MVKim

"James" is like an old Western: a righteous man of unknown origins arrives in town, finds much iniquity there, and single-handedly goes mano-a-mano against the hoodlums that terrorize the locals. Mohit Ahlawat is the strong silent type (that in another era we encountered in Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper, etc.) and he's up against the corrupt Bombay underworld, including the police. The gangster honchos are played well by Sheereveer and Zakir Hussain, both of whom ooze evil.

I thought there was a hint of the Thai action movie "Ong Bak" as well---especially in the leitmotif for James when he is roused to action. The clarion call sounded familiar...

True to convention for action heroes, James insists on fighting totally unarmed, even when going against dozens of gangsters with guns and against pit bulls! He is a good fighter, though! I enjoyed the movie despite the implausibility of some of the fight sequences. And I think Nisha Kothari looks sexier with some clothes on... I look forward to seeing her in the new upcoming edition of Sholay.

As the movie opens, we see a very pregnant woman masturbating in mid-day in the semi-darkness of her shack which is situated in the middle of nowhere. And it's all downhill from there. I wish there was *some* latitude here instead of *zero* latitude. As it is, this film (which features just two people) has no latitude and is all attitude. I guess that's the whole point---but why should I really care? There is very little civility between the two characters---not exactly fun for a movie-viewer who has to endure 85 minutes of this incivility. It's true that the pregnant woman's plight--her situation in life---is pathetic and distressing, but it's hard to feel any real sympathy for the ornery character she plays...

I agree that Bjork and Morse were great in this tear-jerker (it made me cry) but viewing this film is a real strain on the eyes because of the constant jerkiness of the camera. I bought the DVD in part because I wanted to hear Bjork sing and she *does* sound great especially when her voice soars. Unfortunately, however, the loud instrumental accompaniments (strings, percussions) tend to drown out her remarkable voice---a real pity. The choreography in the dance numbers is mediocre---and it pales when compared to what you see in better Bollywood productions nowadays.

Appearance-wise, Bjork is no Jane March and watching her for 3 hours is not exactly fun. Still, she manages to project a waif-like sense of helplessness which is right on the mark for this character portrayal. You feel so sorry for her and the terrible situation she finds herself in..

The factory setting was great---it shows accurately what work on an assembly line can be like.

And, yes, I also watched the movie with sub-titles (in English).