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Rana, I moved that post, but seeing as no one is visiting the thread, here it is again:
(Hooray! This review is spoiler-free for your enjoyment. Just note, though, that Apne is a "spoilable" film, and if you don't want it killed for you, stay away from the reviews; I haven't read any yet [I try not to go there before watching a movie or writing its review, if I do so ever], but experience tells me that many Indian critics [ahem... Taran Adarsh] revel in giving away everything about everything in a picture. ...That said:)
An Indian boxing movie is new, but, internationally (i.e., in America), the pugilism-film genre had turned stale by the mid-1980s, shortly after Rocky III hit the marquee. Indeed, in the U.S., boxing films simply cannot be considered "apart" from Stallone's "Rocky" franchise, which — spanning thirty whole years, from 1976 to 2006 — has presented viewers with incalculable highs (the original Rocky) and abysmal creative and box-office lows (Rocky IV and V, respectively), and, altogether, has made the American audiences as tired of the "boxing genre" as it initially drew them to it. Of course, for Indians, it's a whole 'nother ball game: Hindi cinema has produced a few cricket flicks over the years — OK; but, the nation in no way indulges in the plehtora of baseball/football/basketball/cheerleading/stepping/drumming/band-camp/this-that-and-the-rest summer sports movies in the way in which does Hollywood. Well, in 2007, with Apne, Anil Sharma has has set out to finally change all that.
As I hope I just implied, Apne is a film the reception of which will differ greatly per geography. It's been said "a good movie is a good movie," but a more appropriate proverb is probably, "a good movie is a good movie... if the viewer thinks it's good." Honestly, one can't even be too sure in making any sort of box-office prediction: In Apne, Indians — those unexposed to foreign cinema and culture — will get to see something very new and different, but, from having never formed a taste for it, might not bite. Americans (after all, there're really only two nationalites on this globe) will probably see Apne as "nothing new," but might like that very fact (the record shows that people love seeing the same old crap over and over again, right?)... though they might not feel a connection with protagonists who are so very Indian. So, those critics in the business of "predicting" are, indeed, in for a tough journey. Lucky for me, I hate that kind of business, and that's the last I'll talk of it. Now, here's what I thought:
Overall, Apne's pretty great. Again, Rocky (I cite it as though it were one title, but, really, it's a fucking mega-institution built around a whopping six projects) is inextricable from movie boxing. So, when I — one of the greatest-ever fans of the series — sat in my chair and watched Apne's training montages, saw unfold its fights, observed the black "bad guy" and his concerned wife, I inevitably, in the back of my mind, felt Rocky springing up. The fact I'm glad to report, however, is that even though Rocky popped into my consciousness these several times, it never "took over," never made me roll my eyes; I never found myself sinking into my seat, shaking my head and thinking, "god, why the hell are people so enamored by ripping off über-successful work?" Instead, the few montages, the building of the antagonist, the interactions between bloodied and sweating contenders — it all came across as ultimately heartfelt and sincere. And therein, I believe, lies the grandest quality of Apne: It's an honest, genuine bit of filmmaking. Where the movie seeks inspiration from a Rocky (throughout, it borrows mildly from across the board, I—Balboa), it bothers to concot instances that are homages rather than "blatant rip-offs." Hell, it even one-ups Stallone's series in a few parts: Not to ruin anything for you, but one of the worst aspects of the otherwise-great yet painfully-underrated V was the performance of Tommy Morrison, and the development of the character of Tommy Gunn, on the whole. Suffice to say, Sharma, rather than copy an error and paste it into his movie, works to rectify Stallone's mistake, and reserves a place in his own film for the relationship the character brings to light. When something is an obvious "Rocky" moment (e.g., "cut me, Mick" eventually shows up), Sharma makes what looks to be the effort to present a tribute, rather than to quickly pool the wool over his predominantly Desi audience, who, he's sure, won't know any better. Altogether, the "inspired" moments (and there probably aren't nearly so many as you may imagine) are inevitable, and when they arise, I'm thankful that Anil Sharma's only goal with them appears to be to admit to his audience, "thank you for watching my film, but, without a Rocky there before, there could never have been an Apne now."
Moving on, the boxing matches, let's face it, are very important. Good intentions with the human, emotional stuff end up having been in vain, in a film like this, if the fights look like a joke. It's quite fortunate, then, that Apne hasn't placed its entire focus on making a compelling "family story." Yes, the characters — their motivations, their actions, their desires — are so complete that they're at times tangible. First, let's not just look over this: Forget "boxing films" — movies, in general, suck if the audience feels no compassion for the characters and the scenarios. In Apne, there's no "rush" to get the fights. They arrive — and we're glad when they do, because they kick ass — but they come only as a result of the characters. It's not "a few words, then 'BAM!'"; rather, people take to the ring because it's all they're able to do. Now, the fights, again, are fully-realized and superbly well-crafted. Punches look real and gritty; characters say what they should say as they're beating the shit out of each other; family members are upset when their own gets hit, but they don't go screaming up and down the halls like maniacal losers; boxers bleed and fall and act cocky and get in a few good ones. Further, Americans are Americans (and not just stock "White" people with weird and randomly-compiled European accents), Indians are believably Indian (rather than mere idiots obligatorily hollering, "Jatt-Panjabi, hat jaa re raaste se! Sat Sri Aakal, puttar!"), and the interactions between the two are realistic (as in, there's a tiny bit of racism, as there really would be, but nothing shockingly overt; Indians don't just mouth line after line in Hindi and have English-only–speakers magically seem to understand their intentions; etc.). Sharma's even gracious enough to offer a few times that boxing has no history in India, and that that's why much of what exists in this story, does so. Apne has as much braun as it does heart and brain, is what I'm hinting at.
On to the performances. The big selling point of Apne, for most of the Indian crowd (and it is, all said and done, a Hindi film) is the first-ever on-screen–coming-together of the three Deols: Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, and Bobby Deol. Indian cinema is an institution of "stars" and of "star families," and the Deol-summit — though doubtful as anticipated as the Amitabh–Abhishek teaming — must surely have been being awaited by some. It's great, then, that the three come together so awesomely well. Dharmendra is the true protagonist of the film, and — after about ten years of B-grade trash (such as Ek Lootera, Munnibai, and Bhai Thakur) and the recent joke that was Kis Kis Ki Kismat — Dharm is finally back. Dharmendra owns his character. Talk about real and flawed: Ex-puncher Baldev is, at times, about as odious as they come — a total dick to his son, selfish and cold, and often unforgivably hurtful. Yet, there is that authentic humanity present, as well: Baldev doesn't just shout and scream and fly off the handle; he lets us know why he's doing so, and apologizes, anyway, as he finds that he can't just make excuses — Dharamendra, of course, acts as the perfect conduit for his feelings. It doesn't hurt, either, that — through our history with the man (all the years we've spent watching him on the big screen) — we know Dharm as the ultimate action hero. We totally buy, then, that this guy was the one Indian in all history to have won an Olympic silver medal in the sport of boxing. Sunny Deol is terrific as Dharmendra's wounded yet affection-craving son. Sure, there are times when I want to shake him and slap him and tell him to beat the living shit out of his father; but I also get why, as the son, Sunny doesn't do that, why he can't, and I end up okay with it. Bobby probably has the "easiest," least complicated role of the three, but he manages to play it just right. The younger sibling caught in the middle — nice, caring, and altogether likeable — Bobby goes all out to win over the viewer. As for the women, there's only slightly more room for them to work here than there would be in a Ram Gopal Varma venture. They're not just background props, but they seldom work their ways out from "middle-ground." Shilpa Shetty gets a few nice scenes, and Kiron Kher suits her part, but there's not much else to say about them. The supporting cast (including "Luca Gracia"), as well, does appropriate, often commendable, work.
I feel it's worth mentioning that — though Apne is a long movie (I think it was more than three hours) — no substantial time is "wasted." There're about two songs, but they're kept short and actually lend a little to the plot. A "triviality" I'll mention here, too, since I don't want to use space for it anywhere else, is my displeasure with censorship. Thankfully, the board chooses to cut "f***"s by killing the audio rather than by inserting a horrific "bleep," but, honestly, if you can show us blood and anger and alienation and misery, can't you please just give us a few "f***"s when they're appropriate? Come the f*** on.
Overall, Apne is quite an impressive achievement. Anil Sharma hasn't given me much in the way of the memorable: Gadar was great, sure, but The Hero was mediocre and Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo was the most nonsensical, intolerable, jingoistic shit I've ever had the agony of sitting through. Hasrhness expressed, Sharma's not only picked up his game, but changed it altogether. Dharmendra might have taken a while coming back from the dumps, but he at last he's shown his fans that there's life left in him yet. While America's busy ignoring the boxing genre (it's likely right in doing so), it's nice that the niche isn't totally abandoned; not only has India bothered to pick up the torch, it's taken the initiative to run with it.
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Seems Indian cinema is looking to the East as well as the West for copy cat remakes these days. Still Awarapan looks interesting and I like the music, so will watch that too when it appears on DVD.