less than the sum of its parts: Fakira
This movie should have been better. It's got great ingredients: Shashi Kapoor in "a masala film he made with gusto" (so said Aspi when he told me about the movie, and I agree!), the always reliable Shabana Azmi, Amrish Puri's brother as the bad guy, Danny Denzongpa,
a comic sidekick who's not too annoying (Asrani), and lots of Recommended Masala Allowance features, like a drive-in lair,
quite possibly the inspiration for the Charlie's Angels logo,
a cool female bandit (Aruna Irani),
a Clapper prototype (used to awesome effect during a fight),
disguises,
pigeons who deliver fire cracker-looking bombs,
murdered parents, flames, Dussehra effigies, long-lost brothers, treachery, an undercover female cop, revenge, a charity auction, and steamy bits.
Phew! Even with all of this, Fakira, except for the fun performances and the never-ending parade of delightful elements, didn't really do much for me. When I was reading Filmi Geek's review, which you should do too, and she mentioned that there's a corrupt politician, I thought "Oh, he was a politician?" That's how little I was grabbed. I wasn't inspired to pay equitable attention to everything that was going on. But I agree with Filmi Geek that it's a reliable timepass - don't go out of your way, but if you come across it, there's a lot to have fun with. Which, after all, is probably the major point of a movie like this.
a comic sidekick who's not too annoying (Asrani), and lots of Recommended Masala Allowance features, like a drive-in lair,
quite possibly the inspiration for the Charlie's Angels logo,
a cool female bandit (Aruna Irani),
a Clapper prototype (used to awesome effect during a fight),
disguises,
pigeons who deliver fire cracker-looking bombs,
murdered parents, flames, Dussehra effigies, long-lost brothers, treachery, an undercover female cop, revenge, a charity auction, and steamy bits.
Phew! Even with all of this, Fakira, except for the fun performances and the never-ending parade of delightful elements, didn't really do much for me. When I was reading Filmi Geek's review, which you should do too, and she mentioned that there's a corrupt politician, I thought "Oh, he was a politician?" That's how little I was grabbed. I wasn't inspired to pay equitable attention to everything that was going on. But I agree with Filmi Geek that it's a reliable timepass - don't go out of your way, but if you come across it, there's a lot to have fun with. Which, after all, is probably the major point of a movie like this.
Comments
Hey, I spotted a kiss there...how come no one created a racked about that?
kamla
Hmph.
;)
Still, it makes one sit up and took notice. I thought the naughty bits of this film, including that kiss, and the busted bed that Beth also showed below it, were rather bold for its time! It was the most interesting things about this film, really. It makes me wonder if it's not a coincidence that both principals have edgy art-house credentials alongside their commercial endeavors.
I also rather enjoyed Madan Puri explaining his villiany to Shashi Kapoor rather patiently and with a smile on his face - like a kind teacher instructing an errant pupil.
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Aruna had more Oomphh value she outshines the heroine
Apparantly Shashi made some wrong choices; we r human after all ))))