Kaante

A well awaited movie I finally was able to see it and what a surprise, it's another rip off of a Hollywood movie, just in a longer version!

6 strangers get arrested for one crime and end up in one jail for the night. Together they plan a flawless crime, to rob a bank. With flashbacks and some present events, we get to see who is who and how they ended up in that cell. Major, a man with an ill wife on her death bed at home is looking to get some help to get his business sorted out. Marc, a bouncer in love with one of the dancers at the club gets framed by his boss. Bali, a lunatic with a retarded sister at home has half a brain and is aided by a partner he has known for 6 months, Mac. Andy, a small time criminal who knows his way with computers and stuff, but also has trouble at home with his now divorced wife and little son who he can't support. Ajju, a crook, whose crime gets them all in jail where they meet. The robbery goes smooth, but one gets injured and they don't understand how the police arrive there until they grab a cop, who tells them that one of the 6 is an undercover cop.......

For those who have seen Reservoir Dogs, you'll know who the cop is and the mystery will be solved before you know it, but still Bollywood goes all out with great songs and stuff so for those who haven't seen Reservoir Dogs, this is worth a watch.

I rate this 7/10, god acting and some funny scenes.

The only change is that Kaante is the Indianised version, with additional family members and some good songs thrown in. Watching the original Reservoir Dogs (director: Quentin Tarantino) after I watched Kaante made me realise that the song and dance sequences in Kaante actually thinned/watered down the pace, plot and the grip of the entire storyline. Kaante is a decent bet for your money, but then you have to hand it to the director to have come up with an original story/plot and executed is equally well.

The director should have "adapted" with minimal changes to the pace of the story. Quentin Tarantino would not have minded I believe.

Let me begin by saying that I write this review with a very open mind. I have deliberately refrained from comparing this film to a dozen Hollywood films I have seen in the past. I think its unfair to judge a Bollywood film produced entirely in Hollywood with a budget that's a fraction of the cost of a low budget Hollywood film. Let's judge this cinema as we judge an Indian cinema.

The opening sequence of this film sets the atmosphere for a warm summer day in LA. It sets the mood for some sinister event that is yet to happen. Some crime has taken place in the City and the usual suspects are rounded up by the LAPD and questioned. The usual suspects being: the Yashvardhan Rampal "Major" (Amitabh Bachan), Jay Rehan 'Ajju' (Sanjay Dutt), Marc Issak (Sunil Shetty), Raj Yadav (Mahesh Manjrekar), Anand Mathur (Kumar Gaurav), and Maqbool Haider (Lucky Ali). None of them trust each other, yet they team up to rob a bank. (By mentioning the words "usual suspects" please bear in mind that I am not throwing you any hints.)

The first five minutes of the film sets the mood, perspective, character relationships, general theme of the story and direction of the plot. This first six minutes in itself is a first as far as Hindi film goes.

One of the most outstanding features of this film is that it has done away with post production voice dubbing, and has made live on site recording of the dialogues. This is a real change from the unnatural dubbed voice-overs we have grown sick and tired of in Bollywood films. Dialogues are natural and the sound actually blends in with the LA atmosphere. There is also depth and perspective to the sounds. The sounds of police siren wailing away till kingdom come, constantly reminds us that it is really LA. Some real professionals have been put to work on the sound recording.

The title sequence in this film is also a welcome change. Something I have never seen in other Hindi movies. Smartly designed urban typography with proper spacing and thematic colours. Music is well chosen. Timing is uniform. Motifs and theme are consistent. simply smashing !!!

For once Americans speak the way Americans usually speak as opposed to the usual slowed-down-for-desi-audience-dialogues we usually hear in Indian films.

Cinematography of Kaante is simply brilliant. One can see a perfect marriage of editing and photography with sharp cuts, different camera angles and some dramatic perspectives of Los Angeles city. Anamorphic lenses have been cleverly used to show wide angle shots especially during the shots of the LA strip bar. However the use of warm filter has been a bit overdone. Some indoor night shots can be seen in warm tones, which was quite unnecessary.

Some nice time lapse sequences and aerial shots can also be seen. This does not mean the photographer goes on a tour of LA city tour, as most Bollywood photographers do while shooting in foreign lands. You also won't see the hero and heroin doing the usual Universal Studios tour in this movie for a change.

Kaante is packed with some decent action sequences. Perhaps also a first for a film shot in a foreign country. Money has been well spent on some real American stunt actors playing cops. There is also a tastefully executed strip bar song and dance number with the sexy Malaika Arora. The American cast is excellent.

Has Hollywood invaded Bollywood in Kaante? There are real reasons for technical excellence in this film. Apart from the cast, direction and script writers, there is very little Bollywood presence in Kaante. Cinematography, set decoration, special effects, makeup, and almost all of the technicians in this movie are Hollywood hands. Perhaps that's why this film is so different.

Sanjay Dutt and Amitabh Bachan have performed their roles faithfully well. New comer Mahesh Manjrekar puts on a commendable performance as the crazed hoodlum. I could resist comparing him to Joe Pesci in Casino while I watched him, :. We hope there is more up his sleeves in the near future. The rest of the six main characters do not share equal number of lines or screen time. There is plenty of wit and humour without trying too hard to be funny. The dialogues are natural. Actors perform effortlessly giving the impression of life.

Having said all that. There are drawbacks. The script is too wordy at times. The fast paced action sometimes grind to dreaded speech session. Some minor plot holes and illogical turn of events can be noticed. I mentioned that plot introduction and character building took place during the first 6 minutes of the film. But then the story continues to build relationships even till the end of the film. During the last 1 minute of the movie we are shown some 2nd unit shots of Raj Yadav's sister in an institution. This really has little bearing on the story, and is completely unnecessary. We also learn little about Majors wife and family hence we are unable to share his emotions. Sometimes its best to leave the complex relationship building effort in the first half of a story. It tends to distract the viewer from the story line. There is even a song towards end of the film, which was quite out of place. It seems there is an unwritten law in Bollywood that a film has to be longer than two hours, regardless of whether you have the material. This film would have been lot more exciting, if it was a little shorter.

But none of the drawbacks should scare away anyone who wants to see Hindi cinema at the juncture of a major revolution. Kaante will remain an unforgettable and major step in the evolution of Hindi Cinema.

To say honestly, this is probably one of the best Bollywood films from recent years. Considering that it's a total ripoff (and not the first time) of Hollywood crime and gangster movies, that's saying a lot.

The movie revolves around six Indian hoods living in L.A., each with a history or current involvement in crime. You have leader Major (Amitabh Bachchan), loose cannon Ajju (Sanjay Dutt), club bouncer Mark (Suneil Shetty), techie Andy (Kumar Gaurav), bumbling Bali (Mahesh Manjrekar) and his more sane partner, Mac (Lucky Ali). All of them have a desperate need for money for their own separate reasons and decide to band together and rob a bank. Upon doing so, they discover that the police were tipped off to it, and then try to discover which of them is an undercover cop.

The plot can be split into three separate acts, most of the first being derived from The Usual Suspects, the second from Heat, and the third from Reservoir Dogs. The first part (having little to do with the rest of the movie) serves as a character setup, through a police interrogation about a truck, the second about the planning of the robbery, and the third as it's aftermath. Every sequence taken almost page by page off their "inspiration." It's here that most would differ on the film, but I'm looking beyond.

All of the actors are well cast, save perhaps Lucky Ali and Kumar Gaurav. All a great at playing the tough guy, yet also as their individual characters. Sanjay Dutt portrays an essence of total badass gangsta, and Manjrekar provides some of the film greatest laughs as a bafoon with an affinity for sex an obscene jokes.

Which brings me to my next point. I have never seen an Indian movie with the amount of swearing and vulgar content as this one, probably because of it's Western source material. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it, but it goes to extremes. I didn't get the idea of an Indian strip club nor how and why the six got to where they were. The film makes a point that there is a huge Indian crime culture in L.A., which I don't believe for a second.

Wowing me were definitely some fun jokes as I mentioned above, and the centerpiece shootout with the cops, referencing almost every big action sequence in film. Mindless, but fun. The de-saturated green picture gave it a gritty look adding to the feel. And of, course, no Bollywood movie is complete without songs, and luckily this one gives us a couple memorable ones which fit the movie, and serve more as background score rather than part of the story.

All in all a fun flick that in fun to look at and watch. Maybe I'm going soft on it since I am very fond of the three aforementioned Hollywood movies, but this movie takes those plot lines and makes them its own. 3/4 stars

Somebody who has not seen Reservoir Dogs has a good chance of liking this one. There are some good performances but the movie mostly seems like a patch work of Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs and does not have any new stuff worth mentioning. I also did not understand why they chose USA as the background in the movie. The director has used a yellow filter for most of the shots which makes it tiring on the eyes. Since the movie was made with the Indian audience in mind many dialogues get repeated in Hindi and English which gets annoying at times. Recommended for people who like Hindi masala movies and haven't seen the Hollywood originals. Otherwise there are better ways to spend your money.