Shakti

Shakti is a very interesting film, although it's hardly original. The film is in a way a variation of Deewar, which in itself is a version of Ganga Jamuna. The only difference is that Deewar shows a clash between brothers and Shakti between a father and son. But that being said, the relationship is actually very, very well portrayed. Due credit should go to Ramesh Sippy who is one of the great directors of mainstream Hindi cinema. He directs the film really well and except for the action sequences, which are not very well done, and some of the scenes towards the end, the film is a huge surprise in its depth, subtlety and realistic dialogue. The interactions between the characters are often quite real and the narrative reminds one of some European films, as its power comes from its serenity. Even the background score is often beautiful and soothing and not the usual whiny type.

The actors are very good - Kumar is typically understated in the part and so is Bachchan who gives another fantastic performance, letting the viewers sense his inner pain all through. The two actors work really well opposite one another, while Raakhee and Smita Patil absolutely shine each in her role. Raakhee takes up the risk of playing wife to Kumar and mother to Bachchan, usually her regular romantic costar. While in other films such casting decisions are pathetic and seem to belittle the value of the actresses and their sell-by-date, here it seems like Raakhee's conscious choice to challenge herself. She is excellent. In a smaller part, Patil, a stupendous actress, does a lot with so little. Bachchan's scenes with Raakhee and Patil are of the film's best. Shakti is an unoriginal story which turns into an original, captivating film, which is not extraordinary but worth a watch.

It was 1982, and I waited all evening at Jumbo Video Centre in Kuwaiti Building in Bahrain to get my hands on a copy of Shakti on VHS. I was in class VIII that year, still realising the depth and breadth of Hindi cinema, and commercial films with large stair casts were my regular beckoning. Shakti was one of the most anticipated films of the year, billed "The Clash of The Titans", and I had huge hopes of entertainment pinned on it. After having waited until 10 pm that night, the much coveted video cassette was handed over to me by Rajesh, the owner of the parlour, and I remember running home all of the over a kilometer distance in excitement, my parents also waiting to watch the epic.

Epic it was by all standards. Produced by Mushir-Riaz and directed by Ramesh Sippy, it opened to a scene straight out of Sholay's opening scene, a train stopping at a deserted platform and a young man stepping out, none other than Anil Kapoor, recently having debuted with Woh 7 Din. Then came thespian Dilip Kunar and Smita Patil, the only other survivors of the family, and Shakti began its narrative on a truly sombre note. As the flashback played out for the rest of the film, the story gathered pace, and how! As it starts out telling the tale of a childhood kidnapping of Vijay, the only son to Ashwini Kumar (the pivotal character played by Dilip Kumar, you almost thought that this is going to be another potboiler, urging yourself lower the expectations.

But Shakti was meant to belong to a different class of filmmaking. As the father-son conflict started spawning, Amitabh Bachchan made his grand entry as the brooding, intense anti-hero, torn between the love for his mother and the dislike for his father's diehard principles. Oh the clash of the titans it undisputedly was, a simmering, smouldering conflict that rose to dizzying heights, leaving the viewers drooling over the prospects of a crescendo at the climax. Rakhee Gulzar's Sheetal and Smita Patil's Roma were the soothing balm of the dazzling war of histrionics of the two superstars, one from the past and another reigning the present.

Everything was prim and proper. The music by R.D. Burman turned the melancholy strains of the story into melody, that's today considered classic. The episodes where Ashwini and Vijay came together on the screen were dramatically underplayed by the director, allowing the two of them to act out their hearts - and a battle royal it was. I know who won the trophy on this occasion, the winner was loud and clear, albeit in an intense silence and a well nuanced, controlled dialogue delivery and body language, but allow me to be politically correct by stating both Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan held their fort and gave their best. The viewers were the winners, rarely had we seen anything as good in commercial cinema since Deewar. Every moment was Shakti was worth its weight in gold. The imax was predictable as it had been defined right at the start, but a tearjerker it was in the end, sounding off the end to the legendary clash and it did deliver the crescendo it promised.

Shakti turned 38 this year and I read with utter horror yesterday that there's a plan to remake it. Pray tell me it isn't a sacrilege to reinvent the wheel and try to improve upon perfection? Who can step into the shoes of and stand in for Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan? Why take away our simple pleasure of watching replay of Shakti with all its bells and whistles in original? What justice do you think this remake will mete out? I have watched Shakti over 40 times and can see it another forty times as it remains one of the best films of my lifetime and it should be preserved for its worth, not dabbled with for the purposes of experimentation or commercial benefits. Please allow Shakti to retain its place in our hearts and minds.

Amitabh Bachchan plays Vijay Kumar, son of a righteous police officer, who comes to resent the law because he feels his dad's job causes him to neglect his family. When he takes a job working with a known smuggler he finally has a place in life where he's wanted - and as he rises to the top the smuggler begins to treat him more and more like a son. But Vijay's new career creates a rift with his dad that inevitably leads to conflict... but of course it's poor mum that suffers the most.

Sound familiar? Yes, it's basically a retread of DEEWAR with different family members. My bad luck to watch both this and DEEWAR back to back! (well, a week apart). Even though I could watch Amitabh Bachchan all day (lucky given the length of Bollywood movies ), I did get kind of bored watching basically the same things happen again. The details are different, but the broad strokes paint pretty much the same picture.

Ramesh Sippy (producer behind SHAAN and SHOLAY, both directed by his brother G.P.) adds a little bit less melodrama into the mix though, and a little bit more action (which is quite exciting... in a bad 70's kind of way). Amitabh gets to smoulder intensely a lot more, and again exudes the levels of cool and charisma that make him India's number one superstar.

There's quite a lot to like in SHAKTI, and it's perhaps unfair that I judge it after so recently seeing DEEWAR. In reality there was 7 years between the movies, so audiences were probably ready for a retread. Perhaps the one week gap just wasn't enough for me, which is why I ended up kind of bored

SHAKTI is probably more fun than DEEWAR, but still nowhere near the inspired lunacy of DON or SHAAN, or the meticulously crafted suspense of SHOLAY. 7/10.

The film "Shakti" is one of my favorite movies. It's a deep psychological story, touching a problem of choice before a human: love to your child or duty before the society, which you chose to defend. I know that this story is close to many people's hearts, as such a choice in life often stands up before us. Wonderful, accurate play of the actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar. One sympathizes to their heroes and asks a question to himself: how would I act if I were in such situation? And one understands that he could act in both ways: like the hero of Amitabh Bachchan and like the hero of Dilip Kumar. Love, honor, pure conscience, these are important values without which you cannot feel yourself happy. And if any of these values is under a threat, then a question appears: what to sacrifice with? It's sad that such a choice stands up before people... Amazing music of gifted Rahul Dev Burman strengthens all the feelings which you experience during watching this drama. I love to watch this film again and again, and every time I do it, this movie touches my heart like at the first time when I saw it 20 years ago... To my opinion, "Shakti" is one of the best pictures of the world's cinematography.

It is indeed a feast to watch the performance of the superstars in the movie. The plot is well developed. And Amitabh stands shoulder to shouler with 'Mughal E Azam' Dilip Kumar. Its not a question of who tops whom ? or who is best and who is worst ? They both suited their roles. And its a pleasure to watch them. Highly recommended in the must see movie.