Aatish: Feel the Fire (1994) User Reviews

A Better Tomorrow

[silvan-desouza · 5/10 · 12 February 2014]

Sanjay Gupta debutted with this film, In his tradition this was a debut of A BETTER Tomorrow and of course seeped in clichés, drama and action. The film starts with child actors who grow up to be Sanju and Aditya Panscholi, their first scene involves burning a godown with petrol and making a run after puffing a cigarette which is well shown The first half is more on romance and comedy but the twists and drama in second half are well handled, There are several well handled scenes like Aditya being attacked by Gulshan, Sanju and Aditya meeting after Sanju is released from jail, Sanju killing Gulshan, Sanju face off with Shakti and the finale There are clichéd scenes too and some 90s style drama which was okay for that time.

Direction by Sanjay Gupta is quite good Music is decent

Sanjay Dutt is good as BABA in her role only he could fit in though a bit raw those days Aditya Panscholi is great as Nawab, Their camaraderie is awesome Karisma and Raveena are the heroines Atul Agnihotri is as usual Gulshan Grover as Kanya with a wounded eye is as usual,Shakti Kapoor is good as the villain, Ajit is okay Amongst rest Vishwajeet Pradhan is okay, Kader Khan provides some light moments

Fire, that has already been felt...

[JKri728916 · 1 July 2001]

Now, this out-and-out actioner from Remix-Director, Sanjay Gupta, is not a bad piece if only you haven't any Hollywood or Hong Kong films at all. Reason being that Gupta rips of nearly every Hollywood action film that he can. Everything from Lethal Weapon 3, A Better Tommorrow, The Killer, Hard Target, Cyborg, Black Rain, 1492, T2, Scarface, etc, etc... has a scene or two remixed into this film. Even though this film has hardly any originality in it, one thing's for sure: This is one of Bollywood's finest action films ever...

Wonderful performances by actors, no creativity by the Director

[brutally-bangalored · 3/10 · 26 April 2006]

Sanjay Gupta's Aatish is a straight, shameless lift from John Woo's "Ying Huang Boon" (A Better Tomorrow).

John Woo's Ying Huang Boon Sik/A Better Tomorrow(1986) was groundbreaking when first released because of the stylistic depiction of the action scenes. Its success spurred a new genre in Hong Kong cinema known as Heroic Bloodshed. These films were usually gangster movies which were characterized by outrageous gun battles, heavy action, and high melodrama. Hong Kong cinema in the mid 1980s to early 1990s was in the midst of a gangster film craze similar to Hollywood in the 1930s-1940s, France in the 1950s-1960s, Japan in the 1960s-1970s, and Italy in the 1970s-1980s. A Better Tomorrow(1986) is to Heroic Bloodshed what A Fistful of Dollars(1966) was to the Spaghetti Western.

A Better Tomorrow focuses on the age old themes of honor and loyalty. The characters of Ho and Mark are honorable gangsters in an era of double crosses and mistrust. Ho and Mark are at odds with the changing value system and this puts them as people who are outmoded in their principles. Honor and loyalty in A Better Tomorrow(1986) is greatly emphasized as the marks of a good hearted person. Mark Gor is very honorable and loyal in his personalty compared to Shing who is the opposite.

John Woo's main concern is to place high importance on the idea of brotherhood. According to John woo in this film, the tight bonding between men is something that was lost among youngsters at that time. Brotherhood in the film is complex and emotional. The relationship between Ho and Mark is so strong that there is nothing that can smash it. The scene where Mark tells of his ordeals at a nightclub as a first time gangster is nostalgic and touching.

Famous for the clothes Mark Gor wears as for anything else in the film. Began a trend in fashion around Hong Kong when many people started wearing the same kind of outfit as Mark Gor. Quentin Tarantino loved the look of Mark that for weeks he dressed like him to feel and look cool. In John Woo films there is always focus on the fashion of his characters. Mark Gor was the Rick Blaine of the 1980s.

A Better Tomorrow(1986) changed the look of action films with the famous use of pistols by Brother Mark in the restaurant. The first of many elaborate gun battles that dominates the films that follows A Better Tomorrow(1986). Although John Woo would film many wonderful action scenes in the next few years, there never would be a scene like this one which is full of energy and freshness. I enjoyed it when Mark Gor places guns inside flower pots as backup because the idea is cleaver and original. This scene is parodied in the climatic portion of Just Heroes(1987).

Ying Huang Boon Sik(1986) gave stardom to an actor known for his roles in Hong Kong television named Chow Yun Fat. Before the film's success, Chow Yun Fat was considered box office poison in Hong Kong. His charismatic and suave performance as the tragic Mark Gor broke that reputation. Chow Yun Fat is the best actor to come out of Asian cinema since Toshiro Mifune and Jo Shishido. He is the most flamboyant actor in the world who is better than any actor that was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars.

The motif of sacrifice for redemption is part of Woo's religious beliefs. The heroes in his bloodshed films perform sacrifices to purify themselves within. The death of Mark Gor is a big sacrifice because it makes Ho and Kit Brothers again. What's sad about the death of Mark is its the only way for Ho and Mark to reconcile with each other. This motif also plays big in The Killer(1989) and Bullet in the Head(1990). The story is simple but compelling. Ti Lung made a big comeback with his role after years of mediocrity. He gives a performance that is deeply emotional and mature. Leslie Cheung also performs well as the headstrong but naive and stubborn Kit Sung. Waise Lee is excellent as the pompous and two faced Triad boss, Shing.

Gunfight at the end of A Better Tomorrow is less high body count and refined than in later John Woo films. Still exhilarating and fun to watch. The shootout is filmed in the spirit of Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone. When Chow Yun Fat comes out shooting like John Wayne, the film is at a high adrenaline level. One of the reasons why I love this movie.

Plot becomes more emotionally intense and less melodramatic with the energetic direction of John Woo. What makes the film work is the large dose of sentiments given by John Woo. He films the action and dramatic scenes with much passion and thoughtfulness. He is good at directing Chow Yun Fat and Ti Lung in giving great performances. A Better Tomorrow(1986) made John Woo an action guru after years doing comedies and being known as the king of comedy in Hong Kong cinema.

However, the copying was done in an excellent way. Aditya Panscholi in Chow-Yun-Fat's role does a wonderful job. His best performance in his not-so-good career as an actor. Sanjay Dutt, as usual, is awesome. No credit to the Director, Editor and Screenplay-writer as all they did was shameless copying. The superb acting performances by Dutt and Panscholi make the movie to a nice watch but the makers make it a pathetic downer by stealing everything scene-by-scene in to-to.

Unoriginal , "Un-Stylish" , Unintentionally Funny !!!!

[danwildcard · 1/10 · 4 June 2007]

Horrible Piece Of so called "Stylish" film-making from one of the biggest hacks in the Indian film industry " Sanjay Gupta ". Scenes are lifted from Scarface & Lethal Weapon & countless Hollywood flicks while the whole plot plus numerous scenes xeroxed straight from John Woo's classic Hong Kong flick "A Better Tomorrow". The only saving grace in the whole mess is " Sanjay Dutt " else everyone just hams it up. The basic story is of two friends "Baba & Nawab" ( dutt & pancholi =hamster no.1 ) working for the mafia boss "Uncle" ( Ajit = hamster no.2 ). Baba also has a younger brother in a police academy Avi( agnihotri = Hamster King ) who doesn't know about baba being in cahoots with the mafia so in the fashion of " A better tomorrow " he finds out eventually and a divide is formed between the brothers . However before that Uncle is overthrown by a bunch of clowns and Baba goes to jail . Nawab loses his leg when he tries to take revenge. Baba returns after many years in jail teams up with Nawab and takes revenge , sings love songs & makes up with his brother.If you want to have a healthy brain condition for the rest of your life just avoid it like the plague. Please do check out other "Sanjay Gupta" flicks to find out what an unoriginal hack this guy is!!!

Simply one of the best Indian Action Flick i've ever seen

[papixulo22 · 10/10 · 31 October 2006]

Simply one of the best Indian Action Flick i've ever seen. It has everything a story needs to catch the viewer once and twice and trice and so on until you actually wear out the Video Tape and DVD .. like i did. I've literally seen this Sanju baba Film approximately over 100 (hundred) times in Video and DVD. Actions, Mobsters, Revenge, Love, Friendship, Brotherhood, Drama.. everything a perfect Action Film. You can see the talent of Sanjay Gupta and the influences of Japanese movies, like A Better Tomorrow and others, had on this director before he shot Aatish. Sanjay Dutt was Dashing in the Role of Baba. Music was fast and catchly. Honest to God i knew every line said in this movie! Simply Great!

Successful effort...could have been a blockbuster though

[eureqa · 9/10 · 17 August 2018]

Aatish was way ahead of its time, in terms of execution.

In terms of story line it may have been a rehash of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow but technically it is one of the best to come out of Bollywood, and definitely one of the most stylish. It introduced quite a few things in terms of the technical aspect.

Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon and Aditya Pancholi are perfectly cast.

Truth be told it is a fairly successful movie but could have done better at the box office had it got the cast right.

Atul Agnihotri and Karisma Kapoor are completely miscast. So is Shakti Kapoor. Debutant director Sanjay Gupta in his effort to give equal screen space to all goofed up big time. The 'Ya Dilruba' number is a perfect example of this goof up. The perfect chemistry between Dutt and Tandon is lost amidst close-ups of Agnihotri and Kapoor.

Agnihotri didn't have the personality to stand up against Dutt. Mind you, the film is a face-off between the two. Had the former been consigned to a bit part, like Mehul Kumar cleverly did in Krantiveer - allowing the formidable Nana Patekar to take centrestage - it would have been okay. Alas it wasn't the case. In what was meant to be a serious role Agnihotri looked (and acted) comical.

Besides, when you are making a big budget, stylish film, your antagonist has to have style. While Gupta got it right giving supporting parts to Ajit saab - an epitome of style and class - and even Gulshan Grover, he got it wrong with the main villain. Shakti Kapoor doesn't belong to this ecosystem, lacks class and comes across as cheap and petty. You can put him in an earthy, rustic film (Tohfa, Raja Babu, Gunda etc) but not one that is classy and elitist.

The movie also got it wrong as regards the selection of songs. While the album has eight songs in total, the three most hummable, 'Baarish Ne', 'Bolo Kahaan Gaye The', and the power-packed ditty 'Hasratein Hain Bahut Magar' don't find a place in the movie. Instead the director was happy with average numbers like 'Aa aa meri Janiya' and 'Kaash Tum'.

With three of the six principal characters seemingly out of place, you have lost half the battle. And the best songs, that could have helped control the damage, were also absent. This is what happened with Aatish. What could have been among the year's top three hits was relegated to outside the top 10.

Still, it remains one of Dutt's best (albeit underrated) works, and most certainly Pancholi's best.

Excellent Emotional Drama

[tombatonkar · 9/10 · 31 August 2005]

This movie is all about Baba and his friend, his brother and his love interest. Though Baba sacrifices everything for his brother in the end, its his friendship with Nawab that catches your eye in this movie.

Baba (Sanjay Dutt) and Nawab (Aditya Panscholi) are the best hit men in town. They live for each other and would die for each other. Nawab doesn't have a family, but Baba has his younger brother (Atul Agnihotri). Baba is trying hard to keep his brother from the crime business and is grooming him to become a cop.

On an ill fated day Nawab decides to go for the 'namaz' when they are supposed to make a deal with Shaki Kapoor. Shakti tricks Baba as well as corners Nawab too. Baba serves a couple of years in prison while Nawab has his legs chopped off and left to beg for existence.

Meanwhile Avi finishes his training and is on trail for these gangsters. Half successful attempts are made to show the conflict Avi faces between his duty as a cop and his loyalty to his brother.

The best scene is when Baba has been released. Nawab, on a dark rainy night, has limped under a bridge and is about to take a bite of the dirty and wet piece of bread that is his dinner when he hears the words 'Kya Nawab, akele akele' ie 'Hey Nawab, having it alone ... huh!'. Even before raising his head to look who it is, his eyes are already in tears. He knows his friends Baba is back, his pillar of strength Baba is back and things will not be the same again. I will never forget Aditya Panscholi in this scene.

Nawab, proves his loyalty to his friend when in the climax he takes a bullet to protect Avi and dies. Even Baba in the end surrenders to law to protect the credentials of his cop brother.

Excellent movie. Emotionally charged. If you are the one who would go to any lengths for friendship or love, you know what I mean.

"I am the King" Shakti Kapoor said it long before Leo did

[chrichtonsworld · 12 June 2012]

Aatish is meant to be taken serious.And in some aspects it does succeed.Only too bad that the serious moments are a blatant scene for scene copy of Heroic Bloodshed classic A Better Tomorrow.Except for the action scenes.The one thing that made me decide to watch this Bollywood version in the first place.Which was disappointing to say the least. Since A Better Tomorrow was all about the stylish action I can't but help that the director of Aatish hasn't got a clue what made the movie so popular.His use of slow motion and choreography shows why John Woo is God and everyone who tries to imitate or copy always are doomed to fail.The melodrama in the Hong Kong original was already pretty high.But Aatish easily manages to double that with unintentional hilarious results.Shakti Kapoor and Gulshan Grover usually make very good villains.Here they parody characters played in previous movies. Which was a bad decision on their part.I could go on and on.But let's not.Avoid this one and go see the original.

Better than anyother i have ever seens

[isamarshad · 10/10 · 27 January 2018]

Great movie about undying friendship of Baba and Nawab. Best story of brotherhood where Nawab dies for his friend Baba, but ungrateful Baba unable to give a damn about the sacrifice of his friend.

excellent, Fantastic and Superb

[Li_85 · 9/10 · 29 September 2008]

Aatish is a action packed movie that was fun to watch and is amazing. It is a copy of John Woo's Better Tomorrow, but Sanjay Gupta always copy's oriental movies. He copied Zinda from classic korean film oldboy and Kaante from City on Fire. That was acceptable because Quentin Tarantino did the same for his debut film. Anyway Aatish has action and lots of it, with some romance and family drama added in. Sanjay Dutt suits that kind of role and does a good job as usual. Aditya Pancholi is outstanding as the best friend. Atul is not that great, they could of got someone else to play the younger brother with the grudge. Raveena Tandon is damn sexy and id like to spend the night with her. Karishma Kapoor is damn annoying in every film add this one too. Both actresses had a famous cat fight while filming the song in this film. I support Raveena any day, as Karishma is a known annoying brat that needs a slap or too.

Best Action movies of The 90's

[dapinder-jutla · 9/10 · 8 April 2020]

Movie is Awesome .The pairing Of Sanjay And Aditya Pancholi is Mindblowing.Probably One of the Best Action flicks Of The 90s. Songs were Okay. Role of Atul Agnihotri is Average.Roles of Raveena and Karishma are Wasted overall A Very Awesome Movie By Sanjay Gupta .Never Gets Boring

Well made typical masala Bollywood movie of the 1990's

[praneshiyer · 25 October 2011]

I had seen this movie on June 19,1994 way back in my junior college days in a suburban theater in Mumbai, India. Seeing this movie, in June 2010, on cable-TV network reminded me of the good, old junior college days of mine when I had many close and true friends. This movie contains many action, romantic,sex scenes with half a dozen wonderful songs where the 4 lead actors - Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon, Karishma Kapoor and Atul Agnihotri danced very well in all the music numbers. A cocktail of a bunch of foreign English movies such as "The State of Grace" , "A Better Tomorrow " and all the Lethal Weapon flicks mixed together, Aatish-Feel the Fire has wonderful cinematography, awesome visuals and breathtaking scenery.Shot extensively in Mauritius, Seychelles and Maldives, the 2 lead heroines of this movie - Raveena Tandon and Karishma Kapoor seem to be competing with each other not only in this 1994 release in the field of acting but also in dancing,dressing well,looking ravishing and above all exposing their beautiful bodies extensively.This movie made more news for the Karishma-Raveena on sets fighting and the pulling out of Ms Pooja Bhatt from the original star cast than anything else.