Producer & Director: Pramod Chakravorty
*ing: Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon, Rakhee, Amrish Puri
Music: Anand-Milind

Released on : August 07, 1998

Reviewed by: Anish Khanna
anish@indolink.com

out of 

Once upon a time (about one-and-a-half years ago), I was driving through Film City (Bollywood's exclusive version of "Universal Studios") and I spotted a rather large group of contstruction laborers working in the scorching heat to build a stadium-like set. A few nights later, I went back to the famous Film City temple (not really a temple but a temple-like structure with an awesome view of Mumbai and a great sunset), and on my way back to the exit that night, I passed the same structure I had seen before. It was the set of the title song from "Barood" and Mr. Akshay Kumar was dancing as flames lit up the exquisitely-designed stage. I just stood staring in awe, thinking that this film is really going to be something special.

After seeing the film, however, I must say that I feel like getting those bechare laborers together, treating them to a few beers, and gathering a whole bunch of pathars and joothis to throw at the makers of this film! Ex-lovers Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon team up yet again for another boring, unoriginal, cliched flick. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, and then they find out that girl's father killed boy's father. So - what does the hero do next? Put on some Estee Lauder, a skirt, and do the macarena in drag? Well, no, but that would be much more interesting than the revenge saga that ensues.

I am already used to Akshay getting repetitive (although, his last - Angaaray - was a diamond in the rough...), but now Rakhee is getting on my nerves with the one role she has been playing in film after film for many years now. Raveena actually has more on-screen time than most of her films, but this film offers her nothing new (and I thought "Ghulam-E-Musthafa" would turn over a new leaf...). Aruna Irani, looking fresh and hip, and Gulshan Grover surprise with excellent cameos, and Amrish Puri plays yet another typical father/bad guy role.

The direction is very drab. A lot of money is wasted on songs and choreography that are nothing special. Switzerland is passed off as Simla. And producers have the audacity to wonder why the film industry is going through a financial crisis?!?!? One thing I can say about this film, however, is that it will live up to its name by certainly proving to be a "BOMB" at the box office!

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