Dam999

Made in 2011 this Indian made film was widely hyped as being a 3 D disaster movie par excellence. It is all about a couple separated from loving each other due to having an inauspicious horoscope – I kid you not; if they snog the World falls off its axis type thing. This is against a background of a colonial throw backs' son who is actually played by an American. A one hundred year old colonial era dam is about to be replaced by a much larger Indian one. Only the usual money grubbing and political shenanigans has meant that corners have been cut.

The characters run around being in and out of love with each other whilst we all wait for the monsoon rains to deliver the much promised for 'money shot' and that is the dam falling over. It is not a plot spoiler by the way as this is the films' whole raison d'être. We have sub plots to do with alternative medicine and spirituality – which I felt would have made a better film.

The acting is not just wooden it is veneered in places, bad casting has added to this, there are also a number of frames where the 'actor' deliberately delivers their lines direct to camera. This may have been for the 3 D version but it is just stilted as is the ever too bright lighting that makes this look like it was all filmed during a super nova (which would have been the only real star in this entire production).

The special effects are quite passé at best and at one time you want to shout 'it's a model', I mean this was bigged up for it great CGI etc and what we get is paltry and only for a few minutes of screen time. So not really a disaster film, disastrous some may say but not up there with any of the classics. I don't know why this won any awards, let alone so many including Best English language Film at Sangli Film Festival (possibly the only other entry was 'Debbie does Dallas - 3'?). I also don't know how I got to the end, I did fast forward a few times but this was the most unedifying film I have seen for a considerable while and would avoid everything by Director Sohan Roy from now on. The 10 out of 10 'reviews' for this on IMDb also seem to be from people associated with the film, but overall, as of today, it gets 3.7. I would give this a 3, so 2 stars is being generous. Only watch this if you are Sohan Roy as a form of punishment or you were in it – ostensibly for the same reason.

Dams become curious idioms of love, in Sohan Roy's DAM999. Just like a 100 year old dam, ineffective and feeble in holding the water and its pressure, the main protagonists of the movie -Vinay and Meera, turn unsuccessful in holding back their 'forbidden' love for each other. The fates of both are parallel and predictable- disaster. The dam breaks, bringing with it massive damage to lives and harmony. So does love, once exposed and let out, especially when it is barred and forbidden. Here lies the basic analogy and philosophy that the movie admits- Dams happen to be concrete representations of love, burdened with unrestrained fluids. Vinay, at one point in the movie talks about how he and Meera are like dams themselves – taking the pressure of emotions for others. Dam999 is essentially a beautiful love story, told in the backdrop of water, akin to its precursors, including 'Titanic'.

A must watch Movie ... film inarguably portrays a future disaster and warning the entire world !!!

After reading through the website, I found the movie to be rather interesting. On screen the audience gets to see the life of 9 characters entangled in 9 scenarios which ends up with a disaster. The dam disaster has come out really well, lets keep in mind this is not a high end disaster movie similar to that of 2012 but it conveys its purpose. The director has put in a lot of effort to share about India which is still not very sound among the international audience. The soundtracks were quite colorful in multiple languages. A family entertainer and a awareness spreading effort by the director and the national award winners in it.Overall the movie was a nice experience, worth watching once preferably in 2D as 3D is needed only towards the dam collapse sequence which comes in the second half.

The movie tries to highlight the futurist issues with noble intentions. Hope the ply of the people who may be exposed to this disastrous sites.