Zakhm

This is one of the best and bravest films to deal with the issue of communal harmony in India and is even more relevant after the gujarat events. Amazing screenplay, story and direction. Acting is top notch especially ajay devgan has got to have the most intense actors around.. his eyes are so expressive, he doesn't need to speak!!Pooja and Kunal Khemu excel.Heartfelt and touching lyrics, especially hum yahan. This is one movie which is extremely well balanced and will raise the hackles of the fundamentalist elements from both sides.Congrats to Mr Bhatt for this achievement. Mr Bhatt gets is right on so many levels with this movie, Bravo Sir!!Certainly one of the best movies of the past 30 years.

Zakhm is definitely the best creation by Mahesh Bhatt. The plot involves the communal tension of Mumbai during the riots.Pooja Bhatt, mother of Ajay Devgan is burnt alive by a Muslim mob and then we are taken into the flashback which reveals the dark side of Pooja Bhatt's and Ajay Devgan's past. The strength of Zakhm is its depiction of human sentiments and emotions which are portrayed so beautifully that it really hits you hard.

Performance wise the movie is amazing Ajay Devgan winning the prestigious National Award.Pooja Bhatt making a stunning come back Nagarjuna , Ashutosh Rana,Akshay Anand all delivers a strong performance.Master Kunal is the show stunner it is amazing to see such a strong performance by a child artist.

Music wise Zakhm is again a masterpiece the songs really adds more to the emotion and is very touching.

Overall Mahesh Bhatt gives his life's best and a movie which was surely among the best of 98

This is one absolutely stunning movie. If you are an avid fan of Bollywood movies and you haven't watched it yet, something is wrong with you. I actually recommend everyone to watch this movie. This cinematic masterpiece will touch your heart on many levels, bring to the forefront the communal disharmony in India. Mahesh Bhatt's most gripping movie ever. Performance-wise, Pooja Bhatt is fantastic, so are Akshay Anand, Ashutosh Rana and Sonali Bendre. Child Actor Kunal Kemmy is absolutely amazing in a role that required a lot of emoting and conveyed honest expressions. Now coming to the lead actor - Ajay Devgan. Today, Ajay is definetely one of Bollywood's finest. However, back in 1998, he had more of an action hero image. This movie was a step toward getting away from that stereotype and the first in many stunning performances that Ajay has given ever since. He has excelled in movies like The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Company, Deewangee, and most recently Khakee, but I would say this performance is his finest ever. His eyes do most of the talking, so he doesn't need a lot of dialogues. He is one of those actors who is just a treat to watch, regardless of the genre of a movie. Overall, this movie is amazing. Highly recommended. A+.

Zakhm is, by and large, the finest work of Mahesh Bhatt of the 1990s, a decade throughout which he made some disastrous movies with little substance. Zakhm is a lifelike, wonderful story, which unfolds in two time-lines. The first is the present-day turmoil happening in the life of a young music director named Ajay. He is in a hospital where his mother is lying in a critical condition as a result of recent communal riots in which she was burned by a group of Islamists. The second time-line is presented through a flashback which recounts Ajay's childhood when he lived with his mother and recently-born brother. His father did not live with them and would only come to visit them from time to time. He never married Ajay's mother because he was a Hindu and she was a Muslim. Yet, she kept hiding her Muslim faith because of her involvement with a Hindu man, disguising as a Christian for the rest of her life.

Zakhm works because it feels very much a documentation of a true and personal story, and it actually is, from what I understand. It is deeply moving and absorbing, and in this regard is reminiscent of Bhatt's efforts during the 1980s, like Arth, Saaransh and Kaash, some amazing, hard-hitting pictures known for realistically portraying complex relationships and lifelike struggles. Zakhm is not as great as these films, generally speaking, and technically too it could have been better, but then it is definitely a special film in many ways. Bhatt's direction is very good. He tackles a delicate subject which is always relevant and presents a sincere and brutally honest account of communal strife, even if it's faulty and preachy at times. The portrayal of Ajay's childhood and his relationship with his mother is beautiful and heart-touching. Bhatt captures the mind of a troubled child with excruciating authenticity.

To achieve the right amount of credibility, the casting was very crucial. And well, no one disappoints. Ajay Devgan is excellent in his first great role. His performance is incredibly heartfelt and intense, and it's memorable more because most of it is internal and non-verbal. His devastated expression of anguish and grief is haunting, to say the least. Pooja Bhatt has never looked more beautiful. She is brilliant as the loving mother and suffering wife, who is tormented by her everyday struggle of raising her kids all alone, hiding her religious identity, and living in distance from her husband. This is certainly her best performance. Child actor Kunal Khemu is quite amazing as the young Ajay, who is a smart kid and a loving son. Sonali Bendre is beautiful and provides good support. Zakhm is not a flawless movie, but it is definitely a moving and riveting movie experience which remains in the mind for a long time.

A stunning adaptation depicting real-life events in the famous Bhatt family. A denial of familial truths conspires to affect the lives of a young boy and his mother.

Recommended Indian cinema for fans of the 'less-Bollywoodised'.