The power - Il potere

It's all lovey-dovey at the start with some beautiful visuals of Canada and you think you're stumbled unto a pretty decent Hindi show for once. Boy and girl get matched up by two popular comedians and in the space of a single song, they marry and have a child. Then when the husband sees footage of factional violence in his home state of Rajasthan, he gets all panicky, stumbling around like a madman trying to get a phone to work. His wife repeatedly asks him what's wrong and he tells her to be quiet. This is where you, as the viewer realise that the wife doesn't have a clue who her in-laws are or from where her own husband originates. Oh, for crying out loud....

Well, I'll be honest: It is not exactly a Sholay. But you cant get a Sholay every week. In fact, you could see distinct signatures of "not without my Daughter"(Sally Field, 1991) in this movie. However, as most "inspired" movies go, this one was a well-inspired one, well handled and well done. Nana Patekar, as usual, tends to overdo his hysterics, but all others are commendable. Specially so about Dipti Naval: Saw her after a long time, but she hasn't lost any of her grace. In fact, she has performed much better that when I last saw her. Another one of the Bollywood stars that seem to grow more beautiful as they age?

All in all, a nice watch.

good movie, good music, good background and an acceptable plot. but the main point again as his movies tend to be, the man is the best actor in idia and can turn dust into gold. nana patekar. this may be his second best performance after parinda( others may disagree). although other movies are not far behind. one man that will never ever disappoint you.

good movie although i think shahrukh was a luxury this movie could have done without. you can see in his movies, others try very hard to reach his heights and act out of their skins. but this man is really something elase.

the movie is cool, the music and direction is excellent plot a bit thin but the screen play and dialog again very good. a must watch.

This is probably Karisma at her best, apart from Zubeidaa. Nana Patekar also gives out his best, without even trying. The story is very good at times but by the end seems to drag, especially when Shahrukh comes in the picture. What really made me like it were the performances of the leads, the dialog delivery, as well as the story, for what it was. It could've been directed better, and edited. The supporting case was even great, including Karima's mother in law, even though she just had one shining moment, it was great to watch her.

The sets were also pretty good. I didn't really like their portrayal of a Canadian family, but once they step in India, it's as real as it gets.

Overall, I would give it a thumbs up!

Not gonna lie, there will be a lot you'll have to forgive to get to the good parts of the film. Overlook basic flaws like Rajasthani location and costumes for a story set in Bihar, skip forward the songs and you'll see it as a bold depiction of jungle raj in rural India at its peak, with the term also being used at some point in the film.

I started watching it just to find a particular scene I'd seen by mistake on TV as a kid (wasn't supposed to watch an A rated film. This was the scene where Nana keeps calling Karisma a "Maddum" for being a misfit in a village. For some reason I remembered Nana eating a pigeon but thank god I misremembered!!