Let me begin my review of ’’Kaante’’ by stating that I was not overly impressed. The Bollywood film I was impressed with this past year was ’’Company’’ and comparisons between the two films need to be made. My initial reason for having an interest in ’’Kaante’’ is that it is a remake of Quentin Tarantino’s ’’Reservoir Dogs, ’’ a film which I have studied and hold in very high esteem. ’’Reservoir Dogs’’ was itself a remake of Hong Kong director Ringo Lam’s ’’City on Fire.’’
A problem with adapting a brilliant film like ’’Reservoir Dogs’’ to the Bollywood format is that it just doesn’t work. ’’Reservoir Dogs’’ was a small film; non-epic in nature, hard, gritty, and violent. I feel that the flaw in ’’Kaante’’ was in having the lead actors sing and dance, robbing them of any true threat and making them seem less dangerous. ’’Company’’ did not make this mistake and there was always a feeling of danger and immediacy. If a gangster film does not feel dangerous, what is the point? Another point I can make is on the way violence was portrayed in ’’Kaante.’’ I was never hit hard by the violence - it all seemed so fantasy-like. Both ’’Reservoir Dogs’’ and ’’Company’’ attempt to make the violence seem as realistic and true as possible, thus making the audience feel the impact of it. Now ’’Kaante’’ is a violent film, but it falls more into cartoonish than realistic.
I asked myself this question after seeing the film: ’’Why Los Angeles?’’ ’’Why America at all?’’ I would have found the film much more compelling had it been shot in Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore, or Madras. Then perhaps the film would feel more original. ’’Reservoir Dogs’’ took place in Los Angeles as well. Furthermore, why the need to spend so much money just for the privilege to shoot in Los Angeles? America is the most expensive place in the world to shoot a film.
Now onto more specifics about the film. I found the first half of the film to be quite boring, and it was only in the second half that the film redeemed itself a bit. There was way too much set-up to the robbery. By the time the robbery occurred, I no longer cared what would happen - but knowing ’’Reservoir Dogs’’, I already knew the outcome to the story. Here are some things that happened in the first half which weakened the film for me. First off, we Indians are not targets in America. These men were criminals and were treated as any other criminal is treated in America. Why the killing of the Pakistani gun dealer? If anything this act promotes violence against our neighbor Pakistan. In the case of this film, it just didn’t fit. Why shoot guns off the hotel roof? Trust me, the cops would arrive pretty quick and they shot quite a few rounds off. It just didn’t make sense.
Now onto the robbery...why a cop bank? Why not keep it as a jewelry store diamond heist as in ’’Reservoir Dogs’’? I just didn’t buy it. Their escape?? Each man had time to breathe and take off his mask, yet the cops said nothing?? Cops in America do not just wait. Some announcement is made. I did not buy the fact that all six men got away. It just was implausible. ’’Reservoir Dogs’’ had two of the six die.
So did I like ’’Kaante?’’ Nowhere near as much as ’’Company.’’ Whereas ’’Company’’ was inventive, fast, violent, and fun; ’’Kaante’’ felt stale, formulaic, and implausible. It was a mediocre film and does not deserve the acclaim it is getting. I suggest people watch ’’RESERVOIR DOGS’’ and see the real deal. In the meantime, my vote is for ’’Company’’ for The Best Film of 2002. Thanks for letting me share.