Maachis

I was born in India, but have been in the United States for the last 15 years or so, I am 26 years old. This movie is excellent in helping you understand the political situations that exist in India. Even as a young kid, I remember situations like this and this movie does a great job depicting them. I just wish the Indian boards would view this as an artistic point of view and stop the censorship. Although, sometimes they cannot be blamed, because the people tend to follow the indian cinema more than common sense.

This film should be re-released in the light of the Nanavati commission findings (2005). Though I do not justify the action of the characters in this film, directed by one of the well-known lyrist and director Gulzar, this reflects the magnitude of corruption in bringing the perpetrators of the 1984 riots to justice.

Above all, this film is one of Vishal Bharadwaj's earliest hits as a music director (yes, the same man who has made "Makdee", "Maqbool" as a film director) His music score blends very well with the story, screenplay... especially the natural scenic shots of the mountains of Kashmir and Punjab.

All the songs are hummable; one can easily understand the implications of the lyrics and the tenor of the musical beats.

This movie is gulzar's most personal film till date. It depicts the terrorism in punjab after Mrs.Indira Gandhi's assassination. Chandrachur singh gives a fantastic performance as a young man who is forced to join a terrorist group run by kulbushan kharbanda and om puri. Its hard to believe that this was the first film of chandrachur singh. Tabu gives a performance which changed her career. She got a national award for this film. Om puri, raj zutshi, jimmy shergill and kulbushan kharbanda give superb performances in the supporting cast. The screenplay/story/dialogues are written by gulzar. As with most gulzar's films , maachis too has story told in form of flashbacks. The script is very engrossing and does not let the viewer move till the end. This movie was banned in some places in punjab & kashmir. It was also send for a re-censor. A cinema hall strike in january 1997 and good publicity of songs meant that this became india's second biggest word-of-mouth hit. This record was only recently beaten by "Satya". The first one being "Sholay". Gulzar won filmfare award for Best story and Best dialogues. Gulzar also won a national award for the most popular film of the year. This is a must see movie. Like most of gulzar's film this is a CLASSIC.

... noone gains anything out of terrorism! And no better movie to portray this stark reality than Maachis! It truly depicts the circumstances that have forced many-an-innocent and ordinary men and women into terrorism in Punjab and Kashmir only to be slain by the police and/or by their own counterparts. The mixed feelings of a person on the borderline of becoming a terrorist are brought out beautifully. Except the part about how Kirpal Singh is finally caught, a very well made movie!

Made on the pathetic political situation in Punjab state of India, this is an excellent movie to watch. Though hampered by Sensor boards narrowmindedness, it is an almost cruel depiction of the reality of Punjab.