Sunil Shetty was a very successful action hero in the early 90s but 1995 was when his star power started to wane with a chain of flops. After a mostly successful 1994, Sunil's set of backlog films released and they all flopped at the box office. In 1994, Shetty himself confirmed in an interview that he doesn't guarantee the success of his delayed films from the early 90s(releasing in 1995) but they are safe films.
Gaddaar is Sunil's first film from 1995 and this Shetty flick also sank without a trace like his last release Hum Hain Bemisaal(1994). The film was promoted as well handled romantic movie with bits of action in parts of the movie. The film's trailer already gave away most of the story but there are still several hard hitting scenes in the movie.
The film starts off well with a mind blowing action scene in a boxing ring with Sunil winning the match. The friendship between Harish and Sunil Shetty is good and thankfully, there isn't much forced comedy. The scenes between Sunil and his father, Mohan Joshi, are good and Sunil's outburst is well acted even if he overacts. However, the film starts to drag once Sonali Bendre is introduced. Some scenes like Sunil joining college and getting insulted by Kiran Kumar is good. However, the romance just drags the movie. To make matters worse, there happens to be a typical rift between these good friends because of the heroine and because Harish saves Kiran Kumar from getting insulted by Sunil. The rift is well handled but the entire Sunil vs. Harish becomes repetitive and the film just keeps going on and on. However, Sunil's realisation is well handled and the climax is good.
Direction by Raam Shetty is good in parts but the drag gets annoying and the climax will not be liked by fans of Sunil Shetty(he dies). Raam Shetty handles most of the first half well but his direction falters in the second half but he saves the day by decent action packed climax. Robin Bhatt's story isn't anything novel but a typical romantic script but the direction saves the film from failing completely.
Sunil Shetty is good but he terribly overacts in some scenes. However, his acting has improved and he plays the spoilt son(with a good heart) effectively. Harish steals the show with good acting and he plays the typical college going boy properly. Sonali Bendre looks beautiful and acts adequately. Kiran Kumar for once plays a positive role and does a good job. Mohan Joshi is typical but he still shows improvement from his earlier films. The rest provide decent support.
Music is very good with two hit songs. The friendship song(Aaj Kal Ki Nahi) is superbly sung by Kumar Sanu and Sonu Nigam. The other hit song is the Tumse Milne Ko is also sung superbly by Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. Action is limited but decent, but the lack of good stunts is definitely a minus point.
On the whole, Gaddaar may have failed at the box office but it succeeds to an extent because of good music and good performances. If there was more action then the film would've done better.
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