Once again Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan are deadly enemies trying to kill one another. They were often a classic match-up of good and evil though poor Amjad always came out on the losing end. Amjad was the legendary villain in the 1975 film Sholay and it made him a star. A villainous star. Bollywood appreciated their villains as much as their heroes. Amitabh along with Dharmendra were the heroes in that film. Sholay has a place in Indian's hearts unlike any film anywhere I can think of. Maybe the Star Wars Trilogy? Here they are again in another over the top romantic-dance-action film. This isn't up there with Sholay or other Bachchan films such as Don, Zanjeer, The Great Gambler - but it hits most of the Bollywood notes that we have come to expect.  The hero, the villain and the babe. All of them excessively exaggerated. The big monologues, the inappropriate musical numbers, drama bigger than a house and action both silly and wonderful.


In one scene both Amitabh and his girl played by the gorgeous Rekha wrestle a man-eating tiger down without getting a scratch. My kind of girl. Another time Amitabh is captured by the sadistic Amjad and tied to four horses and dragged along the ground and above it. Just as he is about to be smashed into a rock, he pulls two riders off their horses, kicks the other ten off of theirs and gets away. But Rekha had come running with a blade that she uses to stop a man from shooting Amitabh. They capture her of course and set her up as bait. No bait is she, what does she do? A sizzling dance number in which they are all so transfixed that she takes their rifles away from them. Rekha has never been a favorite of mine but she is stunning in her tribal garb, flashing eyes and inviting lipstick. The film is so-so in the first half filled more with romance than much of anything but after the Intermission it turns into The Magnificent Seven except it is Amitabh on his own saving a small rural village from Amjad's gang.


Before all that though, it begins where all stories begin with Natwaral as a child, His parents have died and his much older brother (Ajit Khan) takes him in and raises him with his wife. He is an honest police inspector who is framed by the criminal mastermind Vikram (Amjad). When little Natwaral sees his brother accused of being a crook, he decides that he will be one too. A thief. And a Robin Hood. But always in the back of his mind is to revenge his brother if he comes across Vikram. And one day he does as he goes to a very rural area near the border. A small village named Chandanpur. He has come to kill Vikram. But the townspeople mistake him for a tiger hunter. The tiger has killed a number of villagers. He realizes he has no clue how to kill a tiger and thinks about getting the hell out of Dodge. But then Shanno (Rekha) love bombs him into staying.


That's the first half with one song being a standout - out in the fields sung and danced by the village maidens - and then suddenly they are all up one high tree dancing. Wow. How did they do that. After the intermission it is nearly all action as Vikram tries to kill him, he protects the villagers and of course his brother and wife show up to see what he is up to. Oh, and the tiger is now his friend. The last hour is pure nuts. Bollywood nuts. I love that stuff - some cynics may laugh; I just smile with glee. The name Natwaral, as a bit of interest, was inspired by one of the most famous con men in Indian history. He even sold the Parliament and the Taj Mahal to people. It runs 154 minutes so be sure to have snacks.

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