This is not (Amar Akbar Anthony: Part 2), or a remake of it either. In fact, (Naseeb) can't be compared to it in the first place. Yes, there is the same winning formula with even more merits. But sorry, it didn't hit the mark that the previous movie did.
Back then (Manmohan Desai) was on the top of his game. Here, he made a complicated plot, as usual, with the same went-to-crime deeply-good father, the same variant but brave lost and found sons, love stories for the 3 sons anew, bad guys (numerous this round), comedy, music, action, a final song where the sons meet, masquerade and dance before beating up the badies, and most of all a celebration of the power of faith, unity and the main 3 religions of India. All of that was clear in the original. Now it's played all over again, with just different names and characters, more actors and money. The thing is.. I felt less.
The movie is 197 minutes another (Desai) masala epic. Entertaining? Yes, but lighter than (AAA). (Shatrughan Sinha) is the worst third member for (Amitabh Bachchan) and (Rishi Kapoor) heroic league. He's so heavy on screen; see the way he dances to feel the horror. He - of course - has no comic talent. And he was older than his role, being 6 years younger than his father in the movie (Amjad Khan)! May God forgive (Vinod Khanna), the third brother of (Bachchan) and (Kapoor) in (AAA), who was nominated for the role but couldn't accept it since he took a break from films. The gangster movie within the movie was weak and a bit forced. However, nothing more pathetic than the melodrama. Watch the character of (Pran)'s sister to have a loud laugh; the respectable masala never treated any character that bad before. The scriptwriter should be ashamed of himself!
It tries to look dazzling visually more than dramatically. Shooting abroad, having tons of cameos at the party scene, the sniper sequence (one of the most marvelous ever), and the aflame tower action at the end, were some of the ways. It has sparkling image and vivacious pace. But it's polished with not much of a soul. I had open eyes, and no teary ones. It exemplifies the astonishing extravaganza more than any effective suffering or well-made melodrama, despite the scene of sacrificing, beside the Christ statue, for the sake of friendship which was the sole moment where this movie had a heart. See, that's why the less lavish (AAA) surpasses.
Notice well how most of the movie's songs are being performed through parties or shows, how most of the cameos are for the stars as themselves, celebrating their stardom, and how (Amitabh Bachchan) breaks the fourth wall, talking to us, many times, to understand that it's a big ostentatious party of the commercial Indian cinema and all its stars at the 1980s start. And you know what the best part is? You're invited. So for me the grand party scene, where that crowd of stars gather on one screen, is the best of the movie, or rather the movie itself. Before and after that, it's pale and hasty repetition of a better original.
(John Jani Janardhan) and (Mere Naseeb Mein) are great classics. They are 2 of the reasons why we'll always cherish that era and those movies. While these 2 songs, along with the party scene, get a 10, the movie itself gets a 7. Dear (Desai) used to bedeck his movies with fireworks. This time, he made the whole movie out of many flashy fireworks, only.
Back then (Manmohan Desai) was on the top of his game. Here, he made a complicated plot, as usual, with the same went-to-crime deeply-good father, the same variant but brave lost and found sons, love stories for the 3 sons anew, bad guys (numerous this round), comedy, music, action, a final song where the sons meet, masquerade and dance before beating up the badies, and most of all a celebration of the power of faith, unity and the main 3 religions of India. All of that was clear in the original. Now it's played all over again, with just different names and characters, more actors and money. The thing is.. I felt less.
The movie is 197 minutes another (Desai) masala epic. Entertaining? Yes, but lighter than (AAA). (Shatrughan Sinha) is the worst third member for (Amitabh Bachchan) and (Rishi Kapoor) heroic league. He's so heavy on screen; see the way he dances to feel the horror. He - of course - has no comic talent. And he was older than his role, being 6 years younger than his father in the movie (Amjad Khan)! May God forgive (Vinod Khanna), the third brother of (Bachchan) and (Kapoor) in (AAA), who was nominated for the role but couldn't accept it since he took a break from films. The gangster movie within the movie was weak and a bit forced. However, nothing more pathetic than the melodrama. Watch the character of (Pran)'s sister to have a loud laugh; the respectable masala never treated any character that bad before. The scriptwriter should be ashamed of himself!
It tries to look dazzling visually more than dramatically. Shooting abroad, having tons of cameos at the party scene, the sniper sequence (one of the most marvelous ever), and the aflame tower action at the end, were some of the ways. It has sparkling image and vivacious pace. But it's polished with not much of a soul. I had open eyes, and no teary ones. It exemplifies the astonishing extravaganza more than any effective suffering or well-made melodrama, despite the scene of sacrificing, beside the Christ statue, for the sake of friendship which was the sole moment where this movie had a heart. See, that's why the less lavish (AAA) surpasses.
Notice well how most of the movie's songs are being performed through parties or shows, how most of the cameos are for the stars as themselves, celebrating their stardom, and how (Amitabh Bachchan) breaks the fourth wall, talking to us, many times, to understand that it's a big ostentatious party of the commercial Indian cinema and all its stars at the 1980s start. And you know what the best part is? You're invited. So for me the grand party scene, where that crowd of stars gather on one screen, is the best of the movie, or rather the movie itself. Before and after that, it's pale and hasty repetition of a better original.
(John Jani Janardhan) and (Mere Naseeb Mein) are great classics. They are 2 of the reasons why we'll always cherish that era and those movies. While these 2 songs, along with the party scene, get a 10, the movie itself gets a 7. Dear (Desai) used to bedeck his movies with fireworks. This time, he made the whole movie out of many flashy fireworks, only.