12-string

Hindi art film is a close adaptation of J B Priestley's play "An Inspector Calls." Surprisingly for a Hindi film, the "inspiration" of the Priestley drama *is* acknowledged, albeit only in the end credits.

If you know the play, you know the story. Wealthy businessman, fresh from celebrating the engagement of his daughter to the son of another industrial dynasty, is intruded upon by a police inspector. A young woman has hanged herself this evening in a Mumbai slum, and evidence at the scene suggests such a humble person had a significant connection to this family of movers and shakers. Each member of the clan is brought into the living room where the relentlessly interrogative cop brings out his or her links to the dead woman. Early on we get visual and dialogue clues that the inspector is something more than just Lt Columbo on the job.

I rented the film because it featured Neha Dubey, whom I liked a whole lot in "Monsoon Wedding" and wanted to see more of, and she didn't disappoint me, in a nice turn as the daughter of the millionaire. (Dubey's real-life mom plays her mother in the film, though the characters have little on-camera interaction -- but that's part of the point.) The ensemble cast all handle their roles well. The stage origins of the material are obvious but it's opened up via the film format and stays watchable and interesting throughout. Be advised that it's not a "Bollywood" film by any stretch -- rather, an Indian art picture with no musical interludes and a social message beyond the actual story. "Sau Jhooth Ek Sach" is the equivalent of a first-rate regional theater production of "An Inspector Calls," with localized Indian references.

The other comments on this film sum up fairly well the dramatics of it. Don "The Dragon" Wilson is an Interpol agent whose best buddy is killed in an opening shoot-em-up scene. Still hunting terrorists, Wilson is sent to India (helmer Fred Olen Ray sits in for a cameo as Don's boss at Interpol), where he gets into a tangle that leads to a couple of revelations.

There's not much to distinguish this from any other quickie, straight-to-video actioner, except that much of the stunt work seems a little anemic. Nonetheless, I highly recommend the DVD edition of this film (which is entitled "Operation Cobra") to all fans of low-budget movies. One might say, "War, Pestilence, Plague, and Famine -- the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" but a close runner up for the fifth spot on that team might -- at first blush -- seem to be "With Director Commentary track by Fred Olen Ray." That conclusion would be a definite mistake.

The director's commentary track is the most fascinating part of the DVD package. Ray pulls relatively few punches in discussing the movie. We learn that the whole film was shot in Hyderabad, India, and Fred tells us that it was the first American movie to be filmed completely in India. (Was "Maya," in the 60s, not all shot on location?) We also learn that although Hyderabad is not among the scenic high lights of India, one of the producers owned a studio there, which made for economical filming! Ray also discusses the ins and outs of low-budget film-making, pointing out where specific locations were used for multiple purposes, and noting the Indian actors who had to be dubbed for the American release. We also learn a good bit about the crew's drinking habits and the outbreak of dysentery on the set, as well as the logistics of the big action finale sequence, which was filmed under less than ideal circumstances. (I got two words for ya -- Flies! Flies!) There is likewise a short on-set featurette, which is mostly home movie footage and not nearly as informative as the commentary track.

Fred Olen Ray makes straight to video/straight to cable movies for less money than Brad Pitt's personal assistant gets paid. Ray is not likely to win an Oscar any time soon (I always felt he should have at least been nominated for "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers"), and he's not remotely pretentious here. You wanna know about making movies for peanuts in a difficult overseas location? Here it is.

I watched the film once for story, then ran it again with the commentary track. Cut out the middle man and go straight to the commentary. Anyway, Ray throws in enough of the plot (sometimes puzzled by it himself) that you can follow the story with no problem. You can find the DVD, if you shop around, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $5, and if you love Poverty Row movies as much as I do, you'll think it a bargain at twice the price. Forget about the plot and concentrate on America's most prolific non-porn filmmaker at work.