Zameen

Going by standards of the hindi movies recently made, this wansnt too bad. It started off quite well, but then due to technological overdose got badly messed up.

Devgan is okay. He is what he usually is. Abhishek is better than usual. But frankly none of them look even a tad like Army officers.

This is a good film to watch if you wanna see some real action.

Story is about an army colonel and a Mumbai ACP who, after years of separation over misunderstandings, are forced to work together again due to circumstances to fight a group of terrorists from Pakistan who hijack a plane to get their arrested leader released from Indian prison.

The good - Full of action and stunts, some songs, Acting on both Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan's part, some hilarious and hard hitting dialog delivery, the cinematography.

The bad-the plane hijack which was poorly coordinated, a little weak editing, some overacting on the actors part.

Otherwise the film is good.

Zameen has a very interesting story, has some terrific acting by Ajay and Abhishek, great photography, and good music. Unfortunately it also had a lot more that seriously detracted from the film. I generally love the songs and dances in Indian film but felt that at least two of them were out of place and lessened the impact of everything that went before it. The car crashes were completely unnecessary to the plot and looked fakey and unrealistic. Bibasha was mere window dressing and there were times where I felt her affect was inappropriate to a specific scene. She was great in Jism and in a supporting role in Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai but needed better direction here. The propagandizing went a little overboard at times and, for those who do not know what P.O.K. is, it refers to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir since the initials are referred to several times but never spelled out until close to the end of the movie. Despite the negatives, I would still have to give the film 7/10 although, without them, it could have easily received a 9.

Yet another fascist hindutva ideology film, portraying muslims as terrorists. Amateurish action, poor acting and very bad story. The typical indian police force and army bull$hit movies.

I am not a great fan of Abhishek but it was this movie that made me to start noticing him seriously. The main storyline is anti-terrorism keeping in line with success of movies like Pukaar, Gadar, Hero etc.

The main protagonist Abhishek shouldering a failed past is ACP Jai who has been assigned the mission to curb the terrorists and bring them to task. Joining him on this mission is his ex-boss Ajay Devgan in a smaller role as a head-strong and strict disciplinarian miming Al Pacino. He does not have a heroine (good - Bollywood is coming of age!). Bipasha plays Abhishek's love-interest and is Air-hostess by profession (reason: climax!).

The action scenes are a definite highlight and do match Hollywood standards.

The climax is inspired from Air-India hijacking episode and could have been enhanced if Die Hard 2 was made as a bench-mark. What about Abhishek - yes, he is definitely improving. He gives a restrained performance in scenes lamenting of his failed past (reminisces of BigB in Kala Patthar). And Kajol, please take a dentist appointment for your hubby.

Taking into account that its directors debut movie, which is not too bad for a beginner and compared to the shoddy movies pouring in dozens, Zameen does have a few interesting points which make it watchable.

Verdict: A poorly marketed movie which otherwise had good potential.