User reviews

"Saza E Kala Pani" is a period film on early 19th century when the British rulers sent the prisoners to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a punishment. The film effectively portrays the sufferings the prisoners had to endure in the Islands. The film was made in Malayalam; so the narration of the film at times is very obscure. Forget it if you are going for entertainment. The film is highly remarkable for the hard hitting account of the gruesome sufferings perpetuated from the film which is rarely accounted in the movies. The film succeeds in recreating a part of the history with highly realized and terrifying accounts of atrocities done to the prisoners which makes it an Indian equivalent of "Schindler's List." The film deserves the acclaim for its hardly realized historical accounts, photography, and performances.

Rating: 3 stars out of 4

I wish that I could agree with the viewers below about the cinematography, sound, and overall quality of the film but the Eros DVD completely failed to capture any of that. The picture quality was somewhat grainy like an old 70s film and, halfway through the film, I had to reduce the sound substantially because of all the static and distortion. Finally, I had to spend close to 45 minutes to finish the last chapter since it kept stopping and, at times, had to see it frame by frame.

Aside from the technical aspects, I felt that the acting by the British actors was either stilted, poorly acted or over acted. I also wish that the two main actors did not look so much alike -- same moustache and body type. In one scene, when they were fighting, it was frequently difficult to tell them apart. Had the same problem with some of the leads in LA Confidential. Teen Deewarein was much better at giving three very distinct characters in every way. I also wished that the director would not have borrowed a scene from Schindler's List -- where all the prisoner's are registering on the island. For anyone who has seen Schindler's List, this scene lessens the impact of the film from then on since, in the back of your mind, you start to wonder what else has been taken from what movies and how much of the overall film can really be believed.

Despite all my misgivings above, I felt the story was well-written and all the Indian actors performed exceptionally well. I only wish that I had seen the same film that everyone else saw.

A lot of drag and a sad story made me not satisfied with this movie. Otherwise I would have definitely given 10 out of 10 marks. Not only that, I felt it was a story where the hero loses. The technical side of it is so good. But 'Kalapani' is a must watch movie for an Indian. This image helps to remember many martyrs who gave us freedom.