Shakti- the Power is produced by Sridevi Productions and directed by a newcomer, Krishna Vamsi.
The story begins in Canada where Sanjay Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor’s guardians- Jaspal Bhatti and Tiku Talsania jointly own a restaurant. Karisma has no one except these two. Eventually, love blossoms between Karisma and Sanjay. Karisma, though, is unaware of Sanjay’s roots or his past. They get married and settle down in Canada and have a son.
Then one day, Sanjay gets a phone call from India and he is perturbed. Karisma wants to know the reason. Sanjay reluctantly tells her that he has his parents in India. Karisma is shocked since upto then, he had said that he had no one.
The phone call was about some blasts in his native place. Sanjay wanted to enquire about his mother’s well being and so he sets off for India with Karisma and their child. Upon reaching their, he gets to know that his mother (Deepti Naval) is all right. His dad, Nana Patekar, is a chief who has control over the entire region. Nana also has a step-brother who never rests without giving one trouble or the other. The blasts were also caused by him.
Karisma feels rather awkward in this scenario. She, being a modern girl, is shocked by the habits of the people there (including their eating habits). She requests Sanjay to immediately proceed for Canada. But Deepti wants Sanjay to stay until his birthday, which is in a few days. So, he obliges.
Meanwhile, the MLA of that region wants to take revenge against Nana for humiliating him. So, he chalks out a plan with his (Nana’s) step-brother. Accordingly, the MLA tells Nana to go to the collector’s office so that he (Nana) can stand for the elections. But Nana feels its too belittling for him. So, Sanjay volunteers to go.
Sanjay’s jeep is blown to smithereens. Karisma has had enough and wants to leave immediately with her son. But.... Nana says the son should stay so that he can avenge his father’s death. How Karisma manages to escape alongwith her son (with Shahrukh’s help), forms the rest of the story.
Acting wise, all the lead actors like Nana, Sanjay, Deepti are first rate. Shahrukh, as is his wont, goes over the top.
Karisma Kapoor has acted outstandingly. The confrontational scenes between her and Nana are well executed. Karisma surely deserves a National Award for this movie. She manages to snatch the scenes from Nana and Shahrukh with ease, which speaks volumes about her acting. Hope she gets more roles like these!! She will be a treat to watch.
The downside of the movie is the poor and listless music by Ismail Darbar (is he the one who gave us Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam?) and the liberal usage of vulgar words which the viewer may find it hard to digest.
The direction is competent. All in all: A must-see film!!!