Producer : Lawrence - Manohar
Director : Shrikant R. Sharma
*ing: Akshaye Khanna, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Dimple Kapadia
Music: Rajesh Roshan

Released on : March 05, 1999

Reviewed by: Anish Khanna
anish@indolink.com

out of 
The name itself carries a lot of weight. Immediately memories of the Amitabh classic of the same name are conjured up. Writer Honey Irani, however, has stayed clear of the 80's flick in her storyline for the new "Laawaris". Of course, this film is not a patch on its predecessor but neither is it as tedious as some other recent films.

In the title role, we have Akshaye Khanna as Captain Dada, a goonda who is into hafta vasuli and that's about it. He terrorizes a family in his basti (the lawyer Jackie Shroff, his wife Dimple Kapadia, and their young son) when they refuse to pay up. Captain Dada soon becomes human with the help of his ladylove, played by Manisha, and the lawyer's wife, who becomes a good friend- cum-"sister" to Captain. Drama ensues when Manisha finds out about Akshaye's past, and even more drama ensues when Akshaye tries to leave the group led by his evil boss.

The saving graces of this film are twofold: Akshaye Khanna and Dimple Kapadia. Akshaye is good. He balances between evil goonda and reformed human being with extreme ease. True, he has not had a hit in ages and his hairline has receeded immensely, but I do not think anyone can deny his talent and inherent charm. Dimple is - well - perfection. She is still beautiful as ever and the acting muscles are still very much in tact. The best scenes of the film by far are the interaction scenes between Dimple and Akshaye. Jackie is dependable as usual. Manisha, in a relatively simple role, makes you wonder if she has reached her prime too fast. After playing the mother of two kids, a human bomb and terrorist, a prostitute, and a crazy woman (in the upcoming "Grahan"), what is there left for her to do? When she plays the conventional Hindi love story heroine, however, you can't help but feel slightly disappointed.

The film manages to hold the audience's interest until the last quarter, where the fight scenes, chases, gunshots, bloodshed and what not go on and on and on without rhyme or reason. The music is notable for the beautiful "Mere Doston" and "Aa Kahin Door Chale", the latter of which unfortunately is forced into a rather inopportune moment of the screenplay.

All in all - this can be classified as a "timepass" film. My suggestion is to save money on the theatre ticket and rent it at home. At least this way you can have the pleasure of seeing the more memorable moments of the movie while forwarding over the more mindless ones. And make sure you cherish Dimple. For who knows when we will have the pleasure of seeing her on screen again?