After having seen a bunch of Indian films, I have come to realize that there is a HUGE difference between their films of the 1970s and 80s than those they are making today. I am NOT trying to be offensive, but the older Indian films lack the polish and professionalism that the films have today. The singing in the older films sounds very canned, the acting far less subtle and the entire look of the movie is cheap compared to the newer films. The Bollywood film industry now is, quality-wise, producing films that are as good as many of Hollywood's best films, but in the 1970s and 80s this wasn't the case. Because of this, I tend to cut older Indian films more slack--I accept their shortcomings and enjoy them for what they are. So, when I see some overacting in "Zameer" or poor direction, I don't hold it against the film. It is what it is--still quite entertaining.
When the film begins, Maharaj Singh is a rich and powerful rancher--and a manly man if I've ever seen one. One night, some horse thieves come to steal from Singh and he confronts them--shooting several of the crooks. However, one of them is the gang leader's son--and he vows vengeance against Singh. He kidnaps Singh's beloved son, Chimpu, and keeps him--raising him as his own bandit son.
Years pass and you see a petty crook, Badal (Amitabh Bachchan) being released from jail. The viewer assumes this is the grown Chimpu. However, he probably is not--although an unscrupulous ex-servant of the rich man has a plan. He wants to have Badal pretend to be Chimpu and ingratiate himself to Maharaj Singh and get his hands on his fortune. Naturally, this wicked plan won't work completely--otherwise the film wouldn't hold the viewers' interest. The glitches here are that Badal has fallen in love--and learns that the girl is his supposed sister! The other problem is that the bandit who stole the boy years before wants Badal to give him a bribe to keep his mouth shut. But, the biggest problem is that Badal is a nice guy down deep and just cannot bring himself to hurt Singh.
The film has an interesting plot and the acting is enjoyable (though not always subtle or believable). Also, although it's easy to predict much of the plot, it doesn't seem to matter--it is well worth seeing. On the negative side (apart from some overacting), the film is occasionally sloppy (the opening scene is very poorly done) and the special effects involve in the watch and knife scenes (where both are shot by Badal) are just awful and clearly are animated. The bottom line, however, is that the good easily outweighs the bad and for a 70s Indian film, it's very good.
I have seen a similar film before but cannot for the life of me think what film that is. If you know what film this is, drop me a line--I'd love to know.
