Hazari Pal (Om Puri) and his family are homeless peasants forced to leave their village. They arrive in Calcutta and is con out of their savings almost immediately. American non-practicing doctor Max Lowe (Patrick Swayze) gets beaten by thugs and everything stolen. Hazari sleeping in the street nearby comes to his rescue. Max is taken to Joan Bethel (Pauline Collins) and her City of Joy. Hazari gets a rickshaw job from the Godfather whose son cruel Ashok Ghatak was the one that had his thugs beat up Max.
This is one of the old fashion White Savior movies. In fact, I would prefer the White Savior to be more standard. Max is a bit annoying. He says he wants enlightenment at the start but he acted more like a clueless ugly American. Om Puri again delivers like he always does. His character is terrific and balances out any deficiency in Max. Max needs the fire that is in his character but also the smarts and understanding of Joan. Also the story could be more compelling if it ended with the confrontation against Ghatak. The trial could have led directly to a climax. The movie goes on a little too long after that.
This is one of the old fashion White Savior movies. In fact, I would prefer the White Savior to be more standard. Max is a bit annoying. He says he wants enlightenment at the start but he acted more like a clueless ugly American. Om Puri again delivers like he always does. His character is terrific and balances out any deficiency in Max. Max needs the fire that is in his character but also the smarts and understanding of Joan. Also the story could be more compelling if it ended with the confrontation against Ghatak. The trial could have led directly to a climax. The movie goes on a little too long after that.