20 years ago, I remember how one of my relatives was telling enthusiastically the story of Indian movie that she watched named (Geraftaar). I recall her strong emotions, especially when it came to matters like the name of God being written accidentally on the dead mother's forehead, or the collective bloody vengeance on the bad guys at the end. So I believed very early that (Geraftaar), or (Arrest) in English, is one effective, exciting and venerable film. However, when I got to watch it, I discovered the opposite!
Nearly nothing is serious here except (Amitabh Bachchan). It's the same themes of the commercial Indian cinema at the time: the old lost-and-found, taming-of-the-shrew, frame-the-honest-man, get-the-revenge.. you know. BUT in a comic or cheesy way most of the time this round.
It's obvious how the movie exploits (Bachchan)'s blaze amongst elements that are lower than him, how (Amar Akbar Anthony)'s successful formula, 8 years earlier, leaves its affect, and how there is shameful idiocy all over it! Here, and here only, you'll find: one man who can beat up 5 bigger men by only one arm, the strangest mustache in the whole history of cinema, and a plastic brain that gives advices!
Above all, making the villains as the movie's relief weakened the conflict's strength. The rest of it wasn't less comic. There are many scenes that make (Geraftaar) some kind of rare parody for the Indian movies (and by their original stars!). I can't forget its highest 3 points: (Rajnikanth) gets killed, and while he's dying, he still smoking his cigarette passionately; Ah.. that could be the most creative ad about cigarettes ever made, but surely I deem it one of the greatest comic scenes I've ever seen (I know that I couldn't stop laughing till the end of the movie!). The other moment is when (Bachchan) escapes from the courtroom.. WAW, you'll never forget it! And last but not the least, the scene of killing the dancing girl's father by showing him the bank; actually the spoof can't get any smarter than this!
Save the good theme song, the soundtrack got funny moments too. Whenever we see the evil men, there is something like the main theme of John Williams's (Jaws - 1975) in the background, repeating in unbearable boring way. Or how while (Rajnikanth)'s intro, you'll hear the same music of (Bachchan)'s memorable intro from (Coolie - 1983)!
Let alone (Rajnikanth)'s way of throwing his cigarette in the air, then lighting it by shooting it with his gun, to receive it in his mouth, all while threatening the thieves in front of him! Or how he shoots the criminals perfectly while his back is to them?! That's not cool inasmuch as laughable! By the way, (Rajnikanth) here appears as a cameo in a (Bachchan) movie. 2 years earlier, (Bachchan) appeared as a cameo in (Rajnikanth)'s movie (Andhaa Kanoon - 1983). Most probably it was a mutual favor. But I see it as out of favor!
Furthermore, there are 2 scary extra guys in the movie. One is white and bald, and the other kinks his eyebrows. They played the jewelry store's thieves who (Bachchan) arrests, then the leads' troublemaker associates in the prison's cell, and finally the evil man's henchmen at the end??!! That could mean 1) they work for the same evil man from the start and all along, or 2) evil is evil in everywhere and every time, or 3) this movie is short-handed (I'm with number 3!).
Some of the moves of (Bachchan)'s dance with his love were strange, or rather foolish. (Kamal Haasan) looked unbelievable in his action scenes, and his black and white T-shirt looked too funky. And the flying of the good guys in the sky, while facing the baddies, was badly-made and overdone; I just want to know who was the one that began that daft fashion in the Indian cinema?!
(Prayag Raj) is an important scriptwriter who wrote or co-wrote some of the grandest hits - mostly directed by (Manmohan Desai) - like (Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Naseeb..) or even co-directed (Coolie) with (Desai) himself, and for the big B also. This round, unfortunately, his job as a director was like the production; so poor. Aside from tasteless execution, the camera's shadow is clear at one moment in the climactic fight, (Bachchan) jumps from the speedy police car while it's lucidly still, and so on. It assured the spirit of naivety and artlessness that immersed the whole thing. It's only the last 10 minutes where the things transformed into somehow hot.
This is unoriginal, averagely entertaining or worse. (Bachchan) was wasted, delivering earnest performance in the middle of absurd everything; like solid melodramatic act lost in a big comedy. It's not the most comic "masala", because it can make you laugh at it, not with it. It's rather one of the most weak, fabricated, and wretched masalas, despite how people, like my relative, loved it and were impressed by it, at the time. Yes, it was India's third highest-grossing movie in 1985, and a blockbuster due to its overseas performance, however the reason is simple, and I've learned it by heart: Success got nothing to do with quality.
For me, (Bachchan)'s stylish sweaters are the best of what this caricature provides!
Nearly nothing is serious here except (Amitabh Bachchan). It's the same themes of the commercial Indian cinema at the time: the old lost-and-found, taming-of-the-shrew, frame-the-honest-man, get-the-revenge.. you know. BUT in a comic or cheesy way most of the time this round.
It's obvious how the movie exploits (Bachchan)'s blaze amongst elements that are lower than him, how (Amar Akbar Anthony)'s successful formula, 8 years earlier, leaves its affect, and how there is shameful idiocy all over it! Here, and here only, you'll find: one man who can beat up 5 bigger men by only one arm, the strangest mustache in the whole history of cinema, and a plastic brain that gives advices!
Above all, making the villains as the movie's relief weakened the conflict's strength. The rest of it wasn't less comic. There are many scenes that make (Geraftaar) some kind of rare parody for the Indian movies (and by their original stars!). I can't forget its highest 3 points: (Rajnikanth) gets killed, and while he's dying, he still smoking his cigarette passionately; Ah.. that could be the most creative ad about cigarettes ever made, but surely I deem it one of the greatest comic scenes I've ever seen (I know that I couldn't stop laughing till the end of the movie!). The other moment is when (Bachchan) escapes from the courtroom.. WAW, you'll never forget it! And last but not the least, the scene of killing the dancing girl's father by showing him the bank; actually the spoof can't get any smarter than this!
Save the good theme song, the soundtrack got funny moments too. Whenever we see the evil men, there is something like the main theme of John Williams's (Jaws - 1975) in the background, repeating in unbearable boring way. Or how while (Rajnikanth)'s intro, you'll hear the same music of (Bachchan)'s memorable intro from (Coolie - 1983)!
Let alone (Rajnikanth)'s way of throwing his cigarette in the air, then lighting it by shooting it with his gun, to receive it in his mouth, all while threatening the thieves in front of him! Or how he shoots the criminals perfectly while his back is to them?! That's not cool inasmuch as laughable! By the way, (Rajnikanth) here appears as a cameo in a (Bachchan) movie. 2 years earlier, (Bachchan) appeared as a cameo in (Rajnikanth)'s movie (Andhaa Kanoon - 1983). Most probably it was a mutual favor. But I see it as out of favor!
Furthermore, there are 2 scary extra guys in the movie. One is white and bald, and the other kinks his eyebrows. They played the jewelry store's thieves who (Bachchan) arrests, then the leads' troublemaker associates in the prison's cell, and finally the evil man's henchmen at the end??!! That could mean 1) they work for the same evil man from the start and all along, or 2) evil is evil in everywhere and every time, or 3) this movie is short-handed (I'm with number 3!).
Some of the moves of (Bachchan)'s dance with his love were strange, or rather foolish. (Kamal Haasan) looked unbelievable in his action scenes, and his black and white T-shirt looked too funky. And the flying of the good guys in the sky, while facing the baddies, was badly-made and overdone; I just want to know who was the one that began that daft fashion in the Indian cinema?!
(Prayag Raj) is an important scriptwriter who wrote or co-wrote some of the grandest hits - mostly directed by (Manmohan Desai) - like (Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Naseeb..) or even co-directed (Coolie) with (Desai) himself, and for the big B also. This round, unfortunately, his job as a director was like the production; so poor. Aside from tasteless execution, the camera's shadow is clear at one moment in the climactic fight, (Bachchan) jumps from the speedy police car while it's lucidly still, and so on. It assured the spirit of naivety and artlessness that immersed the whole thing. It's only the last 10 minutes where the things transformed into somehow hot.
This is unoriginal, averagely entertaining or worse. (Bachchan) was wasted, delivering earnest performance in the middle of absurd everything; like solid melodramatic act lost in a big comedy. It's not the most comic "masala", because it can make you laugh at it, not with it. It's rather one of the most weak, fabricated, and wretched masalas, despite how people, like my relative, loved it and were impressed by it, at the time. Yes, it was India's third highest-grossing movie in 1985, and a blockbuster due to its overseas performance, however the reason is simple, and I've learned it by heart: Success got nothing to do with quality.
For me, (Bachchan)'s stylish sweaters are the best of what this caricature provides!