Major Saab (1998)

Touches You

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

If you're not a fan of (Amitabh Bachchan) nor the commercial Indian cinema get out of here quickly because it's a case only the lovers of the above-mentioned who will understand what I'm going to say ! What's cinema ?! Actually a lot of things ! One important ruling thing of them is the power of the illusion.. The great effect of the fancy, the fantastic fascinating visionary magic which could conquer the eyes, the hearts, and the minds eternally !...It's not an essay about the beauty of cinema. It's one beautiful fact about it which all the cinemas around the world utilized it to make joy, to make art, to make profits, whatever !So despite the corniest things maybe some of us (believe me it's all of us !) fall in love with the most stupid movie in the world ! whether that was your idea about it or else's idea !, and during all my life I found a lot of sane people (including me !) who have such a fine taste and in the same time just adore one ridiculous, foolish, lousy movie. However you won't objectively negotiate too much (or at all !) with its lovers, because you've been there my friend and you passed the state of "it's unbelievable but HEY it's fun !" before and perhaps so many times too ! It differs from one to another whereas the name of it (guilty pleasure, pleasant sin, awfully enjoyable.. etc), or the reason why (the childhood memories, the movie's realization of your impossible dreams, holy love for one thing or one person in the movie, compensation something isn't in your life anymore.. and so on), or the causes of hideousness (nonsense story, absurd script, dull performance .. It's endless list of what could make your beloved movie the worst one ever for all the mankind except you !). So what about this movie not for all the mankind, but for me ?It's fun ! Yes, my importunate brain tells me it's not but in a time like this my heart belongs to Daddy ! I mean this movie. Really after years and years of watching (Bachchan) as the ever angry young man who's searching for his lost : brother, sister, mother, father, or sometimes all of them together ! Now the man has had it (like us to tell you the truth) and after a few years of retirement he became an older angry man who for example acts here as the severe mentor not as the noisy rebel !, and that was catchy to watch.It's all about difficult love story and how the young spoiled brat became that strong fighter who can win his love so defend it successfully and thanks to the Indian militaristic academy (the patriotic tone is so high in here). I loved so many things such as seeing (Bachchan) as a charismatic middle-aged major and wounded father who lost a son and wants to raise another yet by cruelty !, the actress who played his affectionate wife, the wonderful (son & father) relationship between the kid and his mentor, and the dreamy ending ! Not to forget some marvelous cinematography, fervent as well as poetic editing. Plus some magical moments indeed : the first emergence of (Bachchan) as a steely officer, the beaten kid struggles to crawl to the academy's door by the encouragement of his major, the musical meeting of the lovers at the mountain (I thought for seconds that it's another boring romantic Indian song but it turned out to be a romantic surprise as one delicate scene just about the charm of love in the air), the song/photo-montage about the kid's training to cure himself from his injuries and to build his will (here there is a unique harmony between image and sound), in fact this one commercial movie has a few songs which are rarely essential (if you know about that kind of movies' old formula) and not that boring or unnecessary, just remember the song when the hero and his girl were singing in front of her family instead of a long statement about their love.. In brief we love this even if it's all out of the musical genre !BUT on the other hand (OH BOY my brain is her to revenge, runaway all the lovers of the movie !) you'll find some of the aforementioned as the corniest, silliest.. Whatever the things which give your simple love a hard time : The unbelievable events when (Bachchan) bursts into the girl's wedding with his armed ground forces, attacking her family by cannons !!?, so the end's weirdest board ever about the execution of the major and his cadet (read by Bachchan himself !?) because what they have done ! It's maybe a forced action had been made by the censorship to warn anyone tries to defend his love by guns !, or to make sure that the high commanders like (Bachchan) in the movie can't get away with it ! (Obviously that ruined the whole thing !), or maybe it's some satire about how the forces of injustice and corruption are more powerful than any idealistic defender of love (Hmmm.. too far I know !). So no need at all to talk about how bad the wig of (Bachchan) was !, how dull the action scene at the cave seemed !, how frigid (Ajay Devgan) looked ! So, if you can turn off your sense of logic then you'll be more than capable of having a real good time with that nice well-meaning dream.