The idea is promising enough. Police inspector Veer Chauhan's son is deadly ill, and the only person who can save him is Balli, an extremely dangerous criminal who was locked up in jail thanks to Chauhan's efforts. Initially, Balli refuses and even starts poking fun at Chauhan. After a while however, Balli pretends to have changed his mind, but seizes the opportunity to escape from the hospital and disappears. For his son to survive, Chauhan must find him quickly. However, his partner, "bad cop" Khan, is determined to find him first and "kill him in action".
Call it unlikely, but at least it makes for some good storytelling; worse cases of coincidence are perfectly normal in Bollywood movies. Besides, the DVD cover with Sanjay Dutt locked in chains looks more than promising. And indeed, the beginning of the movie has quite a few really good moments. Sanjay Dutt is terrifying in his role of a chained prisoner who pretty much resembles Dr. Hannibal Lecter. His friendly conversation with the boy, as well as his subsequent actions, make for some really good cinema. Enough to give me the goosebumps, anyway. But unfortunately, this is where it ends. I have never seen a potentially great movie derail to such an extent. After Balli's escape, we watch Chauhan and Khan constantly getting into each other's way, while Balli is making a quick career as a crime lord. And in no time Balli's character evolves from evil impersonated into a good-natured, Munna-Bhai styled kind of don who wouldn't hurt a fly. Shilpa Shetty and Raveena Tandon serve as attractive female decoration.
I would recommend watching this movie until the moment right after Balli's escape, as an unfinished masterpiece of some sort. In this first part of the movie, Sanjay Dutt is awesome, while Jackie Shroff does a decent job as inspector Chauhan. Anything that comes after that is nothing but a horrible mistake. If it is true that director Sanjay Gupta left the production half-way, than this must have been the moment. Believe me, the rest of the movie is not worth the effort of watching it even once.
Call it unlikely, but at least it makes for some good storytelling; worse cases of coincidence are perfectly normal in Bollywood movies. Besides, the DVD cover with Sanjay Dutt locked in chains looks more than promising. And indeed, the beginning of the movie has quite a few really good moments. Sanjay Dutt is terrifying in his role of a chained prisoner who pretty much resembles Dr. Hannibal Lecter. His friendly conversation with the boy, as well as his subsequent actions, make for some really good cinema. Enough to give me the goosebumps, anyway. But unfortunately, this is where it ends. I have never seen a potentially great movie derail to such an extent. After Balli's escape, we watch Chauhan and Khan constantly getting into each other's way, while Balli is making a quick career as a crime lord. And in no time Balli's character evolves from evil impersonated into a good-natured, Munna-Bhai styled kind of don who wouldn't hurt a fly. Shilpa Shetty and Raveena Tandon serve as attractive female decoration.
I would recommend watching this movie until the moment right after Balli's escape, as an unfinished masterpiece of some sort. In this first part of the movie, Sanjay Dutt is awesome, while Jackie Shroff does a decent job as inspector Chauhan. Anything that comes after that is nothing but a horrible mistake. If it is true that director Sanjay Gupta left the production half-way, than this must have been the moment. Believe me, the rest of the movie is not worth the effort of watching it even once.
