Sangharsh (1999) User Reviews (17)

A criminal love affair

[Peter_Young · 7/10 · 15 October 2010]

Sangharsh is often touted as a remake of The Silence of The Lambs although it just shares some similar plot elements and is overall a movie on its own. Tanuja Chandra's previous work Dushman was a gripping albeit unoriginal thriller which was interesting enough and had a top-notch performance by its leading lady. For me, Sangharsh was an equally effective and entertaining suspense thriller and I had great fun watching it. The movie is centred around the character of Reet Oberoi, a young CBI Officer diligent and a rather smart woman who took up this profession because of her patriotic nature, hate for criminals, but more than anything her wish to overcome her own fears. The Central Bureau of Investigation entrust to Reet the case of Lajja Shankar, a fanatic child murderer. The one who actually can help Reet capture Lajja is a jailed convict, professor Aman Varma. She turns to him for help and this unconventional approach, along with the many of their proceeding meetings later get her into trouble. But the most important thing about them is that the two have actually fallen in love. Aman was the only one who could really understand the real reasons behind Reet's despair and determination to do what she does, and she actually at some points finds a confidant in him.

Technically, Sangharsh could have been far better made but the writing makes it much more watchable than expected. The script is written well enough to create an efficiently disturbing movie which at times is really terrifying. The dialogues for the most part are good, and the atmosphere is dark and dim. The movie is quite an unconventional kind of a romance because the relationship between the leads is conveyed more through tension and gradual openness. The chemistry between Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta is amazing. In so many instances a moment of wordless interaction between the two says it all, bringing out their deepest feelings. My favourite scene is the one in which they first meet without bars. For almost a minute they keep looking at each other, with her expressive tearful eyes ultimately exposing her true feelings. Also, the one in which he faints in her hands when he is injured is effective. Some of the aspects that contribute to the film's suspense include the background score, which is quite effective. The action scenes are for once excellently shot. Among Jatin-Lalit's songs, "Dil Ka Qaraar" and "Mujhe Raat Din" are the best. "Manzil Na Koi" is a very nice song but it is very redundant in the movie as it adds nothing and just breaks the mood.

Kumar delivers one of his finest performances as the witty and intelligent Amar. His assertive dialogue delivery is stupendous, and so is his overall persona. Zinta is fabulous in one of her first roles. At the time of this movie's release, everyone was citing Zinta's rather complex role as an example for young and even established actresses in mainstream Hindi films. She has almost no songs in the movie, for the most part she looks ordinary, wearing no make up, and that contributes a lot to her serious screen persona. Not to say that it is her best work or anything of this sort, but her lack of experience actually makes her more convincing; she plays her character's confusion, fear, vulnerability and determination exceedingly well. Ashutosh Rana plays his second villainous role in a Tanuja Chandra movie after the aforementioned Dushman, and he is frighteningly convincing. Towards the end, the film becomes increasingly more intense, and the climax scene is very good. The ending itself is bittersweet, but it was good because there was no other way around. To sum it up, Sangharsh is a watchable and enjoyable thriller which successfully blends suspense and romance. It is not a great film, but still can be watched with family and friends, particularly for those who like Hindi films.

Sangharsh will always be remembered for Ashutosh Rana's menacing portrayal of Lajja Shankar Pandey

[murtaza_mma · 7/10 · 31 January 2016]

Often looked down upon as a Hindi remake of The Silence of the Lambs, Sangharsh will always be remembered for Ashutosh Rana's menacing portrayal of Lajja Shankar Pandey--a religious fanatic who slaughters children with the hope of gaining immortality. Such was the raw intensity in his portrayal of a disgusting child killer that it pretty much sealed the fate of his acting career as a villain. Yes, extremes often don't go well with the Indian audiences. In Dushman, his previous outing, he had played a rapist and a killer but here he seems to have gone a bit too far. Besides, strong negative roles are not easy to come by in Hindi cinema. So, we never get to see the same Ashutosh Rana again on the celluloid! The loss, of course, was entirely ours.

In Sangharsh, Akshay Kumar too delivers the finest performance of his acting career. Playing the complex part of the quick-witted Professor Aman Varma, Akshay seems to be exploring a completely different side of his acting repertoire. For once, he lets his eyes do most of the talking. The scenes he shares with Preity Zinta are quite solid. It is a pity that some of them are directly borrowed from The Silence of the Lambs. Nonetheless, the acting efforts are commendable. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was Preity Zinta who had started the trend of playing strong female characters in Hindi cinema; and it all started with Sangharsh wherein she plays a gritty CBI Officer.

Overall, Sangharsh is a very difficult film to watch. It's uncommon for Hindi films to have such high graphic content. Rana's ferality, Akshay's intensity and Preity's vulnerability make it a memorable film. The climactic sequence featuring the trio is both scary and adrenaline-pumping. The songs, although they are very good, somewhat compromise the movie's suspense element. Also, the romance between Akshay and Preity looks a bit out of place. But there is no denying that it's presented in a refreshing manner. Sangharsh is not meant for the faint-hearted. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

For more on the world of cinema, please visit my film blog "A Potpourri of Vestiges".

Silence of the Lambs

[silvan-desouza · 6/10 · 16 November 2013]

Tanuja Chandra after DUSHMAN returned with Sangharsh, The film starred Akshay and Preity Zinta alongwith newcomer Aman Verma and Ashutosh Rana. Sangharsh is a rip off of Silence of the Lambs. The film does employ bollywood diktats like songs, dances, some weird get ups for escaping.etc but yet it's a good film The film starts off well, Akshay's introduction is good and then Ashutosh Rana scenes too are amazing. The film does suffer from normal bollywood twists as I mentioned above but yet the dramatic scenes are superb

Direction is superb by Tanuja Chandra, sadly she disappeared now Music is amazing, Mujhe Raat Din is superb song by Sonu Nigam, Pehli Baar is amazing too

Akshay Kumar tries very hard, those were the days when he was struggling as an actor after being proved a non actor, he tries very hard which shows but yet a better performance Preity Zinta who was 2 film old gets a complex character as in most tanuja films she does an amazing job Ashutosh Rana is the best, though his role is similar to DUSHMAN yet he acts superbly Alia Bhatt played young Preity in the film, rest mostly Bhatt regulars like Vishwajeet Pradhan are good

Lambs that bleat

[david-bond-2 · 28 August 2006]

This is actually a rather risible remake of Demme's Silence of the Lambs (1991). Although the prison scenes are very similar and there are some suitably grisly scenes of violence, it does not adhere particularly closely to the model. It is not easy, for instance, to imagine Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster dancing a duet as Ashkay Kumar and Preity Zinta do, he dressed as Zorro and she in a pretty white frock - under the noses of the police they are supposedly hiding from!! This makes the film, in many ways quite a slick professional production, sound rather more awful than it is, but even on a charitable judgement it is pretty bad....

"Ashutosh Rana" A Spine chilling performer

[amitmcavoy · 6/10 · 16 February 2019]

This film is somewhat a copy of "Silence of the Lamb" which was an excellent movie. But I would consider 'Sangharsh' to be an average movie. There reason it did not go to become a successful, because of few reasons. The Direction is not as good as it should be, the scripting is not as it should be, the backdrop and the subject is good, but there was no reason to copy it, they could have made a whole new script for the movie. Only good thing about this film is the two songs which became a massive hit and brought people into theater and the new guy "Ashutosh Rana", the villain of the movie whose spine chilling performance, made this movie worth to watch.

based on the silence of lambs

[priyodit · 6/10 · 22 March 2005]

Loosely based on the flick The Silence of Lambs, this movie was directed by Tanuja Chandra and written by Mahesh Bhatt.

The inner conflicts and the struggle with the outer world and a ghastly past has left Reet Oberoi as a frightened being. She meets dreaded criminal known as Professor in underworld, falls in love with him, and finally triumphs over her conflicts. In the battle between good and evil, the main protagonist, Professor dies fighting with the villain, Lajja Shankar Pandey.

This movie, until interval seems to glue the attention, but rapidly repels after interval, with some fantastic and silly ideas like taking the professor out of the custody of police, and all that which were difficult to digest.

A nice attempt failed in between.

Bottom line: can watch it. 6 out of 10.

A remake of Silence of the Lambs - Bollywood style, which Autosh Rana saves and makes a must-see.

[ladymirth · 9/10 · 20 August 2007]

Granted, Priety Zinta, a newcomer at this time, is no Jodie Foster, but Akshay Kumar delivers one of his best performances to date, as the enigmatic and tempestuous Marxist convict known to the underworld as "The Professor". The role is not at all that of Hannibal Lector, but a misunderstood, troubled hero. Which sounds corny, should be corny and IS corny at times, but over all Akshay Kumar carries it off convincingly and with flair. I fell in love with him in this movie (a situation that was quickly redeemed after seeing all his other dismal roles) and the chemistry between him and Preity is unbelievable! Very Mulder-and- Scully. I think the roles of both Hannibal and Buffalo Bill has been amalgamated and represented by the child killer Lajjashankar, played by Autosh Rana. Rana delivers one of the most outstanding performances as a villain I have ever seen in either Bollywood or Hollywood cinema; I doubt even Anthony Hopkins could have matched him. He was genuinely terrifying and 100% pure delicious psycho, an entire horror movie contained within one character. If everything else in the script had sucked, I'd still be glad I watched this movie just for the privilege of witnessing this master at work.

The script doesn't entirely suck, and one can easily excuse the half-a-dozen deus ex machina plot contrivances (this IS Bollywood after all) but the one peeve I could never get over is the type-casting of female characters as exemplified by Priety. Her character Agent Reetu Oberoi has a very interesting backstory and she's set up with a convincing moral journey, but it folds in on itself due solely to Bollywood directors' conviction that Indian audiences can't stomach a woman who can handle herself. Her character is supposed to be much-lauded agent fresh out of the training academy eager to prove herself, but is written in and acted out as a baby-faced incompetent who's all but scared of her own shadow and plays sidekick and damsel in distress to her anti-hero at the drop of a hat. The scene where the badly wounded Professor single handedly wrestles the slimy black-market pharmacist who tries to blackmail Preity while she is trying to buy medicine for his wounds, make me fume every time. The woman is supposed to be a CIB agent, she's TRAINED to be able to handle that kind of situation! Instead, Reetu predictably gets stuck trying to get herself and the kid to safety while her mortally wounded man kicks some major psycho-ass - only she has to get over her fear of the dark first. Completely pathetic. When it comes to misogyny, the Greeks have nothing on Bollywood.

Apart from the annoyances of Reetu's character however, the film is well-scripted and action-driven and has some very decent songs, some of which should have become classics. I have watched this movie four times so far, and am still not tired of it. Overall, Sangharsh marks an epoch in Indian cinema and is a certified must-see.

Akshay's over-excitement on Prity ruins the seriousness

[Insane_Man · 7/10 · 25 January 2019]

It could have been far better if it doesn't follow typical bollywood old fashioned excitement on the girl the hero loves. If there is no love between the two protagonists, it could be near great. It deserve 4, but additional 3 comes for Asutosh Rana, the brilliance.

excellent ideas..........

[searchiteshu · 10/10 · 24 July 2010]

it is one of those different movies which i would prefer to see again..........and i think it is one of those best roles Akshay Kumar did he never gets these kind of roles and he really carry out his character... it is a very underrated movie........Preity Zinta has done fabulous job.. it is challenging for any actress to do these roles but she did and proved everyone that she can be versatile like those other actresses and Ashutosh Rana as best in a villain.....he made it so easy to look as a monster in a movie... this movie has a lot of pace in itself... i will hats off to a female director........making such a exhilarating movie..........remember to watch........i would positively give 10 out of 10...........

Bone chilling performance by Ashutosh Rana!

[nitishkumarmohanta · 7/10 · 27 November 2021]

Ohh yes... I came here to see Ashutosh Rana's performance and he doesn't disappointed me as well. I have already watched Silence of the lambs but still I got a good experience with this movie. It's music was pure 90s nostalgia for me because I am also a boy of 90s. So yeah! Good movie to watch and 7 out of 10 stars from my side.

A cheesy remake of the Silence of the Lambs

[Constantine_2018 · 4/10 · 26 October 2012]

First thing if you have watched Silence of the Lambs (like I did) you will criticize this movie a lot. If you have not seen that movie you might think Sangharsh has something new to offer.

Preity Zinta has a bubbly personality but she could not live to the role which Jodi Foster played to perfection. Preity's fear, shock expressions were not good stand alone and bad compared to Foster's expressions.

Akshay Kumar is a nice actor but I feel he was not guided well in his role. It seems the director here did not have any clear vision of what kind of personality he would give him. sometimes he is calm other times he is jumping like a joker or screaming. It was really annoying. Anthony Hopkinz was a force of power in the original, calm scary personality. That first scene when Foster visits him in the jail and how he humiliates her is incredible. The Indian version is so bad. actually very very bad.

Ashutush Rana is creepy but his creep was not exploited. He was wasted in that role. they should have given him a creepy chilling atmosphere. Indian filmmakers do not know how to create such spooky atmosphere. In that scene where he wears a saree he reminded me of actress Silk Smitha. They look similar a bit specially the eyes.

I don't understand what are songs doing in such movie? they clearly kill the main theme and give lots of cheese to it.

Overall Sangharsh is not a good experience. Not in direction, acting, cinematography or even as a remake. The movie dies the same way Akshay Kumar's character dies while in the original Hannibal Lector lives and continues into other films and Silence of the Lambs will always remain one of the best chilling movies, while Sangharsh will be the shameful remake of it.

My final verdict is 40/100

Best of movie 1999

[devrajs · 9/10 · 24 October 2018]

First of all concept & story of movie is awesome For acting of starcast superb specially asutosh rana is nailed it in role of villian , then come to akshay very good as a professor ,preity doing very well and also an cute alia.

Bollywood celebrates mediocrity

[mayukhronty · 1/10 · 10 August 2020]

Very poorly executed remake of the Silence of the lambs that also unofficially.

I don't understand why Bollywood aka India celebrates mediocre and unethical directors like Mahesh Bhatt.

Akshay Kumar The Genius

[hr-16737 · 10/10 · 20 September 2021]

Excellent direction by tanuja ji, marvelous act by prity and rana ji . Akshay done tremendous comeback after back to back failure, a never done before character , Will be always remember for lifetime in his filmography 10/10.

An underrated Akshay Kumar movie.

[sinha_prattyush-57094 · 8/10 · 27 August 2017]

This film is one of the most underrated Akshay Kumar films of all time and .Preity Zinta's acting is top notch and its just her 2nd film after Dil Se. As a young CBI officer she is brave,confident and has her own drawbacks like her fear of darkness .Akshay Kumar who was not a superstar at that time chose to play a role contrary to his action star image and it was the first time we got to see the actor in him so kudos to director Tanuja for bringing .You can see the intensity in his eyes when he speaks the dialogues.About Ashutosh Rana,he is the heart of the movie and you have to see the film to believe it.He will haunt you for a long time.Yes it has been copied from the Silence of the Lambs but still has a different story line .If you can bear a light dose of blood and gore then you will surely enjoy this thriller.The songs are melodious and come at the right time but the Easter party song with the leads dancing seems forced and could have been avoided. Overall, a decent psychological thriller .

ONLY for acting of Ashutosh rana

[rc-19070 · 4/10 · 17 August 2021]

Remake of silence of the lambs in bollywood style.

Silence of the Lambs

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 20 May 2022]

The joy of world cinema is when you learn of a film with an audacious premise. For example: what if there was a Bollywood Silence of the Lambs?

Well, director Tanuja Chandra and writers Mahesh Bhatt and Girish Dhamija claim that this movie is really based on an Indian police case. That's true - the villain, Lajja Shankar Pandey (Ashutosh Rana) who takes over from Buffalo Bill - was based on a real criminal who believed that for each person he murdered, he would increase his lifespan.

Chandra is an anomaly in the world of Indian film, as female directors are rare and mainly make dramas, not blockbusters. Even though she was supported by her mentor Mahesh Bhatt, she once found herself ignored by male actors and crewmembers.

Her first movie Dushman was a remake of Eye from an Eye but failed as audiences in India need romance and a strong male hero, not a woman gaining revenge.

Pandey is behind the child abductions and murders that have confused the police and led to CBI trainee Reet Oberoi (Preity Zinta) - introduced just like Clarice Starling in a jogging scene - being part of the case. She's haunted, not by the screams of sheep, but by the fact that her brother was killed for being a terrorist right in front of her eyes. Now, to help solve the case, she turns to the unjustly jailed Professor Aman Verma (Akshay Kumar). His bars may be iron instead of plexiglass, but Verma is definitely Hannibal Lecter. The romance that blooms between the two is similar to the novel Hannibal if not the film.

When a politician's child is kidnapped for Pandey's ultimate ritual - to be carried out during a solar eclipse - Oberoi must overcome the ghosts of her past and a male-dominated police force that doesn't believe in her methods. While this also happens in the movie's inspiration, it's also something that Chandra actually experienced.