Koyla

"Bloody ape!!!", Rajasaheb (Amrish Puri) mutters.

Folks, Bollywood action films are NEVER merely action films--they are often a fabulously preposterous melding of action, romance, comedy, and musical genres INTO ONE FILM! In fact, many of the Bollywood films I've had the pleasure of seeing simply do NOT conform to any of the narrow genres that U.S. audiences are accustomed to. Sure, we have hybrids such as the "romantic-comedy" and "comedy-horror", and perhaps even "action-thriller-romance"...but we ain't got NOTHIN' equivalent to the glorious Bollywood-type films from south asia (India in particular).

One moment Koyla is a brutal action flick a la Bronson (gratuitous and graphic violence and carnage), the next moment Shah Rukh Khan is lip-syncing cheezy-yet-infectious pop music to the woman he loves (yes, my friends, musicals CAN kick butt), followed by Shah Rukh Khan's comedic thwarting of his persuers, only to be jolted back by the ruthlessness of Rajasaheb (an over-the-top-to-the-point-of-insanity performance by the veteran actor Amrish Puri, who played Mola Ram in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom").

Amrish Puri can certainly play a villain: but whereas the character of Mola Ram is a generic, arbitrary villain, the character of Rajasaheb is truly despicable because the audience witnesses the injustices he perpetrates. ("Give me a compelling reason to hate the bad guy and root for Indiana", I demanded. Spielberg fails to do so, and so i have always rooted for Mola Ram in "Temple of Doom". Similarly, I rallied behind the Decepticons and C.O.B.R.A. in my youth as a T.V. casualty. But honestly, what did you expect from a crapmaster like Spielberg?).

Ahh, Rajasaheb is a bad-guy you love to hate! Actually, "bad guy" is an understatement--he's a "loveable elderly sadist"--and I guarantee that you, too, will love to hate Rajasaheb! A convincing antagonist is a crucial ingredient for any action film because it drives the whole drama of the film. Unfortunately, few films successfully succeed in delivering a villain you love to hate. Koyla delivers.

Shah Rukh Khan is great as well and really hams up his performance playing Shanker. (I must, however, admit that i am a sucker for any film starring Shah Rukh Khan. I encourage you to see all his films--even the countless bollywood "romantic-comedies" that he is in--you will rarely be disappointed).

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN for one of the most ludicrous, ridiculous, & insanely POOR special effects occurring at the CLIMAX of this film. Without spoiling this cinematic delight, let me simply say that it involves an axe, slow-motion, etc... Even if we ignore the poorly executed FX, the heavy-handed use of slo-mo harkens back to the glory days of prime-cheeze-USA-action films circa 1980's.

SEE THIS FILM NOW. Even if you hate the film, you'll dig the musical sequences with the bangra-hindi-pop music. Yes, the actors are lip-syncing to other artists' songs--but you won't care.

Bonus trivia: "Koyla" means "coal", by the way. Now do you see the significance of the this film's title?

IF YOU LIKE KOYLA, but want more blood and less comedy, then I recommend Shakti: The Power (2002). Shah Rukh Khan has a minor part in it, providing the only levity in an otherwise brutal film (the spirit of Cannon's action films of the 80's lives on!!!)

I've just been watching this movie after a long time of hesitation because I was afraid to regret it yet the result wasn't bad after all.

I liked the general idea of the movie, the actor's playing wasn't bad at all even if there was some non sense in it (like a dumb deaf person who's singing some songs). Any way it's maybe normal in Indian movies so I can't criticize it.

So I advice to watch this movie at least one time because you won't regret the great credible lovers couple Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit.

I give 7/10 and believe this movie could be better if they payed attention to some important details.

Hey People,

I am not usually into Indian movies due to the fact that English is my first language and Bengali is my second. If I ever do watch Indian movies it would be when there are subtitles in them. However a close friend of mines sat down with me and literally translated the movie for me. And boy it was an experience. I was so engrossed in the film. It has its comedy moments and its dramas. I'd really suggest everybody to watch the movie. It may be ultra violent in places but I think the violence is justified as it makes ur more emotionally involved with the characters. Enjoy and e:mail me with what you think.

l8rz

saiful

I had high hopes from this film but this turned out to be surprisingly bad. The storyline is very weak and full of clichés. Shahrukh is silent in the first half and changes his voice in the second. Despite these gimmicks, there is little worth mentioning. Amrish Puri is decent but very over the top as the villain. The other villains are rather sadistic and the nastiness leaves a foul taste. The violence should have been toned down. The action scenes are middling and overblown. Madhuri Dixit has a thankless part. Luckily, she has some watchable dance numbers with Shahrukh. Very disappointing.

Overall 2/10

That's what the movie is, actually. The acting, the story, and the action are all over the top. SRK and MD are the only thing salvageable (besides the guy from Temple of Doom ^_^). Seriously, though, my main beef with the movie stems from the fact that it unabashedly uses the soundtrack from 1492:The Conquest of Paradise and DOES NOT CREDIT THIS USAGE. If you're going to use a theme over and over again in the movie, please, credit it somewhere. If you're going to use the exact music from the movie, then I do expect them to add it somewhere in the credits. If I am wrong, please correct me. As a fan of Vangelis, I'm insulted.

How incredibly lame.