Zalzala

Dacoit movies had been made in India long before Sholay(1975) but that classic started a whole new genre in Hindi movies which many fans as myself call the "Curry Western"! As you might know Spaghetti Westerns were westerns made by Italians like Sergio Leone,Sergio Corbucci and more in Europe.They retained the essentials of the American genre the Westerns and reinvigorated them in their own style and own values.And man they made some great movies including my all time favourite movie "The Good,The Bad And The Ugly".Sholay's director Ramesh Sippy and writers Salim-Javed spun a bunch of great American Westerns and Spaghetti Westerns into a bollywood masala tale and the rest is history.After that many film makers tried to emulate Sholay's success and style.Some were good,some were not.Zalzala is a good one.

It's a fast paced 80's remake of Macckenna's Gold with a few nice touches borrowed from For a few dollars more,My name is Nobody and They call me Trinity.Revenge,greed and pure luck leads a ragtag group of dacoits,bounty hunters and our heroes into the search for a temple of Lord Shiva full of gold.Who wins,who loses and who survives is a nice surprise even though you might be able to guess it.

Zalzala review :

A curry western adapted from Hollywood classic Mackenna's Gold (1969), Zalzala was heavily publicized as being a tough contender to blockbuster Sholay (1975).

The radio programs (popular publicity medium in those days) used to announce : "Aa raha hai Sholay se bhi bada shahkaar. Dekhiye Zalzala."

Comprising the original cast of Ramesh Sippy blockbuster - Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha and Danny - Zalzala also had Rajeev Kapoor thrown in as the third lead while Anita Raj and Vijayeta Pandit had nothing else to do except song and dance. The sexy Kimi Katkar had the better role with grey shades.

Danny was Sona Singh who lusts for a gold laden temple somewhere in Himalayas whose address is known only to Garam Dharam. Thus starts the treasure hunt which is as easy peasy as the ones you play in your picnic spot.

RD Burman's music is a big letdown and the films dialogues lack punch. Cmon, how many times will you cheer for Danny's "Aisa Kya.." or "ZAPATA!!".

Zalzala didnt bring any storm or even a gush of wind at the box office and flopped badly despite being an Eid release of 1988. As for its Sholay aspiration, well, modesty is always good when your product is bad!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.