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Khoon Bhari Maang More at IMDbPro »

9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Say Rekha and you'll get Khoon Bhari Maang!, 18 August 2009

Author: Peter Young from Australia

Well it's plain and simple, Rekha does not only deliver one of the best performances of her career, but one of the best performances ever seen on the Indian screen. Rakesh Roshan's direction deserves a special mention. He successfully remakes the Australian mini-series "Return to Eden" into a feature film, and it's great to see him portraying the film in such a complete and rather realistic way. I liked the portrayal of a modern, urban India. The story is very interesting, though it's much more engaging in the second half. Rekha plays the role of Aarti, a rich, unattractive widow with two kids who gets married to a man who deviously befriends her children and who wants nothing but her money. The rather shocking scene in which she is supposedly killed by her husband is followed by Aarti's transformation from a gentle, innocent woman to a decisive lady (or better say lioness) who will do anything to take revenge on all those who made her life miserable and separated her from her children. And she comes back to her city in the form of a to-die-for, extremely beautiful model named Jyoti. From then own her journey begins.

This story seems to be a bit unrealistic when you first read it, but the film's proceedings are well displayed with not a single flaw, and it develops at a fast, steady pace. The film has it all: drama, thriller, action, but it is just a very good film as a film and works as complete entertainment no matter what genre it belongs to. Of course there are some unnecessary scenes of comedy here and there, but they are not that significant. The film is made on relatively high production values: the editing is good, the cinematography is effective, the sets are well chosen, the costumes are fantastic, and the film is a very atypical commercial Hindi film of the 1980s in that it does not go to unnecessary extents of overdone melodrama. Rajesh Roshan's music is memorable. "Jeene Ke Bahaane Lakhon Hain" is wonderfully sung by Asha Bhosle, "Main Haseen Ghazab Ki" presents the film's topmost musical performances, but the film's ultimate tune is "Hanste Hanste", which, in its three different versions, is a pleasure to listen to.

Easily one of the finest actresses of India, Rekha is just exceptional in this author-backed role. Her portrayal is simply indescribable. Her facial expressions, body language and dialogue delivery are extremely forceful. She carries every scene naturally and makes the transformation from Aarti to Jyoti with great conviction. As the more traditional and simple Aarti in the initial portions of the film she is unrecognisable, and displays confusion, simplicity and modesty brilliantly. But it's the new Aarti (naming herself Jyoti) who gives her full scope to become a winner. She is stunning, gorgeous and acts with impressive confidence and sincerity, delicately letting the viewer sense the pain of a deeply hurt deceived woman, the struggle of a tormented mother, and the steadfast determination of a decisive avenger. This is an unforgettable bravura performance.

Other than the show-owner Rekha, the entire cast is very good, with Sonu Walia standing out. She is fabulous as Nandini and acts with aplomb throughout the film. It's really sad to know that such a talented actress did not have the opportunity to make something with her career. She reminds me of today's Sushmita Sen. Two winners of the Miss India contest, two beautiful, sexy and classy women, and two extremely underrated actresses. Kabir Bedi is excellent as the bad guy Sanjay. He plays the part so well that there seems to be nothing easier than to hate him. The kids are great (at par with the kids of Masoom in my view). Sulabha Deshpande in the small part of Leela is outstanding, and Shatrughan Sinha provides good support in his significant guest appearance.

The film has many great moments which manage to tug at the heartstrings. My favourite scene is when the kids dedicate a song to their "dead" mother on their parents day at school, while she is sitting in the audience teary eyed. I was very surprised to see Rekha's transformation; the first time Jyoti appears on-screen comes across as a complete shocker (in the most positive sense of the word). Another moving moment is when the boy meets Aarti and notices the similarity between "this woman" and his own mother but the absence of the birthmark on her face disproves him. Same with the scene when her dog runs towards her. The last scene is extremely touching. The second part is overall full of great moments. And to sum it up, if you have not watched Khoon Bhari Maang yet, I highly recommend you to do so. It is a fantastic dramatic thriller with an all-time great performance by Rekha.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Woe betide a woman scorned..., 31 December 2006

Author: AZAM KHORASANI (AZAM-KHORASANI) from London, England

A tale of deceit & ultimate revenge Khoon Bhari Maang is probably one of Rekha's best films to date. She expertly portrays the role of maternal figure turned temptress turned brutal harbinger of doom. The transformation is as miraculous as her recovery from her physical scars inflicted by her husband (Kabir Bedi) actions. She is well supported by all cast members including the comic intricacies of Kader Khan who as usual delivers a sharp dialogue to the film. Sonu Walia plays the part of the other woman well as Kabir Bedi's reluctant partner in crime who's overdue crisis of conscious comes back to haunt her literally. The film directed by Rakesh Roshan (who also brought us delights such as Khel, Khudgarz) has few plot holes & is well orchestrated. The soundtrack has one memorable song "Hanste Hanste" which is very hummable there is also a Hindi remake of the "Chariots Of Fire" theme tune sung by the gyrating Sonu Walia (a scene not to be missed). All in all, an entertainer which shouldn't leave you disappointed 8/10.

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
One of Rekha's best performance's, 7 January 2004

Author: hollywood_fan25 from Georgia

Rekha truly blew me away with her performance in this film. Personally, I am so used to seeing her in glamour roles that i didn't think i would like this film. I ended up loving it. I think she did a wonderful job and deserved the Filmfare award for best actress back in 1988. Rekha in this film looks, well, ugly. But thats only in the begining of the film. She wears fake teeth, and made to look like she has no makeup on.

I would recommend this film to anyone and all Rekha fans alike. Oh, and she does get glamoured up towards the second half of the film. But you'd have to see it to understand what i mean.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Another hit from the K series of Rakesh Roshan !, 28 July 2010

Author: Queen_of_pentacles from India

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Rakesh Roshan still continues with his lucky letter K, even today, his Kites being the latest; Though in spite of much hype, Kites bombed at the box, Khoon Bhari Maang did well at that time, and continues to interest the viewers ,whenever shown on any channel , and otherwise to Rekha fans.

It's a well-known fact, that Rekha was popularly titled by the cine-critics as Lady Amitabh. She had the charisma, the looks, the acting skills, and an amazing appeal to pull the crowd only by herself. Roshan has cashed on this factor, by cleverly combining it with a strong plot line, and a carefully selected and superbly cast supporting actors, the best out of them being Shatrughan Sinha. He excels in his role, with a macho appeal,coupled with good acting. Kabir Bedi and former beauty queen Sonu Walia add to the glamor, and look sexy , as they should, for their respective roles.

But this is basically a Rekha Movie, and she has given a very convincing performance. Her transformation from an ugly ,unassuming duckling,to a super model,though a bit overdone and artificial, is an eye candy to watch for her fans. she does look gorgeous. Actually, the basic story line is literally stolen from a Marathi Drama, without giving the original author his due credits, and a lot of masala has been added to attract the mass audience. Some of the flaws like, why the otherwise capable heroine did not care to undergo a plastic surgery, when she had all the resources,or how come the criminal duo does not suspect her, is conveniently compromised for the twist in the story. Music score is good, locations are pleasing to the eyes, cinematography is excellent. Some how, the climax of the movie by fulfilling the scorn woman's mission of bringing the culprits to their end, is quite dragged, and some editing would have helped.

The movie keeps the viewers engaged ,though, by it's pace, and also the grip of the story, as to what will happen next. Rakesh Roshan does have a knack for churning out the block-busters, and he practically launched his banner with this one.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Rekha steals the show as a modern Jhansi Rani, 16 March 2009

Author: santoshini908 from India

Khoon Bhari Maang was a superb thriller made at the later half of the eighties.The story is about the pains of an innocent woman.Rekha plays a very tough action role.The boat scenes are fantastic.The movie is at a jet speed after she returns back as a gorgeous model.The scenes where Rekha drives horse Fastly receives a critical applause.The Locations where the climax scenes are taken are beautiful to watch.Rekha has very clearly shown differences in her acting as an ugly woman and also as a gorgeous model.The screenplay adds a great value to movie.The songs of the movie are OK.I would not speak completely about her role.Rarely female actresses have been given great leading roles in the Indian cinema.This was a top engrossing movie after it got released. I had never seen a great action movie like this.Of course this is a very fast and trilling movie.Although this is a remake of Australian TV series Indian Audencies enjoyed this movie very much.Rakesh Roshan has proved himself as a best director.The crocodile shown in the movie really frightens the Audencies.The plot of the story has enough thrills.A better screenplay and a great direction had paved the way for the successes of the movie.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Crocodile Hindi, 22 January 2009

Author: suchenwi (suchenwi@o2online.de) from Konstanz, Germany

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Disclaimer first: I got this interesting piece only in a Russian-dubbed version,of which I understood an occasional word or two, so I can't comment on the dialogs.

One way to put it: this is a movie about animals (the most in not just decorative "roles" I've seen since Haathi mere Saathi). A horse, a dog, a few crocodiles... An ugly duckling that after highly dramatic tribulations turns into an avenging swan, complete with whip and rifle...

Another take: scenes of a marriage. A wife done oh-so wrong kills her cheating husband. This extended finale, roughly half an hour, is very thrilling and worth waiting for through the 2-hours build-up. (Not to say that it was boring, just not so tense).

Don't expect much realism (the closest you get is the uneventful taxi ride, in classic style in a Hindustan Ambassador). But if you have two and a half hours to spare, this movie tells a jolly good yarn. I liked it quite much.

1 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Betrayal !!!, 25 November 2007
Author: gavin_coolhgr from Guyana

Aarti (Rekha) and her husband Rakesh Roshan live a middle class life with there two children Bobby and Kavita, they live on her father's (Mr. Saxena's) estate. All there happiness were shattered one day when Rakesh Roshan passed away. Two lovers, Nandini (Sonu Walia) and Sanjay Verma (Kabir Bedi) wanted to snatch Mr. Saxena vast estate. One day, however, Sanjay happen to be a friendly man with Aarti two children and through this he decided to marry Aarti for the sake of her two children. On a boating trip, one day, Nandini & Sanjay decided to push Aarti into the jaws of death, and declaring that it was an accident. They, however, became the owners of Mr. Saxena's vast estate. But Aarti manage to survive by doing plastic surgery on her face which had been touched by a hungry crocodile's teeth. She transformed herself by changing her name to Joti and decide to become a successful Artist. One day, however, she was persuade that Mr. Sanjay ill-treats her children, pets and maids and then she decided along with the help of her boss Mr. JD (Shatrughan Sinha) to take her revenge and deploys such a way that will make her see light.

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