Shakti

The film "Shakti" is one of my favorite movies. It's a deep psychological story, touching a problem of choice before a human: love to your child or duty before the society, which you chose to defend. I know that this story is close to many people's hearts, as such a choice in life often stands up before us. Wonderful, accurate play of the actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar. One sympathizes to their heroes and asks a question to himself: how would I act if I were in such situation? And one understands that he could act in both ways: like the hero of Amitabh Bachchan and like the hero of Dilip Kumar. Love, honor, pure conscience, these are important values without which you cannot feel yourself happy. And if any of these values is under a threat, then a question appears: what to sacrifice with? It's sad that such a choice stands up before people... Amazing music of gifted Rahul Dev Burman strengthens all the feelings which you experience during watching this drama. I love to watch this film again and again, and every time I do it, this movie touches my heart like at the first time when I saw it 20 years ago... To my opinion, "Shakti" is one of the best pictures of the world's cinematography.

Amitabh plays a wayward son to Policeman Dilip Kumar. Dilip Kumar who is known to have a polished way of acting without much shades in any film of his, he goes smoothly playing a father, he does very well as a disciplined police officer. Amitabh known for easily shifting shades in many of his superhit films does it again. He is the bad boy of the movie, the story revolves around him, he is very good to his girl friend & is a mama's boy. He plays all the shades in 1 movie with ease. Everybody can see the vast difference when comparing why Amitabh was way too good, it was as easy as saying Amitabh is taller than Dilip & all big heroes physically also.

Rakhee too has 2 shades to the role she played, supporting both husband & son. In a way the comparison could have easily been between Amitabh & Rakhee. Amrish Puri does a good job as villain too.

A must watch for every movie goer to watch Amitabh the supreme actor in action.

Amitabh Bachchan plays Vijay Kumar, son of a righteous police officer, who comes to resent the law because he feels his dad's job causes him to neglect his family. When he takes a job working with a known smuggler he finally has a place in life where he's wanted - and as he rises to the top the smuggler begins to treat him more and more like a son. But Vijay's new career creates a rift with his dad that inevitably leads to conflict... but of course it's poor mum that suffers the most.

Sound familiar? Yes, it's basically a retread of DEEWAR with different family members. My bad luck to watch both this and DEEWAR back to back! (well, a week apart). Even though I could watch Amitabh Bachchan all day (lucky given the length of Bollywood movies ), I did get kind of bored watching basically the same things happen again. The details are different, but the broad strokes paint pretty much the same picture.

Ramesh Sippy (producer behind SHAAN and SHOLAY, both directed by his brother G.P.) adds a little bit less melodrama into the mix though, and a little bit more action (which is quite exciting... in a bad 70's kind of way). Amitabh gets to smoulder intensely a lot more, and again exudes the levels of cool and charisma that make him India's number one superstar.

There's quite a lot to like in SHAKTI, and it's perhaps unfair that I judge it after so recently seeing DEEWAR. In reality there was 7 years between the movies, so audiences were probably ready for a retread. Perhaps the one week gap just wasn't enough for me, which is why I ended up kind of bored

SHAKTI is probably more fun than DEEWAR, but still nowhere near the inspired lunacy of DON or SHAAN, or the meticulously crafted suspense of SHOLAY. 7/10.

Shakti is a very interesting film, although it's hardly original. The film is in a way a variation of Deewar, which in itself is a version of Ganga Jamuna. The only difference is that Deewar shows a clash between brothers and Shakti between a father and son. But that being said, the relationship is actually very, very well portrayed. Due credit should go to Ramesh Sippy who is one of the great directors of mainstream Hindi cinema. He directs the film really well and except for the action sequences, which are not very well done, and some of the scenes towards the end, the film is a huge surprise in its depth, subtlety and realistic dialogue. The interactions between the characters are often quite real and the narrative reminds one of some European films, as its power comes from its serenity. Even the background score is often beautiful and soothing and not the usual whiny type.

The actors are very good - Kumar is typically understated in the part and so is Bachchan who gives another fantastic performance, letting the viewers sense his inner pain all through. The two actors work really well opposite one another, while Raakhee and Smita Patil absolutely shine each in her role. Raakhee takes up the risk of playing wife to Kumar and mother to Bachchan, usually her regular romantic costar. While in other films such casting decisions are pathetic and seem to belittle the value of the actresses and their sell-by-date, here it seems like Raakhee's conscious choice to challenge herself. She is excellent. In a smaller part, Patil, a stupendous actress, does a lot with so little. Bachchan's scenes with Raakhee and Patil are of the film's best. Shakti is an unoriginal story which turns into an original, captivating film, which is not extraordinary but worth a watch.

Shakti review :

While Salim Javed's Deewaar (1975) had two warring brothers on opposite sides of the law, their Shakti saw the same situation arise between a baap - beta duo. Noted for being the only film to feature acting legends Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan together, Shakti is one of the most powerful and intense films made in Bollywood.

Continuing to stir a debate on who was better - Dilip Saahab or Amitabh - Shakti remains favourite film of both the legends fans. In my opinion, Dilip Kumar had an edge over Amitabh at script level itself as his role of upright honest cop Ashwini Kumar was far better written than Amitabh's Vijay who is a flawed brooding anti hero with minimum dialogues.

Even then, Amitabh was excellent in the film and his rant in drunken stupor to Smita Patil demonstrates the actors class. Every scene where Bachchan and Dilip Kumar come together is electrifying experience for the audience. The police station scene where Dilip Saahab reprimands his reel son Amitabh to Rakhee's death scene where Amitabh consoles a weeping Dilip Kumar is extraordinary.

Full marks to director Ramesh Sippy for not only doing total justice to the Salim Javed script but also for extracting outstanding performances from the entire cast - Rakhee and Smita Patil included. If not for Sholay (1975), Shakti would've been the best film of his illustrious career.

RD Burman's music is melodious and the awesome background score (BGM) was later referenced in most of 80s and 90s films. MS Shinde's editing is another strong point of the film.

Shockingly, Shakti underperformed at the box office when released in late 1982 though it has gathered a cult following today. Earlier in the same year, Jeetendra's masala potboiler Farz Aur Kanoon, which had a similar plot, became a super hit while the hard hitting realistic Shakti tanked. But then, who remembers Farz Aur Kanoon today??!!!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.