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IMDb > Koyla (1997)
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Overview

User Rating:
6.0/10   775 votes
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Up 3% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Rakesh Roshan
Writers:
Sachin Bhowmick (screenplay)
Ravi Kapoor (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Koyla on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 April 1997 (India) more
Genre:
Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama more
Plot:
Mute Shankar slogs day and night to satisfy the lust of wealthy businessman Raja Saab who has underworld contact... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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NewsDesk:
Wishing Hrithik Roshan a very happy Birthday
 (From BollywoodHungama. 9 January 2009, 10:56 PM, PST)

User Comments:
YES! Bollywood insanity akin to cheesy U.S. 80's action films, but SUPERIOR!!! more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Shahrukh Khan ... Shanker

Madhuri Dixit ... Gauri

Amrish Puri ... Raja Saab
Ranjeet ... Dilawar
Salim Ghouse ... Brijwa
Deepshika ... Bindya (as Deepshikha)
Ashok Saraf ... Vedji
Jack Gaud ... Ranbir
Suresh Chatwal ... Gauri's uncle
Mohnish Bahl ... Ashok - Gauri's brother (as Mohnish Behl)
Ram Mohan ... Oldman
Kunika ... Raseli
Himani Shivpuri ... Chandabai
Vikas Anand ... Haria
Pradeep Singh Rawat ... Police Comissioner (as Pradip Singh)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
166 min
Country:
India
Language:
Hindi
Color:
Color
Sound Mix:
Stereo | DTS
Certification:
India:A
Company:
Film Kraft more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Raja Saab: Bloody fool! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Tom, Dick, and Harry (2006) more
Soundtrack:
Badan judaa hote more

FAQ

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful:-
YES! Bollywood insanity akin to cheesy U.S. 80's action films, but SUPERIOR!!!, 17 April 2003
Author: stevek69 from lakewood, CA

"Bloody ape!!!", Rajasaheb (Amrish Puri) mutters.

Folks, Bollywood action films are NEVER merely action films--they are often a fabulously preposterous melding of action, romance, comedy, and musical genres INTO ONE FILM! In fact, many of the Bollywood films I've had the pleasure of seeing simply do NOT conform to any of the narrow genres that U.S. audiences are accustomed to. Sure, we have hybrids such as the "romantic-comedy" and "comedy-horror", and perhaps even "action-thriller-romance"...but we ain't got NOTHIN' equivalent to the glorious Bollywood-type films from south asia (India in particular).

One moment Koyla is a brutal action flick a la Bronson (gratuitous and graphic violence and carnage), the next moment Shah Rukh Khan is lip-syncing cheezy-yet-infectious pop music to the woman he loves (yes, my friends, musicals CAN kick butt), followed by Shah Rukh Khan's comedic thwarting of his persuers, only to be jolted back by the ruthlessness of Rajasaheb (an over-the-top-to-the-point-of-insanity performance by the veteran actor Amrish Puri, who played Mola Ram in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom").

Amrish Puri can certainly play a villain: but whereas the character of Mola Ram is a generic, arbitrary villain, the character of Rajasaheb is truly despicable because the audience witnesses the injustices he perpetrates. ("Give me a compelling reason to hate the bad guy and root for Indiana", I demanded. Spielberg fails to do so, and so i have always rooted for Mola Ram in "Temple of Doom". Similarly, I rallied behind the Decepticons and C.O.B.R.A. in my youth as a T.V. casualty. But honestly, what did you expect from a crapmaster like Spielberg?).

Ahh, Rajasaheb is a bad-guy you love to hate! Actually, "bad guy" is an understatement--he's a "loveable elderly sadist"--and I guarantee that you, too, will love to hate Rajasaheb! A convincing antagonist is a crucial ingredient for any action film because it drives the whole drama of the film. Unfortunately, few films successfully succeed in delivering a villain you love to hate. Koyla delivers.

Shah Rukh Khan is great as well and really hams up his performance playing Shanker. (I must, however, admit that i am a sucker for any film starring Shah Rukh Khan. I encourage you to see all his films--even the countless bollywood "romantic-comedies" that he is in--you will rarely be disappointed).

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN for one of the most ludicrous, ridiculous, & insanely POOR special effects occurring at the CLIMAX of this film. Without spoiling this cinematic delight, let me simply say that it involves an axe, slow-motion, etc... Even if we ignore the poorly executed FX, the heavy-handed use of slo-mo harkens back to the glory days of prime-cheeze-USA-action films circa 1980's.

SEE THIS FILM NOW. Even if you hate the film, you'll dig the musical sequences with the bangra-hindi-pop music. Yes, the actors are lip-syncing to other artists' songs--but you won't care.

Bonus trivia: "Koyla" means "coal", by the way. Now do you see the significance of the this film's title?

IF YOU LIKE KOYLA, but want more blood and less comedy, then I recommend Shakti: The Power (2002). Shah Rukh Khan has a minor part in it, providing the only levity in an otherwise brutal film (the spirit of Cannon's action films of the 80's lives on!!!)

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