Krantiveer

Mehul Kumar's 1994 Box-Office Hit 'Krantiveer' is dark & disturbing. It isn't a a masterpiece though, but its an effective human-drama, that arrests your attention by its brash & brutal story. But, if there is a reason why this film is unmissable, its, without a shed of doubt, Nana Patekar's Astonishing Performance as the righteous/tough hero.

'Krantiveer' is a story about vengeance, love, hatred & racial-discrimination.

'Krantiveer' comes in-tact with some masterful, hard-hitting dialogue, that leave a terrific impact. Mehul Kumar's Direction is appropriate. Cinematography is perfect. Editing is sharp.

Nana Patekar left me astonished with his National-Award Winning Performance. The Actor takes an unforgettable turn & performs fearlessly from start to end. Its a performance, that deserves to be watched & respected! He's the soul of 'Krantiveer'.

On the whole, 'Krantiveer' is an effective film, along-with a performance that's utterly unforgettable.

Based on the 1993 Bombay riots, Krantiveer brought immense critical acclaim as well as commercial success to its lead actor Nana Patekar. This was his first solo hero role after gaining foothold in Bollywood as a formidable villain. His famous dialogue "Yeh Musalman ka khoon yeh Hindu ka khoon ... bataa is mein Musalman ka kaunsa Hindu ka kaunsa!!." struck the right chord with the masses. Indeed, the national integration theme was quite pertinent for those troubled times and the film became a super hit.

The plot revolved around a common man who takes on a local don (Danny) and his politician cronies who instigate communal riots. Dimple Kapadia played a journalist and rape survivor who admires Nana and helps him in his mission. Atul Agnihotri and Mamta Kulkarni had nothing much to do except a couple of unnecessary songs.

Mehul Kumar's treatment was unabashedly raw and volatile like his previous hit 'Tirangaa' (1993). Krantiveer was his last success and he made Mrityudaata (1997) and Kohram (1999) with Amitabh Bachchan later - both box office flops.

Krantiveer made Nana an instant star and public used to mouth his long monologue in the climax while watching the film multiple times in theatre. He was in full form and even grooved to love rap with Bindu (in a cameo). The film won Nana his first and only Best actor Filmfare award.

But today, Krantiveer appears quite loud and dated. It is frequently shown on Zee Cinema but I cant sit through it now. Well, times change and so does the audience taste..

OK, there is a fairly common plotline here, elevated by some intellegent dialogues and the topic of Hindu-Muslim riots in India (which were in the news then, related to the desecration of Babri mosque in India), and punctuated by the usual Indian song-and-dance numbers. Mamta looks sexy, Agnihotri looks the part of her doe-eyed lover, Paresh Rawal stretches his acting abilities and Danny is... well, the villain. Dimple is great as usual, but the real item here is Nana, who blazes across the screen (he got a Best Actor award for this), mesmerizing the viewer. Take him out, and this is yet another Indian potboiler about politics, crime, romance and bloodshed.

Long after u forget the rest of the film, u will still remember all the scenes related to Nana. In fact, the director could have made the film more focused and gripping by taking out all the silly songs and sub-plots (even though i'm a bit partial to sexy rain songs featuring starlets like Mamta, they do seem to be out of place here). Like Pacino and De Niro, Nana Patekar's acting leaves u breathless and begging for more. If u r a fan of his, this is not to be missed. If u haven't seen any of his flicks yet, this is a FINE place to get started.

Rating: 8/10

Mehul Kumar's 1994 drama about the importance of battling social injustice stars Nana Patekar as Pratap, a decent but lazy man unwilling to fight for anyone's cause but his own. He is finally roused to action by a fiery reporter named Megha (Dimple Kapadia) and by the cruelty of a ruthless, exploitative businessman named Yograj (Tinnue Anand). This movie is the most talented scripture I have ever seen. This movie also starring in Mamta, Atul & Danny. The movie features one of the best direction that I have ever seen. This movie is so interesting that I watched it more than 20 times. All the actors must have take there time in making this film.

earlier when Bollywood used to have limited budget, technicians, etc actors used to be the captain of the ship. this one has the one of the most capable actors of last few decades. thought i would like to encourage people to watch this film because of mehul kumar. this guy had a vision and it shows with every frame. its a full entertainment riot. Bollywood's fight club. it made me think for days when i 1st saw it when i was hardly 10. see it to believe in one man revolution. look it for acting, direction, story possibly every basic thing you can expect from a great film. surprisingly it has some funky music which was super-hit at that time and even today it will entertain you with lyrics. finally, this one is not for a miss.