Droh Kaal

One of the best given the topic 'Terrorism'. Remember, this movie was made in 1994, much before 9/11 and yet, one can see the similarities between 9/11 plot and this movie. For example, 9/11 hijackers hid among us, just as the terrorists in this movie wore the mask of a common man. 9/11 hijackers were known to be soft spoken and polite, yet extremely secretive. Same with the terrorists in this movie. Anyway, everything from the plot to characters were excellent. Even the music (by Jaidev) is extraordinary. Only the far-fetched bravado by Abhay Singh (Om Puri) seemed unreal, but then, it takes extraordinary courage and deeds to counter the 'cancer' of terrorism. In that respect, Abhay Singh's bravado also seems appropriate. As usual, Naseer puts the 'sher' in the character of Abbas Lodhi.

I remember, I was in Bombay during the film festival in Dec. 1994. This powerful movie made me cry and repeat it the very next day. Thanks to Govind Nihalani, who personally let me in his special movie, I could enjoy to the full. No wonder I am his fan and Thank you Govind!

If you are a Govind Nihalani or a Naseer or an Om Puri or a Amrish Puri fan, this movie is a MUST SEE.

This movie was another tale passionately written by Govind Nihalani and other scriptwriters this movie shows that Govind Nihalani is a dialogue master Atul Tiwari did write the dialogues and Govind Nihalani added additional dialogues to the film with G.P Deshpande this movie is tough to watch because it is very slow paced but it does have moments in there that make up for the slow scenes the action by Amin Ghani is great if only Nihalani could have made it a little better for the camera scenery then it will be more fun to watch overall great performance by all actors especially Nasseudin Shah he's my favorite actor definitely powerful performance by Om Puri as the main character caught under a terrorist struggle pretty good drama to watch Nihalani delivers once again a tale on how to be fair as a human and be fair to life and those around you

"Droh Kaal" is by far another finest film ever made in Indian Parallel cinema. Its another Hard-Hitting Drama from Master Director Govind Nihalani.

To bring out a Script with thorough Practicality & Real-Life Approach of Rift between Police & Terrorits becomes very difficult task and possibly one may land up being conventional main stream cinema. This is not the case with this Film. May be Ardh Satya (earlier Nihalani's work) & Droh Kaal are the only Realistic Hardcore Police Stories ever told.

The Film is utmost Gripping & bears Hair Raising Moments. The Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhay Singh, played by Om Puri sends in "under-cover" squad amongst a terrorist group to reveal their complete conglomerate activities. The Top Secret operation is only known to him & his Colleague DCP Abbas Lodhi. Amongst the five terrorist groups, one of the group's commander, Bhadra played by Ashish Vidyarthi, gets caught and is in Police Custody. Even staying within the Custody the terrorist commander controls his terrorist force to threaten the DCP and plan an escapade. He is also aggravated by these Police officers' constant attempt to hamper their various activities. On his aggression, Commander Bhadra threatens DCP Abhay Singh by keeping his family on his target. The DCP had no option than just to work hand-in-hand with the Terrorist Group. He is forced to Shelter two terrorist in his home staying along his family. He is asked to provide all vital informations of Police operations. His Colleague, DCP Abbas Lodhi gets killed. Finally the film turns sharp in the end where there's an Opportunity, the DCP can get to destroy the enemies.

The Best thing in a Govind Nihalani Film, is conversations. He is the master of creating Hardcore Drama by vibrant human ideologies exhibited in true sense through perfectly-written Dialogues. The conversation between DCP Abhay Singh & Commander Bhadra in Interrogation Room & in Jungle are brilliant.

The End Part of the Film is as Gripping & Hair Raising like the end scene in "The Silence of the Lambs".

Naseeruddin Shah as DCP Lodhi is also fantastic. Finally the Film again belongs to Om Puri, who delivers a controlled & powerful performance.

When I first saw this movie I thought it was one of the best movies I'd ever seen. When I saw it again a couple of years ago, as a more experienced viewer, my opinion diminished significantly. Having said that, the movie has some good performances.

In spite of the presence of stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, it is Ashish Vidyarthi who has the film's best performance.

In my opinion, Droh Kaal is one of Govind Nihalani's lesser films. I recommend Aakrosh as an example of one of his better ones. Ardh Satya isn't too bad either.

Govind Nihalani is a fine film-maker from India, and I recommend his films (especially his earlier films). At the same time, and without a great deal of effort, I can think of at least three other Indian film-makers who have consistently made significantly better films: Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, and Girish Karnad.

Drohkaal is intense, passionate and disturbing at the same time. Highly realistic and well directed. Script is first rate. Performances are convincing. All veteran actors team up together and deliver power packed performances. Director govind nihalini handles the subject of terrorism well and executes it with perfection and realism. The psychological journey of each character is clearly visible. The turmoil, confrontation, confusion, disturbance, contradiction, deliberate attempts, love, concern, loyality etc is visible in each character. And that's the usp of drohkaal. The story travels from a to z in a flow with each character growing in a perfect way.