Karma

Karma is a Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Subhash Ghai. The film stars Late Dilip Kumar, Late Nutan, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Late Sridevi, Poonam Dhillon, Late Satyanarayana Kaikala, Late Dara Singh, Shakti Kapoor and Anupam Kher.

A terrorist kills a jailer's family to avenge his insult. The jailer recruits three death-row prisoners to assist him to get the revenge from the terrorist.

The film loosely inspired from the Indian classic 'Do Aankhen Barah Haath' is a treat to watch. This film can rightly be called as typical masala film with lots of action, decent music and a some comedy. The film will entertain you completely and despite of its long length which is close to 3 hours you'll not find disconnected from the film.

The plot of the film is good and the execution is superb, the screenplay of the film is gripping and will keep you hooked to the scene throughout.

Acting is superb and everyone was terrific in their respective performances be it Dilip Sahab, Nutan, Anil, Jackie, Nasir, Poonam Dhillon or Sridevi but the most impressive of them all was Anupam Kher who was very impressive in his negative role and almost steals the show.

The music of the film is decent and the title song is still very much popular. One of the greatest film of Indian cinema and a must watch.

I first saw this film when I was 8. I loved it then and I love it even more now. The main aspect of this film you have to realise is that, whilst it may not be up to the usual standards of the sophisticated pallette belonging to your average everyday hollywood filmgoer, Karma was a huge leap in filmmaking within India. Its brilliance lies not within the meagre budget it was made with (meagre compared to Hollywood standards) but with the dedication applied by its cast, crew and of course its most prized asset...the director.

Karma is a film that, admittedly, does not have the sophistication of a Lethal Weapon or Die Hard. You may think im making excuses for a poor film. On the contrary its with these obstacles in mind that Karma has become a GREAT film. The quality of acting talent within the film is awesome, including the great Dilip Kumar and Naseeruddin Shah. The story itself has won several awards and the most important part of the film is the directors style of filmaking which is so unique and stylised that, although this film has been made on a budget and some of the effects may leave a little to be desired, karma is beautiful to watch. The flowing camera movements never let you sit still, the music, though may sound the same, is emotive and used sparingly in the right places to create the perfect effect as a great wine does with your evening meal.

Subhash Ghai is an awesome filmmaker as he never bows to the traditional method of filmmaking. He is an innovator in the art of Indian movie making who tackles the strongest issues and social weakness in India and indeed humanity itself. Be it the recruiment of children into crime and terrorism as displayed so eloquently by the three young protagonists, the strength of family values which can overcome even the hardened minds displayed by Dilip Kumar or just the need for unity in the country and the world against oppression. Karma is an ideological film, based on the idea that all humans are inherently good and that life itself creates the difference between an officer and a criminal. Therefore no matter which god you believe in, what country you are from, in life your actions define who you really are

Discount comments by existenz-6: He merely wanted to see an exact replication of Hollywood cinema, and he's disappointed the *Indian* film had any roots other than his own. If you're used to conventional western cinema, and that's all you want to see, you simply aren't going to like this movie! If you fall into that category, and yet (for some inexplicable reason) you still want to see a bollywood flick you're going to want to check out the more recent ones (something by Ram Gopal Varma, perhaps). They're much more "westernized". That said, Karma is one of the greats of the 80's. It has comedy, action, tragedy, and excellent acting. Dillip Kumar, as usual, plays his role well. A. Kheir steals the show as Dr. Deng, there was something so morbidly dark about the look on his face when Dillip Kumar's character slaps him, he suddenly transforms from a comical amusement into a character to be taken dead seriously. He remains so for the rest of the movie. As cinema in the 80s was, there are a few shoddy moments in transference from humor to tragedy. If you can deal with that roller-coaster, and the fact that bollywood flicks don't pack budgets comparable to Hollywood, you may want to give this movie a peak!

Karma is a great entertaining movie from Subash Ghai. Subash has given us some great films like Khal Nayak, Karz and Hero. Karma tells the story of Dilip Kumar, a Prison Jailer who unfortunately has the responsibility of holding Terrorist Anupom Kher. Anupom Kher escapes and is responsible for the massacre of Dilips family. Dilip then decides to lead a secret mission, with the help of three death row convicts. The storyline is similar to many Bollywood Films like the Classic Sholay. Karma is still a good version packed with comedy and action. Dilip Kumar gives a great performance and is Bollywoods Best Actor before Amitabh took over in the early 70s. Jackie Shroff is Good Anil Kapoor provides most of the comedy in a superb performance. Naseerudin Shah is the silent Hero in a above average performance. Sridevi is my old time favourite actress in a good performance. Poonam has a small role. Anupom Kher had a fantastic opportunity to portray a Villain role as the iconic bollywood baddie Deng, and delivers a OK performance, personally I think he doesn't suit as a villain, I did not find him evil enough, not as menacing as amrish puri or Danny who would of been a better choice.

Subhash Ghai always manages to blend cheesy dialogs in what could otherwise be a solid movie.

While I agree with other reviewer who commented on the limited stunts, there is a deep-rooted soul in this movie that is hard to ignore.

The cast contributes well but so many famous actors would normally mean some roles will have that negative what-are-you-doing-here value-add to the overall story line.

To my dear Western friends, I can only add that I hear your complaints when you compare this to a Hollywood action movie. But this is not a traditional action movie. There are strong emotional overtones in all Indian movies, without which the story will invariably lack any punch.

And to the friend who is hesitant in watching Sholay, I can assure you it is one of, if not the, greatest Hindi action movies. You probably may want to talk to an Indian fan of Sholay to set the context for the story, as you may not be able to relate to the characters if you focus only on action.

I would be very happy to tell you how Sholay is a unique movie from so many perspectives. But most important of all, it has some of the greatest performers from India cinema - Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Amjad Khan - what a first performance ! His character strikes fear and I would venture to say his role of brutal, take-no-prisoners mindset is a major departure from traditional Indian villains.

To others who liked this movie, please do check out "Kaala Pathar", "Deewar".

Good luck.