Zinda

Having seen the Korean movie that Zinda is based on, and realizing how difficult a job Sanjay Gupta had on his hands, I went into this screening giving Zinda all the chance I could. What I eventually ended up watching got me thinking: Since Gupta has seen the original, what did he see at all in his version that he let it be released in cinemas? He should have left this movie on the shelves, or let out a quite Home video release and saved himself a lot of face. Or be man enough to announce that he failed. It is impossible that he could have been satisfied with the end-product. For a movie where the director deceives himself, what chance do the audience have? Zinda follows the life of Bala (Sanjay Dutt) who is plucked off his beach-house in Bangkok without notice, shortly after arriving there with his wife. He is imprisoned in a hotel-room, fed & cared for and yet devoid of all human contact. He is not even allowed to kill himself. His only contact with the outside world is a Television set which eventually gives him news that his wife has been killed and all evidence points to him as the murderer. 14 years of solitary confinement followed by sudden release fuels Bala's quest for vengeance against his captor (John Abraham). At his aid are a Female Punjabi Cab Driver (Lara Dutta) and his childhood friend (Mahesh Manjrekar).

Sanjay Gupta and Sanjay Dutt as White Feather Films make a formidable team. Since rediscovering himself as a 'remake' film-maker, Gupta has been Indianising movies quite well. Somehow, they have always managed to entertain the testosterone audience. But here Gupta sets himself too high a target. Oldboy, the Korean film that Zinda is a remake of, is a masterpiece in film-making. The movie cannot and should not be tinkered with in its story and characters. All Gupta wants to do is pick the stylization from Oldboy and fit it into a movie he has imagined he can make. Yes, style has sold film before, but a minimalist interest in the script only works to negate any effect that the sleek-look may have. To give credit where due, Sanjay Gupta does make an attempt towards a movie like nothing we have 'seen' before. But a failed attempt does not a good movie make. Sanjay Gupta has always been a master technician of his movies, but this movie falters at a more basic level - it's writing. The theme of the movie is Revenge. But is Sanjay Dutt's Bala interested in revenge at all? Yes, to begin with: when he tries to discover the place where he was held captive. But thereafter all he is interested in is staring, walking, staring, running. With such a strong motive behind a well established character, where is the pay-off? Dutt himself gives a good performance. But with no backbone. This is not an act where even if the movie collapses all around him, his performance will emerge from the rubble as a saving grace (as it was in Pitaah). We have seen Mr Dutt do a lot better than this before, and in contrast, his Bala is too mediocre. John Abraham also does a good job - but unfortunately, the consistency and fierceness of his character does a 180 at the end, thanks again to the writing. He takes the entire movie to prepare this wonderfully evil character and ends it by adding a teaspoon-full of sugar. Lara Dutta does her best to look babe (she succeeds), but fails to convince us as a Punjabi or a cab-driver. Another White-Feather alumnus Sameera Reddy could have been a better choice. Mahesh Manjrekar is a lost cause.

Sanjay Gupta and his cinematographer Sanjay F. Gupta (Oh, the number of Sanjays!) work well to mood the film right - but while the color-grading worked well in Musafir, and in Sanjay F Gupta's Karam, here the entire movie ends up with a grainy look. That, my dear Guptas, is definitely a not. The lack of dance-numbers and only background tracks is a positive, and Vishal-Shekhar with Strings add to a wonderful soundtrack. Down the years, maybe that's all this movie might be remembered for. And a somewhat decent, but copied, hammer-sequence.

My Rating --> 2/5

It's not something new for bollywood to copy foreign movie's script. I guess they (actors, director and creative staff members...) all gather around and watch the movie to be copied so that there will be no confusion what they are really after. Frame to frame. That's a shameful act for any responsible main stream actors and director. I am glad that Zinda is now under investigation for violation of copyright. Its about time now to stop this shameful piracy. Another thing is, Hindi movie don't have guts to go that extreme like jaw-dropper "Old boy". Pathetic. They make movie according to the public taste, mostly rickshaw pullers. I wonder where they found in between the plot to plant some songs and crazy dance. Somebody really needs to tell bollywood artist that movie is a serious art business. There is a very bold thick red link between copy and adaptation, and Zinda is way far across the line.

I can't believe they got the rights to crucify OLDBOY with this trash!!! I mean why bother... They have totally destroyed a cult movie of very high standard. The acting in this"effort" is shabby, the cinematography is amateur, the dialogue had me in stitches from start to finish. I found myself in tears of laughter at how bad this really was in every way possible.

I think the most tickling moment is when they tried to re enact the "hammer" fight scene with a hugely inflated Sanjay Dutt - it was like seeing a hippo on speed - the original was one of the most memorable fight scenes ever choreographed but this was like a terrible outtake.

I hope the actors and director of this nonsense look back at it and cringe with embarrassment because I certainly did.

Hollywood have their crack at Oldboy released some time this year, I hope and pray it's not as bad as Zinda - one thing this film is not is Zinda for sure - its DEAD from the opening scene !!!

Many have said this before, but I'm afraid I have to repeat the opinion on the account that a surprising many have decided that Zinda is worth of anything more than 1 star in IMDb. Zinda is a unscrupulous photocopy of the masterpiece Oldboy, and should be avoided, if not boycotted.

Some will claim that Zinda is a 'tribute' or a 'remake' of the Oldboy. To them I ask one question: "What kind of filmmakers make remakes of a movie when the original came out two years ago and has been selling DVDs very well internationally?" It seems that this particular brand of Indian cinema has decided that it is quite content making money off of other people idea for free. And though it is impossible for the original filmmakers to sue the filmmakers of Zinda (on the account that Indian copyright laws does not allow for such suit), Zinda should be remembered as a true stain on the development of Indian Cinema.

Because it has photocopied a great movie, Zinda avoids being an absolute terror of a movie. However, this does not excuse Sanjay Gupta and the section of 'Bollywood' that has involved itself in Zinda's production. Because of the blatant plagiarism, and the Zinda's makers absolutely refusing to apologize and reimburse the original filmmakers, I must say Zinda deserves 1 star, if not 0.

... I totally agree with the previous comments, how can someone copy shameless a good movie AND took out the best scenes and best story elements? Oldboy is definitely one of the best movies (that's why it's good story copied that often), but when I try to copy something than I try to IMPROVE the copy, not to omit the best things! I'm sure the good voting only were given by people who didn't see the original movie.

Please watch Oldboy - you will not waste your time. I really don't understand this Bollywood "Hype", bad actors, bad cinematography and a copied or other well known story - it's always the same. Finally I only recommend you to spend this 116 minutes of your valueable life with other things than watching this movie!