Pathreela Raasta

Well, obviously the only reason to catch it today is for Dimple Kapadia. Considering the extraordinary material that she had worked on the past few years prior to this film such as Lekin, Drishti, Rudaali and the likes, one would imagine something of worth even in mainstream cinema. But Kapadia at that time was doing either very good art films or very bad commercial films. This one of course is a B-grade sort of movie, which is as unabashedly theatrical as one can imagine. But you know what, I almost enjoyed watching the stupidity all over. These films are the kind that could be enjoyed greatly by kids (minus the vulgar rape scenes obviously), it's just this sort of style which is unintentionally funny and entertaining in its exaggerated delivery, and so simplistic that even non-Hindi speakers could understand it perfectly.

Dimple Kapadia is a wasted villain in films - her sharp delivery and intense eyes are perfect for such roles. She did something similar in the first half of Pyaar Ke Naam Qurbaan opposite Mithun Chakraborty, and even her quality films saw some interestingly negative roles such as Luck by Chance in which she was nothing short of excellent. I'm not saying this is a good part for the lady, but within the nonsensical context of this film, she's great, and her great screen presence makes everything good. As expected, she's not really bad, but just playacting as one because of her story. And then we get an entire melodramatic flashback which shows how she wound up a merciless criminal. She also has a son who was taken away at birth. He's grown up and he looks about her age but who cares, at least he'll sing the songs in the movie. Avoid.