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faddy
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 2:06 am 
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Over here at Azaadi.com

Azaadi Review - Kaante!!
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anil
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 2:21 am 
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New York Times 12-20-2002

MOVIE REVIEW | 'KAANTE'
Shot in Los Angeles, but Bombay All the Way
By DAVE KEHR


A delirious Bollywood reimagining of "Reservoir Dogs," complete with musical numbers, Sanjay Gupta's "Kaante" shifts as fluidly between cinematic idioms as it does between Hindi and English. Shot in Los Angeles with a largely American technical crew, Mr. Gupta's film, which opens today in the New York metropolitan area and Toronto, offers the fulsome sentimentality of Indian melodrama at one moment and the bloody, absurdly overscale violence of a Hollywood action film at the next.
No points for originality will be awarded to Mr. Gupta's screenplay about six Indian hoodlums who band together to rob the downtown bank favored by the members of the Los Angeles Police Department. (The theory is that the bank will have light security, given the terrifying reputation of its depositors.)
The six men range in type from the natty, dignified Major (Amitabh Bachchan), a disgraced military veteran who participates in the robbery to raise the money to return his dying wife to India, to the screamingly psychotic yet oddly lovable Baali (Mahesh Manjrekar), a drug-addled killer with bleached blond hair and a bad stutter, whose motive is a retarded sister who needs looking after.
Strangely like their predecessors in "Reservoir Dogs," the six men spend much of their time sitting around restaurant tables engaged in intense discussions about nothing in particular. They also enjoy putting on sunglasses and dark suits and walking shoulder to shoulder toward the camera in rapturous slow motion.
Unlike "Reservoir Dogs," "Kaante" actually depicts the robbery, a messy affair in which the Dhogs, armed with automatic weapons hijacked from an evil Pakistani arms dealer, take on what appears to be the full, ferocious force of the L.A.P.D. But soon we return to familiar territory as the surviving gang members rendezvous at their warehouse hideout, there to settle the critical question of who among them is actually an undercover police officer.
Following Bollywood's tradition of excessive generosity, Mr. Gupta tosses in too much of just about everything, resulting in a two-and-a-half-hour film that may exhaust some viewers. There are a couple of extended, snazzily edited music videos, set in what is apparently Los Angeles' most fabulous Hindi strip joint, as well as an amazing sequence in which the men, chugging down Johnny Walker Black on the night before the robbery, sing out their dreams and aspirations. Scenes like this make you realize that Bollywood is essentially a nonnarrative art form, in which coherent storytelling plays a distinctly secondary role to the purple pleasures of the moment.
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City Hunter
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 3:03 am 
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An excellent and spot on review plus the film is truly superb! :cool:


Hunter. :)
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khaira
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 7:30 am 
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KAANTE

Producer: Pritesh Nandy, Raju Patel and Sanjay Gupta Director: Sanjay Gupta Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Mahesh Manjrekar, Kumar Gaurav, Lucky Ali, Sunil Shetty, Rati Agnihoti, Malaik Arora, and special appearance by Isha Koppikar Music: Anand Raj Anand, Lucky Ali (uncredited), and Vishal/Shekhar (uncredited) Lyrics: Anand Raj Anand, and Vishal (uncredited) Released: Friday December 20

WARNING: DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW DETAILS (THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS).

The long delayed Kaante released today and the question on most lips is was it worth the wait. Without hesitation the answer is a big YES. I am going to make statement at the beginning of this review that will tell you what I feel about this movie after seeing it today: THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE MADE IN HINDI CINEMA SINCE SHOLAY. THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINER THAT IS WORTH THE ADMISSION PRICE AND IS WORTH WATCHING OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

The movie starts out with the 6 protagonists in jail discussing a potential bank robbery, the topic of which is brought up by Ajju (Sanjay Dutt). Major (Amitabh Bachchan) has a sick wife at home (Rati Agnihotri) who is dying, Baali (Mahesh Manjrekar) has a sister who is metally retarded who he has the responsibility of looking after, Mark Isaac(Sunil Shetty) has just been fired from his job as a bouncer at a night club in which he loves one of the lead dancers (Malaika Arora) who he wants to run away with, Andy (Kumar Gaurav) is on the verge of a divorce and has to fight for custody and/or seeing his son on weekends, and Mak (Lucky Ali) is the narrator of the film who met up with Baali a while back to commit crimes. What follows is a recap of the last 36 hours when each one of these guys was brought in on suspicion of stealing a truck by a police officer by the name of McQuarrie, who seems to be super charged about putting these guys behind bars for some charge or other.

The men are released since the interrogation of each leads to no clues as to who stole the truck. Ajju suggests meeting up in a night club later at night and discussing the robbery. Major is the only who says he’s in, while the rest ponder joining in and eventually show up, each with his own reason. The movie then moves to planning the robbery which mostly involves Major outlining the strategy of attack and getting the equipment necessary from an arms dealer. The plan is carried out but the police show up and all hell breaks lose as each one of them shoots their way out to escape. They meet up at the location they agreed upon and what follows are tension filled moments as each suspects the other of being the informer who told the police about the plan to rob the bank. The film leads to a bloody climax where the informer is revealed and ultimately the 6 become their own worst enemies as they stand up for what they believe to be the truth. That’s the story.

The movie is brilliant from beginning to end. It has its down moments but the tension filled suspense and dialogue more than make up for it. If one word could describe WHY the movie is so brilliant it is the word: EXPRESSIONS. The audience live through the characters through the various expressions….

-the expression of disgust as the 6 see the police outside the bank after looting it -the expression of mistrust each gives the other at the place where they meet after -the expression of Baali as he expresses his desire to leave to look after his sister -the expression on Major’s face as sees his wife dead

The cinematography is brilliant. It reminded me of the look of “Traffic,” a Hollywood movie released last year. It was a slick and realistic look that gave the film an edge. Kaante has an edge that hasn’t been seen in hindi cinema yet. It is a great entertainer. It has all the elements of a hindi film: romance, suspense, emotions, and loads of action. The movie was obviously inspired by City on Fire, The Usual Suspects, Heat and Reservoir Dogs. Sanjay Gupta who has copied and copied in films before this, takes the best bits of each film and makes them into a hindi movie. While the Hollywood flicks were 90 minutes plus the biggest challenge in making the ideas of those films into a hindi movie were how to stretch it to 2 hours 30 minutes plus. Sanjay Gupta simply takes us into the lives of the characters, and IT’S NOT BORING. These characters are human beings with lives that don’t revolve around crime 24/7 and that is what works more than anything else. You actually enjoy finding out the background of Baali as he talks to a drug dealer. You feel pain for Major whose business proposal gets turned down by a corporate man. You feel the sarcasm and wit that Ajju uses when interrogated is warranted. Andy’s desire to turn his mistakes around is felt too.

The highlights of the movie for me (you will find your own highlights when you watch it I’m sure….and watch it you will)….

-the interrogation scenes. Major and Ajju are especially effective as is Baali in making the police mad -the arguments between Major and Baali and Major/Ajju in the second as each taunts the other and makes him mad -the tension filled moments between Ajju/Baali as they battle it out -the shooting sequence where they fire their guns and practice shooting. Each one has his own style and shows it. Anger is expressed rather than shown here when they shoot -the action filled shoot out reminiscent of the movie Heat (Pacino/DeNiro)

Out of the performances Bachchan and Dutt are the pillars on which the film is built. But it would be hard to justify that they alone make the movie what it is. Mahesh Manjrekar is FANTASTIC and its hard to believe this is his acting debut. Kumar Gaurav and Sunil Shetty are on par with each other and come in third in terms of enjoyment of seeing on screen, and Lucky Ali makes an impact coming in last out of the six. The movie is shot in slow motion AND quick search style but it suits the story, characters and film as a whole. Out of the women Malaika Arora doesn’t have a substantial role but is remembered as Sunil Shetty/Mark’s girl after the film, Rati is competent with what she is given, and Namrata Cooper as Kumar Gaurav/Andy’s wife has one scene but makes the most of it as she gives an aerial view of why she doesn’t want Andy around. Quite an outburst that is impactful and she doesn’t screw it up mixing English and Hindi dialogue. Isha Koppikar in a special appearance looks RAVISHING and HOT in Ishq Samundar. The background music is TO DIE FOR, it is the best background score I can remember since Sholay 27 years ago. The stunts are done well and should prove a treat for Indian audiences. The mark of having Hollywood technicians shows as the movie is brilliantly executed and shot making each frame look as if it was well thought out. The songs are there in bits and pieces but that is the sheer magic of this “hindi” film. Gupta knew that he needed songs for the Indian audience but didn’t want to look dumb picturizing them. Instead he gets inventive and sprinkles bits and pieces on. Instead of lip synching to Richa Sharma’s voice Malaika Arora just dances to the tune of “Mahi Ve”. Instead of having a long song like “Rama Re” he cuts it off after the impact is made, and the song “Yaar Mangiyaai Si” is played softly in the background as Amitabh sees his dead wife. “Maut” and “Socha Nahin Tha” at the end also look awesome picturized. “Chhod Na Re” may be the only full length song and it is shot in music video style that is FUN to watch. Of course every movie has some holes and Kaante is no exception HOWEVER the pluses easily cover them. One of the more obvious holes that is camouflaged well is why would Ajju and Mark walk about on the streets of L.A. after committing the robbery. While the motivation behind going to get Mark’s girlfriend (Malaika Arora) is shown it would be common sense to use the phone. Ajju’s character is not given as much background as the rest (except Mak/Lucky Ali’s character for obvious reasons) and this distracts slightly since the other characters (Major, Mark, Andy, and Baali) are fleshed out more. The movie has the right pace throughout, fast when you want it to be fast and slow when you want it to be slow. Its as if Gupta hits the right note every time. Although I don’t want to give Gupta all the credit since every other department is there to contribute and Gupta has been copying for so long that he had to get it right sooner or later and adapt a Hollywood flick/flicks correctly. The cast works as an ensemble and you can’t envision another actor in any role. Critics wise the movie is already being loved and being hailed as the best of the year. I think it should be the best of the past 25 years. It effectively doesn’t fall into any category all the way whether it be action, suspense, or drama but has doses of each. Box office wise it should be around a while and break some records. The beauty of this film is that when word gets around how good it is the movie will get a whole new audience. Personally, I’m going to see it tomorrow again and maybe another couple of times next week and then I will treat myself to watching it again after new years. What a way to end/start the new year, the movie is a complete entertainer from the word go to the end credits. I could go on discussing the film and things like how it ended, the scenes that took me by surprise, and the scenes that I expected and found, but I won’t hold you anymore….go and see it NOW.

MY RATING: 10/10
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ali
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 10:52 am 
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All Kaante reviews are merge into this thread, any other threads started on Kaante reviews will just be deleted :p

Ali
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faddy
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 11:56 am 
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heheheh.. Ali and his power of merging!! :) its a good movie.. do not miss it!!
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Mr_Khiladi
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 3:04 pm 
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Surprisingly (from what I hear - I have not seen yet) the best character is Bali (Mahesh Manjrekar) who apparently steals the show. I wonder if he played the 'Mr Pink' equivelent?
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Khiladi
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 4:22 pm 
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By Priya Bedi/CelebnCeleb.com


Director Sanjay Gupta is no saviour, prove adverse first day reports of the much hyped Kaante.

December 20, 2002. Director and producer Sanjay Gupta, best buddy and mouth-piece of star Sanjay Dutt, could not salvage the career of Sanju baba nor the fortunes of a film industry, facing a famine of hits. Despite aggressive marketing and pre-release hype, the allegedly jinxed Kaante, failed to impress the critics and audience, in its first showing.

Sanjay Dutt, though defamed many a time, has always managed to garner sympathy for his 'poor boy' image. The killer Dutt with his rakish charms, also had the Midas touch of Amitabh Bachchan and the rugged support of his cast Sunil Shetty, Kumar Gaurav, Lucky Ali and Mahesh Manjrekar to pull the film through. For music maniacs, Dutt's White Feather Productions had Anand Raj Anand's chart-busting score.


But all these potboiler spices, coupled with the technical finesse of Hollywood, could not be tapped aptly by Sanjay Gupta (his Khubsoorat was a damp squib), who has been dismissed off as a haywire baton-wielder. Gupta has been unable to hold the film from meandering. It's a sad case of yummy ingredients but a wrong recipe.


(source:CelebnCeleb.com)

correct me if i am wrong but wasn't Khubosoorat directed by someone else & not Sanjay Gupta?



Edited By Khiladi on 1040487858
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Khiladi
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 4:48 pm 
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glamsham.com

Clearly the most eagerly awaited film after Devdas (and also the most controversial), 'Kaante' moves on to newer pastures, keeping pace with Hollywood standards. In simple words, - `a Bollywood movie with a Hollywood feel.`

With the star cast comprising of some biggies, the movie is slated to bail out the sagging morale of the industry. And it does achieve to an extent.

Revolving around a robbery, you get to see Amitabh Bachchan spearheading a second bank dacoit in recent times (on-screen, of course). And this is no 'sarkari' bank in a remote rural area with lathi-weilding guards, and the biggest resistance for the robbers, being the cops' malfunctioning 'desi' revolvers. But hey, this one involves a high-tech bank on foreign shores (Los Angeles).

The movie starts with a boom, exploring the petty criminal records of a bunch of Indians who are pulled up every now and then, for questioning by the police. Fed-up of constant harassment, they team up to teach the law-enforcers a lesson, by hatching a plan to rob the very bank, in which the cops have their accounts (Service American Bank, ..Just in case you wanted to know).

Well, there's Major (Amitabh Bachchan) in the lead, with gang members including 'The Bouncer' (Sunil Shetty), 'Ajju' (Sanjay Dutt), 'Andy' (Kumar Gaurav), 'Baali' (Mahesh Manjrekar) and 'Mak' (Lucky Ali).

Almost all have some genuine reason to commit the crime. Major, nursing a bed-ridden wife (Rati Agnihotri), 'The Bouncer' wanting to keep her girlfriend (Malaika) off performing in bars and Andy trying hard to save his marriage.

The plot, jotted down to the minutest detail, leaving barely any loopholes. And till the interval, the crime is already executed, without any hitches.

But, BUT Barely had they left the bank, they face the police. And what follows if bloodshed. In the crossfire, one among the gang is injured, but all manage to escape to their hideout using different sources.

They now face a grim reality - "Who amongst them tipped the police?" The whole second half is spent in knowing the 'thorn' in the flesh, as the gang turns against each other in mistrust.

The director makes you think at times, thereby achieving what he set out to. But he should also shoulder the blame for making the film drag a lot in the second half.

The high points include a tight screenplay in the first half, and the brilliant camerawork, aided by the eye-catching dance numbers.

Of the cast, Amitabh Bachchan stands out (as usual). Sunil Shetty is competent, whereas Sanjay Dutt is simply menacing, playing the second-in-command to Bachchan. Lucky Ali is o.k. and Kumar Gaurav, as the computer-savvy hacker, displays a wooden self all along. And lastly, Mahesh Manjrekar has done a commendable job playing the 'good-for-nothing' type, with an eye for women. He is the sole comic relief in the otherwise serious action.

Just one more point. Everybody knows that there is an undercover cop who plays spoilsport. But take this - Everybody die towards the end. Except one. Guess who?.. Think again. He's not the cop. Then who? Hey, a tricky one, right? (Self-service man, go watch it for yourself).

VERDICT: All in all, a good effort there, by the 'Kaante' team. Will someone follow suit?

- Aijaaz Karim.



Edited By Khiladi on 1040489507
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khaira
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 8:40 pm 
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If a reviewer can't even get the director Khoobsurat right I don't see the point in reading his review. Sanjay Gupta had nothing to do with Khoobsurat. Some of these people are making HUGE mistakes in trying to bring Kaante down because they are affiliated with the Saathiya film and/or Kaante's success will prove them wrong.
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dograk
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 9:22 pm 
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hmm...similarly people are doing anything and everything to bring saathiya down - to the extent of writing bs reviews which don't even dwell on the movie - anything to get kaante's bo prospects up :p
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darius25
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 9:29 pm 
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dograk, who cares about what the reviewers think? Both movies are good in their own right.

Kaante WILL be a good action film (I refuse to believe otherwise), while Saathiya is guaranteed to be a powerful romance - seeing as it's a scene-by-scene copy of Alaipayuthe.

However Saathiya is kinda unnecessary..... I mean Madhavan was SO GOOD in the original that there's no way that Vivek Oberoi could top him. The songs are good in the original and the settings and story are equally great. The only thing Bollywood is getting from this movie is SRK - and that would be for 10 minutes tops!!
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dograk
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 9:41 pm 
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what are we gettting from kaante? blatantly *bad*(compared to the original atleast) hollywood rip-offs, that only serve to tell us that indians can't shoot movies? or that only hollywood technicians can make movies look nice?

if kaante had been with an indian crew, i would have been excited - instead, its an INDIAN movie with an almost total subpar GORA crew...

then whats new ?
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MalFUnXiON
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 10:31 pm 
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That's something I agree with too. These producers like to believe that we don't have enough talent in India to pull of special effects. While we may be well behind, a real achievement will be to come up with a slick action flick using Indian resources. Instead, producers opt for some C-grade Hollywood technical crew and want the public to believe that their film is good just because a Hollywood crew was involved. Honestly, do you know of any other credible films that the technicians of Kaante were involved in? I'm still going to watch the movie just because it seems to be different from the norm, but I'm still not expecting anything better than a B-grade Hollywood action movie and a cheap imitation of Reservoir Dogs.

As for Saathiya being a remake, I think Saathiya will come a lot closer to being as good as Alaiy Puthey than Kaante will ever come to Reservoir Dogs.
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khaira
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2002 10:44 pm 
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Yeah, but why bother comparing? I mean if you want to compare Saathiya to that Tamil/etc. film, fine, both are of East Indian descent.

Comparing Kaante to Reservoir Dogs is like comparing apples and oranges. Reservoir Dogs didn't need or warrant songs, an interval, a 2.5 hour movie or actresses. Kaante has all that because its made for an Indian audience. I'll take Hollywood's B-grade technicians over India's A grade crap anytime. All bollywood does is let us down over and over again, they espouse credibility and sticking to the roots and show half naked girls in Mohabbatein. Every producer/actor says their film/role is different from the norm when the movie is about to release but we get the same shoddy cliche treatment all the time. Granted Kaante is no Reservoir Dogs. In fact the shoot out is copied from Heat, the jail sequence from The Usual Suspects and the cop among thieves angle from Reservoir Dogs. But its done well. The "Traffic" like feel to every scene and technical brilliance combined with some fine performances is great. I'll take it over Dil To Pagal Hai or K3G any day of the month and twice on Sundays. I'm sorry but maybe the talent is in India but it isn't coming forward and I want to see some decent Indian movies before I grow old and don't have the time or something. Kaante is the best they can do, so be it. It's nice to see the combination of Indian actors with hollywood technicians whether they are B or C grade rather than the crappy Indian technicians who can't even organize themselves and make movies on budget or in a timely way.
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