Zameen

From the previews, I was expecting another great Ajay Devgan flick. However, Ajay's role is not that powerful. The protagonist is actually Abhishek Bachchan. Bipasha's role is pretty insignificant. There are a lot of extraneous scenes before the actual plot begins to take shape. The climax is the saving grace of this film.

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 doesn't restraint itself in its exploration of transnational terrorism, and doesn't mince its words in the inclusion of Pakistan in state sponsored terrorism by radical army elements, in their support of the mujahedeens battling in Pakistan Owned Kashmir. Being a fictional piece of work, the movie works on two fronts, that by the army in its fight to capture a wanted terrorist Baba Zaheer (Mukesh Tiwari), and on the home front, where 4 operatives enter India to do their dastardly deed.

Ajay Devgan stars as Colonel Ranvir Singh Ranawat, a soldier of vast experience in counter- terrorism operations, and his latest capture is of Baba of the Al Tahir terrorist group. The movie begins with a ra-ra patriotic song, before launching into full scale war. But the plot thickens when Baba's men plot to rescue Baba, and in the process bring disgrace to India. Not if supercop ACP Jai (Abhishek Bachchan) can help it, in his no-nonsense style of high octane action. Adding to the mix is Bipasha Basu's Nandini, wife of Jai, serving as an air stewardess, and as the complimentary love token who provides the cause for some songs, you'll more or less figure out what the terrorist plot will involve.

The action might look a little cartoony and staged, but it still brings about some element of fun for action fans. Having the two male leads from different uniformed groups also serve to highlight the difference in tactics employed, and eyebrows will surely be raised if you're an advocate of human rights. Torturing during interrogation is nothing new, and to see the way they do it, you'll be pretty surprised, though my personal opinion is that sometimes these tactics would have to work - no point fighting with one hand tied behind your back, and these guys are hiding behind civilians and going after innocent soft targets anyway.

And besides pointing fingers at Pakistan on state sponsored terrorism, the movie also points its fingers and pokes fun at the inept Indian politicians who have a total lack of integrity, and are the worst kind of humans around - selfish, full of hot airs and empty promises, and dumb. Also, it points out on the terrorists' hijacking of religion to further their cause in the name of "jihad", and such scenes are usually dramatic for effect, and at times infused with an action scene, like the fist battle between Ranvir and Baba, representing a country and the subversive elements it faces.

All in all, it plays for entertainment, while pounding its fist in the air with patriotism swelling. And hey, Abhishek Bachchan did attempt to sing a few lines from that Krabhi Krabhi song I last heard in Yasmin Ahmad's Gubra.

Code 9 DVD by Rainbow Films comes in anamorphic widescreen, but the visual transfer is mediocre, seemed to have been done from an old VHS-quality like source. The audio though is clear, presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. There are only English subtitles available, and scene selection comes in 19 chapters. There are no other extras except for a section where you can zoom into each of the 4 songs in the movie - Title Song, Tere Sang, O Mitwa and Pyar Tera Dilli Ki.

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.

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.