Musafir

i don't understand how some people criticized this movie..I've seen U-turn last year and b4 i started watching this bollywood fare i had imagined that this must be another crap 4m bollywood...But it really surprised me..Sanjay dutt again lend his unique style to the movie and the flashbak version told by Manjrekar and Sameera had me wondering whats going on...only to realise both of them had their own versions of storytelling...that was uNique!! i watch a lot of Hollywood movies and i always make fun f bollywood movies but this one shut me up!!! every time my step kids picks up a knife they do the Tej Dhaar action...They just love Sanjay dutt..Imagine they don't even know /understand Hindi and they loved this film so much .. That must tell something to those who criticize!!so SHUT UP AND ENJOY ..

The basic plot of the film Musafir (literal translation: Traveler), revolves around Lucky (Kapoor), a small time conman who inadvertently steals a hefty sum from an underworld kingpin, Billa (Dutt), only to lose it to his thieving mistress. Billa has Lucky work off the debt by transporting his narcotics. Thus begins the story of Musafir (the Traveler). Unfortunately though Lucky, the womanizer, can't keep his eyes of luscious ladies and this is where the excitement begins.

Add to this, Sam (Reddy), the damsel in distress; Tiger (Panscholi), the corrupt police officer; Luka (Manjrekar) the domineering husband; and, Whacko Jacko (Shakti) a small time drug dealer; and you have a tinned spaghetti western.

A poor copy of Sean Penn's U-Turn, this movie however does have a few good action sequences, especially from, The Man, Dutt himself and a bunch of corny dialogues. Be sure to check out the sizzling Sameera Reddy and newbie Koena Mitra as Kapoor's mistress.

Remember the American movie (Single White Female - 1992)? When (Jennifer Jason Leigh) was psychologically unstable, and went to imitate her roommate (Bridget Fonda) in nearly EVERYTHING! Well, I did remember it while watching (Musafir), whereas it imitates ridiculously American ANYTHING!

Director (Sanjay Gupta), who directed (Musafir) and co-wrote it, ensures whatever you may demand out of a purely commercial movie from the contemporary Indian cinema. And in the same time, his movie represents the majority of Bollywood production in the 2000s, as an ideal example for the shinny bottom that this cinema can reach!

First off, despite any onslaught you may do against (Gupta), you must admit that; with intensive technique, the man delivered what he promised. And what exactly did he promise? "Blood. Money. Sex. Tears. Murder. Betrayal.". Just like the tagline said it frankly.. So "Get the picture?!". But could ripping-off American movies, as well as imitating blindly their atmosphere and style, be a "style" in itself? I think: Yes. However, what a shameful proof of lack that could be!

I liked the old Indian movies. Surely they got their own problems, but at least were more original and more Indian. Now, and especially in (Musafir), it's nothing but American movies, American video clips, American style, and American music. Here, (Sanjay Gupta) made a mix of: A stolen American movie; Oliver Stone's (U Turn - 1997) this time + A gangsta rap singer's music video; overloaded with many girls, golden teeth, undulate smoke, rich limos, loud music, hostile lyrics, and - let's not forget - ice cubes in a glass of wine! + Some of Robert Rodriguez's style (in one sequence it seemed like a Desi Desperado!) + Possible plot concerning an angry Indian Don, filled with enough flying bullets and various corpses. All of that in a colorful, prurient, and psychedelic world that lengthens for - if you can stand - 151 minutes. It's hot, big, and in your face mix that embodies the crime Indian movie as pure American as it could be!

So, what this entertaining movie from the east could say? That the American pop became the pop?! It was like watching an overlapping of broadcasts that included the MTV channel, an American movie channel, and some Indian movie channel; all at once. So if you used to call the flashy pastime flicks a cotton candy, then this is the dope. Seriously, I felt that somebody gave (U Turn) a cheap Indian narcotic to hallucinate all what we watched!

Maybe it says that Bollywood has gone bankrupt. It has thick flamboyant surface and nothing else. For what it is, this is natural. For instance, James Bond movies have thick flamboyant surface and nothing else. But you know what?, Bond movies don't endeavor to be Indian! They have a script of their own, and a world of nonsense of their own. Therefore the numerous references here to Indian classics like (Zanjeer - 1973), or else, weren't only a source of pride, or a homage from movie to another, it was also a kind of desperate affirmation that this is India anyway, or what's left to define it!

Of course it says something about sheer technique just to amuse heavily. But the American movies are already there, so what exactly the Indian filmmakers have to offer?! Actually it looked like an Indian movie written and directed by Americans, or an American movie with Indian language and stars!

Speaking of which, It was scary to see (Anil Kapoor) knocked over by an American coolness storm like this; as if a vengeance of mad stylist hit him badly. (Sanjay Dutt) was the circus's silly clown. I only liked (Sameera Reddy), she was the sole true thing, however put there for just being exploited to the max. The drama was an excuse for too bright, too much, sizzle. And it's, as a whole, a cross between being a cinematic show and a bad joke.

Fairly, if you look at (Musafir), you'll find how it's amusing. But if you look closer, you'll find how it's totally poor also. So Bollywood wants to be Hollywood? Why not being yourself?! It was tragic that (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in (Single White Female) hated her own character, and went to live as another person. And the situation in (Musafir), or rather nowadays' Bollywood, isn't less tragic.

Musafir is a glamorized underworld movie that in summary is simply a waste of time.

It tries to sell on the lewd dances and pseudo-sex scenes, but even there it fails.

If I have to watch a soft porn I will flip on Cinemax but this mindless 150 minute fare is best avoided since there are no other strengths in the flick.

What a waste of time, money and resources. A bunch of washed up actors and desperate actresses thinking they will feed of the uneducated and Riksha Wala Indian audience. Embarrassing stuff coming out of Bollywood !! Boom

Bearing a "resemblance" (or shall we say "inspiration" ?) with the Hollywood thriller "U-Turn", Musafir is a good entertainer. With veterans Sanju Baba and Anil Kapoor, one wouldn't expect any less.

Lucky(Anil Kapoor) is a conman, thief, small-time gangster all rolled into one, having had a orphaned and destitute childhood. He dreams to have a peaceful life and takes all short-cuts to achieve that. One fine morning he wakes up to find that his last con-job went against Billa(Sanju baba), a feared, knife-swinging Mafia Don who would stop at nothing to get his job done. Now, with his partners killed, he has to save himself by carrying out a drug-deal for Billa, in Goa. When he goes to Goa, he is torn between a couple who want to get each other killed and try to use him as the instrument. To rub more salt in his wounds, he accidentally crosses paths with Tiger(Aditya Pancholi) a corrupt, encounter-specialist cop. Throughout the movie, Anil Kapoor's expressions are enough to show his inner feelings.

Sanjay Dutt's mafia-Don image seems to have stuck to him, right from "Vaastav" and "Kaante", but then he carries it so well that it seems nothing less than natural. Anil Kapoor does perfect justice to the character of Lucky, who is smart and rarely loses his cool. Sameera Reddy fails to deliver; I guess she is in it just for the skin-show. I don't know what Shakti Kapoor is doing in this movie ! Mahesh Manjrekar's psycho-type acting is quite good but it seems to be getting stereotyped, these days (remember Kaante and Plan ?) Overall, it doesn't stand-up to the standards of "U-Turn" but a movie worth watching, if U don't have anything else to do. For all Anil Kapoor and Sanju baba's fans, its a treat. The Saki-Saki and Ishq Kariyo Na numbers are simply awesome !