common denominator. I thought this was going to be a deep character study of the changes that the death of a loved one brings about: how you perceive your place in the world and dare I say it, the meaning of life and how it is altered when such a tragic event occurs. Instead, I got the typical revenge shtick. Amitabh playing the angry OLD man, merely a pale, commercial sold out shadow of the original angry young man.
I find it disturbing that a movie like this can gain so much recognition and attention and even be hailed as Amitabh's finest performance to date. There are fine filmmakers in India but there really isn't a market for their movies. Instead, we are drawn to mindless drivel like this. I can't understand why a society comprised of this many talented, intelligent people even tolerates this kind of rubbish. Our standards must be very low indeed.