The much-hyped Indian film, "Kaante," has at last hit the screen and is being touted as a film that is quite unlike anything ever produced by Bollywood. It perhaps is. Film critics hold differing views of the movie.
No doubt Amitabh Bachchan can carry any film and is considered a guarantee for the success of any film in which he appears. His popularity is enough to pack the halls but certainly "Kaante" needs more than that.
"Kaante" is a remake of a Hollywood hit, "Reservoir Dogs". The difference is that "Reservoir Dogs" had five men while "Kaante" has six and is punctuated by hit songs. "Kaante" is about Major, a notorious criminal (Amitabh Bachchan) who is obsessed with committing the perfect crime. To execute his dream robbery of a bank, he appoints five perfect strangers — Ajju (Sanjay Dutt), a very violent, Bali (Mahesh Manjrekar), a drug addict and petty thief, the Bouncer (Sunil Shetty), Mak (Lucky Ali) and Andy (long forgotten Kumar Gaurav). They carry out the crime successfully. Major warns them not to leak the story to anyone but one of them does and that is what the film is about. "Kaante" was shot entirely in the United States by top-notch Hollywood technicians in only 50 days.
The all-male film has virtually no romantic track. "Kaante" has yet to establish itself as the new face of popular Indian cinema. It is too early to judge audience reactions.
Notwithstanding producer-director Sanjay Gupta’s protestations, "Kaante," at least in its first half, is a blatant copy of Quentin Tarantino’s "Reservoir Dogs." Anybody with a nodding acquaintance with Indian filmgoers will tell you that copycat cinema rarely clicks in this part of the world. "Kaante" is rooted in an alien ethos, and for it to work commercially it would have to be much more than just a classy, technically glossy film. Amitabh Bachchan can guarantee only so much; for the rest, "Kaante" will have to depend entirely on its own merit as entertainment and enriching cinema.
The substance might not be the film’s only drawback. "Kaante" costs too much — 400 million rupees — for its own good. Despite its tight shooting schedule, the film went over-budget by at least 100 million rupees. Its principal stars were forced to accept drastic salary cuts.
Certainly "Kaante" defied the critics’ verdict for its delay in release. Production was finished in October 2001. The film’s television promos have been airing for nearly 25 weeks and its peppy item numbers have been blaring from every squawk box in sight for even longer. On release day, according to Indian Film Trade, long queues for advance booking were in place by 6 a.m. The delay in release rather increased audience curiosity.
The film’s music has already caught people’s imaginations and all its numbers are hits. Music director Anand Raj Anand has come up with novelty. Industry analysts say excitement levels for "Kaante" have stayed high mainly for three reasons: Music, the brilliantly-executed TV promos and the fact that it looks completely different from every other film.
Director Sanjay Gupta has taken the best out of the six protagonists. Amitabh Bachchan does brilliantly and fits the role of master plotter. Sunil Shetty, Kumar Gaurav, Lucky Ali and Mahesh Manjrekar also live up to their characters. And one critic says, "Sanjay Dutt has mastered his character and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Amitabh Bachchan."
— Arab News Features 2 January 2003