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Taking the viewer, into the cast and poverty-riddled Munger District of Bihar, Gautam lays a platform for a raw entry to the brutal hardships of rural India, in an emphatic fashion. Naurangia's spirited resistance to the atrocities of tyrants, taking-on, the challenges thrown by a heartless society, played brilliantly by Naseeruddin Shah; his spirited, silent but strong wife Rama; played equally brilliantly by Shabana Azmi, ably, for lack of a more appropriate term, by Hari Babu (Mohan Agashe) and his powerful Zameendar father, played by ever impressive Utpal Dutt, provide crushing impetus to the oppressed farmers and laborers seeking self-identity, under the able leadership of Mukhia, played ever brilliant Om Puri, under the guidance of Headmaster, mercilessly murdered when Hari Babu loses local election. The plight of the down-trodden, given hope by the government, yet crushed by the local and state politicians, hits the viewer hard. Appropriately, brilliant performances of leading stars, Naseer & Shabana, the powerful presentation of Gautam, are recognized at national and international levels.

I was about 15 yo when this movie was released. Yet, even today, I would rate Gaddar next, only to Khamosh and at par with Dhund. Powerful action-packed suspense, with magnificent performances by Late Pran and Late Vinod Khanna, snow-clad locations are etched in my mind, like few other movies. A must-watch for any Indian action-movie lover.

Coming from Shyam Benegal and his crew, not a surprise about the powerful impact of 'Junoon' (Obsession) adapted from the novel 'A Flight Pegions' by Ruskin Bond (HTML is not supported but look-up wikipedia). Through thorough research of the conditions prevailing during the rebellion of 1857, the geography, the characters (from Javed Khan to Lalaji), supported by equally-matching cinematography (Govind Nihalani), Sound (Hitendra Ghosh), Shyam Benegal, in the backdrop of the tumultuous times, does justice to the novel as only he can. In the process, Nafisa Ali (Ruth) and Deepti Naval (Rashid's wife) make remarkable debuts. As Firdous, Shabana portrays a torn and troubled wife of Javed Khan, obsessed by 'other woman' brilliantly. Par-excellence was the last and silent shot of Shabana when exudes joy at seeing her husband Javed Khan, only to turn into pain quickly turning to grief, when Javed Khan, instead goes in search of the 'other woman'. This single, silent performance by Shabana speaks for her talent. Of course, there are others (too many to list here), which audiences can enjoy.

Don't miss the brilliant photography (Govind Nihalani) and music (Vanraj Bhatia), who much later produced a gem 'Droh Kaal' 1994 (search title in IMDb), while Sound Recordist Hitendra Ghosh became a part of Govind Nihalani's team in the production of another gem 'Aakrosh' 1980 (search title in IMDb but disregard Aakrosh of 2010). Needless to add, Naseerudin Shah, as Sarfraz presents another of his countless brilliant performances.

Finally, 'Junoon' is available on DVD (with sub-titles). Check 'Shemaroo' web-site.

If there was any doubt that Naseer, in my humble opinion, is the best actor of our times, this movie lays those doubts to rest. Anirudh Parmar's character was (since it has been such a long time this movie was released) a challenge in two ways. Not only was Anirudh blind, but his handicap brought out the best of humanity in him. He chooses the noblest cause one of his handicap could undertake, to educate the less fortunate with the same handicap. Also, Anirudh's fierce pride as a productive human being had to be portrayed as such. Naseer not only stood up the challenge but overcame it as only he can. Which actor in the world (Dustin Hoffman included) could play a blind man, without wearing sun-glasses, as well as him playing Anirudh Parmar? For Naseer fans like myself, a definite MUST SEE!

One of the best given the topic 'Terrorism'. Remember, this movie was made in 1994, much before 9/11 and yet, one can see the similarities between 9/11 plot and this movie. For example, 9/11 hijackers hid among us, just as the terrorists in this movie wore the mask of a common man. 9/11 hijackers were known to be soft spoken and polite, yet extremely secretive. Same with the terrorists in this movie. Anyway, everything from the plot to characters were excellent. Even the music (by Jaidev) is extraordinary. Only the far-fetched bravado by Abhay Singh (Om Puri) seemed unreal, but then, it takes extraordinary courage and deeds to counter the 'cancer' of terrorism. In that respect, Abhay Singh's bravado also seems appropriate. As usual, Naseer puts the 'sher' in the character of Abbas Lodhi.

I remember, I was in Bombay during the film festival in Dec. 1994. This powerful movie made me cry and repeat it the very next day. Thanks to Govind Nihalani, who personally let me in his special movie, I could enjoy to the full. No wonder I am his fan and Thank you Govind!

If you are a Govind Nihalani or a Naseer or an Om Puri or a Amrish Puri fan, this movie is a MUST SEE.