Kranti (New)   Producer: Vivek Kumar Director: Naresh Malhotra Starring: Bobby Deol, Amisha Patel, Vinod Khanna, Rati Agnihotri Music: Jatin-Lalit Lyrics: Jatin-Lalit Genre: Action Recommended Audience: General Film Released on: 08 March 2002 Reviewed by: Akshay Shah  - Rating: 5.0 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review

After a number of disappointments in terms of quality and box office one would have hoped that Kranti would be a safe bet in both departments since it features Bobby Deol in a action role and that usually commands a huge initial. Whatever expectations there may have been, Kranti is a bigger disappointment than both Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya.

The film revolves around Awadesh Pratap Singh (Vinod Khanna), an honest Commissioner of Police who follows the law word for word according to the book. His son Abhay Pratap Singh (Bobby Deol) is the A.C.P who shares the same goal as his father but he operates on a different level all together. He believes in the policy of "No F.I.R, No Arrest, No Talk...Faisla On The Spot." With that policy he shoots first and asks questions later. This always has him loggerheads with his father.

Enter a wealthy enemy in the form of a arrogant businessman Rana Pratap (Kabir Bedi). His aim is to cause havoc and wreck destruction upon India with a terrorist (Raj Zutsi) from the neighbouring country. Abhay becomes Rana’s enemy and attempts to stop him, which involves taking the law into his own hands. When Rana realises that Abhay will trouble him at every turn he gets him arrested for crimes he has not committed and frames him in a murder case. How Abhay gets out of jail and proves to his father that his way of dishing out justice is the "right" way is what forms the crux of the movie.

The story sounds clichéd and believe me that is putting it lightly. N. Maharajan who earlier wrote and directed the blockbuster Sunny Deol starrer Indian tries a similar formula here yet fails miserably. In Indian he managed to add a few interesting twists and turns in an old story with some interesting characters here he fails completely. The screenplay goes haywire and doesn´t know whether to focus on the father-son clash, the police officers versus corruption or the patriotism and terrorism theme. The director also fails to infuse any sort of "freshness" at all what so ever.

Naresh Malhotra proves that Yeh Dillagi was a fluke since his next release Achanak was a miserable dud and now Kranti also fails to live up to any expectations. An action film is clearly not his cup of tea since he even fails to direct action sequences with the technical finesses that are needed. What could have made for an interesting father-son clash drama turns into a mish-mash of clichés, which plays like something out of an 80´s flick.

Performances in the movie could have been a major strong point but they also miss the mark because of the one-dimensional characters and lack of enthusiasm by the cast. Vinod Khanna is seen again after a disastrous return to cinema in Deewaanapan and this is surely not going to help him much. He plays his role well and is well known for playing the prototype cop but his role or performance just isn´t interesting enough. Bobby Deol totally and blatantly copies his brother here. Whether it’s the "talk with fists" attitude, the angry eye look or the shouting! It proved lucky for him in the past with Badal and Bichchoo where he gave some fine tuned performances here he fails. He seems uninterested and almost bored in his role. He is given barely any scope to perform and he sleepwalks through his role although he does impress in the scenes he shares with Kabir Bedi.

Kabir Bedi makes a welcome comeback as the villain. He looks suave and dashing as ever and proves to be an extremely capable villain and probably the film’s most interesting character. His dialogue delivery is up to mark. Amisha Patel is absolutely pathetic in her role and that is putting it lightly after interesting roles in Gadar and Yeh Zindagi Ki Safar. One wonders why she signed this movie in the first place! She has no scope at all to perform and her screen time is so short that it’s kind of embarrassing. She is simply there to sing and dance. Rati Agnihotri annoys with her "filmi" overdramatic mother acting. Raj Zutsi is disappointing in a clichéd role after Lagaan and the same goes for Om Puri in a guest role

Jatin-Lalit’s tunes are dull and their picturizations are even duller. Also the fact that they are forced into the proceedings of the movie doesn’t help much. The background music of the movie is also loud and irritating.

Technically the film is all right. One expects a film like this to be technically slick and top notch much like Gadar, Indian or Pitaah but Kranti is just average. Nirmal Jani´s cinematography looks fresh in some places and very dull in others. Abbas Ali provides a few interesting action sequences though they are nothing original at all. The climax of the movie has got to be one of the most predictable climaxes you will see and it is bound to make the viewer cringe. One can feel the absence of Tinu Verma who is the master at choreographing slick action sequences for the Deol’s.

There are a few pluses for the film. It does boast of some clap worthy dialogues by Sanjay Masoom who is fast proving his talent in that arena. Just witness Bobby Deol’s entrance in the movie where he delivers his popular dialogue or the scenes between him and Kabir Bedi. But that’s about it.

Sadly, all this film is, is one big disappointment and is not worth a watch in the cinema at all. Even strict fans of Bobby Deol and Amisha should wait for the video or DVD since the movie is only old wine in a new bottle.