Khoon Pasina (1977) User Reviews

Plenty to see and think about

[van_goethem · 6/10 · 16 September 2005]

On one level, Khoon Pasina is an action-packed revenge saga with knockabout violence, some shoddy production values and (in the case of the abbreviated DVD) a rather incoherent narrative. It is also a fashion House of Horrors. Flared trousers of truly epic proportions are paired with some of the most ghastly clothes ever created. Even at a distance of 30 years and a continent or two, it's hard not to cringe at Vinod Khanna's wet-look leather two piece with leopard skin trim.

On another level, the film is alive with contradictions :

· the opening voice-over expresses patriotic sentiment - but this is a state that completely fails to protect its citizens from the deprivations of criminals; · a schoolteacher tells his pupils they are to become the lawyers, doctors, farmers etc. of the future. But the film's heroes are men who talk with their fists, lack any kind of regular employment and dispense vigilante justice with impunity; · we are led to admire the courage of those villagers who face down an armed thug but when one of the heroes lets a tiger out of its cage in the middle of a crowd (to impress a girl) we are supposed to view it as just jolly good fun; · loving ones mother is one thing - but trying to beat up your wife is not an acceptable way of proving it; · we are invited to deplore contractors who exploit their workers but when one of the heroes destroys a farm in pursuit of a criminal gang, there is no suggestion that he ought to apologise or compensate the owners.

On the acting front, the less said the better. Stacey Keach lookalike, Vinod Khanna, considers himself to be dead since losing his boyhood friend. His acting accords strongly with his self-perception - except during the action sequences which are wildly implausible.

You watch Amitabh Bachchan with morbid fascination. It's not the acting, it's those appalling clothes. Rekha cannot help but look gorgeous but has too little to do. Mercifully, by wearing traditional clothes, she is spared the worst sartorial excesses of her co-stars.

Despite all the above, I still found Khoon Pasina fun to watch and the moment when the two protagonists discover each other's true identity is a classic (albeit of a familiar kind).

How Long Can any Point of Attack Delay ?!!

[elshikh4 · 1/10 · 28 September 2010]

Now this is a memory that I don't want to remember. Once I knew a guy. The problem with him was that he thought that he knows everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. So to shut him up, just for one time, I asked him in something related to my line of study and work; writing scripts. I said, chuckling inside, what is the difference between "the point of attack" and the "climax", and the genius replayed in unbelievable confidence: "They are the same thing", thinking, with his terrible smartness, that that was a trick question!

It seems that (Khoon Pasina) is written and directed by that poor guy. Since the start, we knew the conflict's parties well. However, we had to wait for nearly 3 hours to see an actual "conflict" happens. The movie kept itself so busy with presenting the characters, especially the 2 male heroes, doing their stuff, rescuing the wronged in what looked different ways and situations while being in fact one repeated sketch. The conflict's other party; the evil man, was out of the equation for just too long. And the running time was totally used in such an empty, mostly silly, formula; an action, a comic scene, a song, then all of that anew and anew. Then, after an age of pointlessness, and at the last 10 minutes, the lost and found theme completes, the evil man is here, then the big battle. Ohhh, finally! I was laughing my heart out because it is indeed where "the point of attack"; the start of the conflict, and the "climax"; its end, become one thing! WAW, here's something to The "Believe it Or Not" encyclopedia; a movie that begins after 3 hours of its time, then finishes right after!

Hard to forget: the unbroken chase of the horse; it said nothing but the movie makers' desire to show an unbroken chase of a horse!, a forced remake of Spartacus, the back-screens' image trembles behind the actors, or (Aruna Irani)'s eyebrows!

There was a talk about the economic monopolization, the subjugation of the poor peasants, the power of angry tyrannized aggregate, but don't bother yourself, it was only a talk to fill out the in between. Simply, nothing was serious around.

The intro's music is the same magical one of Bachchan's previous hit (Zanjeer - 1973). Maybe the reason why has a lot to do with the fact that this movie's director and co-writer (Rakesh Kumar) was a co-director in (Zanjeer). Speaking of which, (Amitabh Bachchan) said in a TV interview, reminiscing about (Khoon Pasina) and (Kumar), that they were close friends, and he, (Bachchan), was working in already 2 other movies beside (Khoon..), so whenever they found themselves not in the mood for shooting, they delayed it (I want to know the lenient producer who allowed that willingly, just to work with him!). Plus how they, while being both in the same young age, enjoyed working together in unremitting joking. Well, tells you a lot about where the original "delaying" and "joking" were coming from!

(Bachchan) continues assuring his commercial persona as an angry young man, wearing leather jackets, throwing jokes, talking to the camera, beating 10 men with his trademark breaking into a room by smashing its door (in other movies; it's a wall!). (Vinod Khanna) had, in my opinion, more interesting character, and delivered it well with high charisma, it's the poor writing that limited any more. And it's an excellent chance to watch (Nirupa Roy) as (Bachchan)'s mom however without having any deformity as in Mard (muteness), Amar Akbar Anthony (blindness), and while I can't remember what movie, I'm sure she had amnesia as another (Bachchan)'s mom!

To speak about things I liked, then there are 2. The scene of (Khanna) menacing the evil man in front of his late one's pictures before his pray; done with one zoom-in shot, in almost a dark lighting which discretely embodied an intense blue mood. But still the best of this movie is unexpectedly brilliant scene where (Bachchan) challenges some thugs to just touch him. That produced a moment with him leaping around as if he's made of mercury, with a funny musical humming in the background. True it lengthened a bit, but it mixed action with music, transforming a battle scene into an ironic dance, to show the show's man with his skill and excess confidence. Ahhh, where was this creativeness for the rest of the movie?!

Despite the stars and some vivid directing, this is utterly boring movie, with not much to interest. With the same characters and main story; namely the first 10 minutes, (Manmohan Desai) could have done at least more watchable thing. If you like seeing Indian landscapes, some of the stars you love, or you're desperately nostalgic; then this movie is for you. Otherwise, you might do exactly what my mom, a hardcore fan of the Indian cinema, did; going to sleep after the first 2 hours, with no endurance left!

PS: At the same year, 1977, (Amitabh Bachchan), (Vinod Khanna) and (Nirupa Roy) were parts of one of the biggest Indian blockbusters ever, and sure more entertaining movie, (Amar Akbar Anthony).