I watched this film on a British Air flight from Europe. I found it a tad confusing (the ending seemed rather vague). HOWEVER, when I looked at the film listing on IMDb, it appears as if the airline decided to trim quite a bit of the movie!! Perhaps this might explain my confusion. However, what still is in no doubt is that I really didn't like anyone in the film and didn't particularly care.
The film is apparently based on a book, "Dongri to Dubai", and I have never read it and know very little about it. However, I could tell by what I read about reaction to the film as well as the prologue (where they admitted much of the film might not be true) that the film is based on reality...to a degree. As a retired history teacher, I wish the film hadn't equivocated and simply presented the best and most truthful story--and stood behind it.
The character Manya Surve was apparently a real gangster who was killed by the Mumbai police in the 1980s. The film portrays him as an innocent man who was framed and sent to prison--where he learned quickly to be vicious in order to survive. So, this monster was created by the police themselves according to the film. I assume some police officials would probably take exception to this--though I really don't know. What I do know is that the story is very action-packed and very violent. And, since it was trimmed, the violence must have been pretty intense in the original--as it was still NOT a film for the squeamish. It also features a strange convention that I've seen in most every recent Indian gangster film--they STILL take time for song and dance numbers like you'd see in a traditional Indian romance. For me, this is a fun cliché for romances but seems completely out of place in gritty crime films. However, the film was NOT made for me but for a billion Indians--and the producer/director probably knew what they were doing. As for me, though, even without the songs I just didn't find the premise interesting and the characters seemed equally scuzzy--whether police, rival gangs or Surve's gang. Mildly interesting but not among the better Indian films I've seen--especially since after a while, the super-stylized action scenes seemed a bit too much.
The film is apparently based on a book, "Dongri to Dubai", and I have never read it and know very little about it. However, I could tell by what I read about reaction to the film as well as the prologue (where they admitted much of the film might not be true) that the film is based on reality...to a degree. As a retired history teacher, I wish the film hadn't equivocated and simply presented the best and most truthful story--and stood behind it.
The character Manya Surve was apparently a real gangster who was killed by the Mumbai police in the 1980s. The film portrays him as an innocent man who was framed and sent to prison--where he learned quickly to be vicious in order to survive. So, this monster was created by the police themselves according to the film. I assume some police officials would probably take exception to this--though I really don't know. What I do know is that the story is very action-packed and very violent. And, since it was trimmed, the violence must have been pretty intense in the original--as it was still NOT a film for the squeamish. It also features a strange convention that I've seen in most every recent Indian gangster film--they STILL take time for song and dance numbers like you'd see in a traditional Indian romance. For me, this is a fun cliché for romances but seems completely out of place in gritty crime films. However, the film was NOT made for me but for a billion Indians--and the producer/director probably knew what they were doing. As for me, though, even without the songs I just didn't find the premise interesting and the characters seemed equally scuzzy--whether police, rival gangs or Surve's gang. Mildly interesting but not among the better Indian films I've seen--especially since after a while, the super-stylized action scenes seemed a bit too much.