Shakti: The Power (2002)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

We have : A character who sings and dances after his death. A heroine who does nothing but crying, running, crying, running, then crying again. A loyal henchman who kills his boss's daughter just to make way. A bunch of thugs, who already have guns, fight one unarmed man they really hate with only sticks. The same unarmed man got shot right in the middle of his back then fights 10 men bigger than him with his bear hands, wins them all, runs after a train, catches it, saves a women and her son, fights again, kills all the bad guys, then finally dies out of his injury (remember it ?!). Yet nothing in the world can outmatch the ending; where one of the toughest men ever appeared on screen turns into a complete idiot who stops chasing his late son's wife after numerous – totally bloody – pursuits, leaving her utterly alone out of the blue AND FOR NO REASON AT ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!In some movies I forget logic a bit, but this time I regretted to do it, then became incapable of doing it anymore. The scenes of (Karisma Kapoor) crying are free and endless. Many times I felt that the director must yell cut, well, he didn't while I DID ! The way how the father-in-low was enjoying beating up his daughter-in-law non-stop; could assure that the director was the one who enjoyed it the most. The character of (Shahrukh Khan), which reminded me of the young (Amitabh Bachchan)'s roles, turned out to be the most disappointing cameo ever. I thought he would be the lead, instead of that dispensable bum who played the husband, but I was awfully wrong. (Nana Patekar) is wasted in nonsense, his last scene is the worst thing he did, or any actor could have done. Actually the whole third act is a fine cinematic interpretation of "random". While the board of "The End" showed suddenly, it is one of the most surprising indeed, I had a big hysterical laugh, being in denial, to just laugh again and again (believe it or not, I kept laughing even in my sleep after the movie was finished !).For some time, I felt how that could be an original Indian western. However, it ended up being a cross between pure violence and outrageous comedy. Maybe the makers of it wanted basically to make an action with some comedy, to have eventually a comedy with action where most of the comedy comes unintentionally. To tell you the truth, this is not an action, a comedy, a musical, a romance, or even a social commentary. It's a huge savage cartoon, a commercial fatuity, and an explosion of silliness. In a word this is a frank shame, and you have to see it to believe that this actually exists, and being made with big money and proud artists. By its end I felt embarrassed, while in fact not someone, but "some ones" else should. I just don't know how these artists can face people again ?! But according to their very movie; I see that they don't lack the impudence !(Shakthi: The Power) has a lot of reasons to be one original rubbish. In the same time it's one of the longest jokes ever made. So, laugh out loud, if only you can stand it!

Well, I'll be honest: It is not exactly a Sholay. But you cant get a Sholay every week. In fact, you could see distinct signatures of "not without my Daughter"(Sally Field, 1991) in this movie. However, as most "inspired" movies go, this one was a well-inspired one, well handled and well done. Nana Patekar, as usual, tends to overdo his hysterics, but all others are commendable. Specially so about Dipti Naval: Saw her after a long time, but she hasn't lost any of her grace. In fact, she has performed much better that when I last saw her. Another one of the Bollywood stars that seem to grow more beautiful as they age?All in all, a nice watch.

I initially bought this DVD because it had SRK and Aishwarya Rai on the cover and I thought, hey! another film starring Aishu and Shah Rukh, little did I know that Aishwarya would only appear in an item number in the last quarter of the film in a song which she shares with SRK and helps introduce his character who is in the film for about just 15 minutes. Shakti is a film about a mother's love and endurance. It's a film about transformations, ignorance, coming of age, stepping into the know and embracing the harsh realities of life. The item number in which SRK and Aishu appear in has nothing to do with the movie. It's actually a dream sequence that occurs while SRK's drunken character is knocked unconscious by booze. He dreams that Aishwarya Rai is this sexy street girl who shows up at his favourite hangout spot one day, dressed scantily and begins to seduce him. The title of the song is 'Ishq Kamina' (loosely translated as "Love's a bitch!") and it is just plain smoking hot! Don't miss it.

Seeing this movie was the most fun I've had at the cinema in a long time. However, I am not able to say whether this is a good or a bad film, because such simple qualifications simply cannot be applied. This picture has everything any movie could ever have. It has characteristics of a romantic comedy, a political commentary, a thriller, a drama, an action movie, a musical, and an absurdist self-conscious art film. It's all in there, adding up to a myth.The basic premise is about an Indian couple, Nandini (Karishma Kapoor) and Shekhar (Sanjay Kapoor), happily living in Canada, who rush to India to visit the husband's parents after a disturbing news report. The rest of the story takes place in India, where the couple find themselves in the midst of a plot of fratricidal violence. At one point, the story borrows from "Not without my baby," but to call Shakti a remake of anything would be an injustice.The ostensible story line takes a backseat to a number of astonishing interruptions, including Shah Rukh Khan's dream of Aishwarya Rai which comes as if out of another movie. In fact, the two stars are on all the posters, but they appear really late in the film, and only Shah Rukh ends up being a real character. Yet he makes up for it with a spirited and truly unexpected performance.Karishma Kapoor is the one with most work to do in this film, and she does an admirable job, having to link up the film's twists and turns with a show of believable emotion. Another notable presence is Nana Patekar, who plays Narsimha, the tyrannical father of the husband Shekhar. Nana Patekar dominates every scene he's in with a scary but nuanced character.The movie is not without its share of realism. Violence is rampant, but truly disturbing in the abuse received by most of the female characters, with Karishma getting soundly beaten on a number of occasions. At times, this violence is clearly disturbing but ultimately it becomes surreal as every dramatic sequence is usually followed by such comic and spectacular turns that the overall effect is nothing but cathartic.I have seen a share of Bollywood releases, and the mixing of genres and incredible plot resolutions are certainly their norm. But "Shakti" raises the bar by absorbing an even greater masala without becoming ridiculous. It is a film that achieves the grandeur of a Shakespearian tragedy, where the audience of the rabble and royalty is equally entertained. It is pure, gratuitous cinema, and the director Krishna Vamsi must have had a dream of a good time by throwing in every trick in the book. Perhaps, the all-important message of violence begetting violence and the inspiring extents of motherly love were not the thoughts on my mind, but I came out of watching "Shakti" exhilarated. Making movies can be the most fun in the world!