ahujarajiv There are very few Hindi Masala movies in the 80's that really stand out even 20 years later. I happened to catch a re-run on TV just today and realized that even 23 yrs later, this movie is a masterpiece...Subhash Ghai delivers in almost every department. Be is direction, script writing, editing, songs, dialogues or action, he excels everywhere.I was never really fond of Dilip Kumar-ji, being a hard core Amitabh Bachchan fan, but I do have to admit that he is simply superb in this movie. And to balance the scales on the other side is an excellent performance by Anupam Kher as the evil Dr. Dang. Even his side-kick Shakti Kapoor and others do their job well of being the evil guys we love to hate.Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Naseeruddin Shah are fantastic in their individual roles and together as a team of prisoners on death row recruited by Dilip-saab to fight for their country in exchange for pardons. Naseeruddin Shah particularly stands out in his performance as Khairu-bhai the cold blooded killer with a soft heart.Nutan-ji emotes without dialogues and her solid performance is still a study for actresses today. Sridevi and Poonam Dhillon are good in their roles as the female leads.One performance always gets overlooked and that is of Dara Singh as Dharma. A large man with an ever larger screen presence, he is simply too good in his role as Dilip Saab's faithful aide. Many forget his contribution to Karma and other movies alike.Last but not the least, the movie's theme song 'Mera Karma tu...' is a benchmark even today for patriotic songs. Even one line played on the radio is enough to fill the heart of every Indian with patriotic fervor. I remember listening to this in the US many years back and all the Indians in the room had a tear in their eye...Brilliant Masala Movie of the 80's!!

Liakot Ali Karma is a great entertaining movie from Subash Ghai. Subash has given us some great films like Khal Nayak, Karz and Hero. Karma tells the story of Dilip Kumar, a Prison Jailer who unfortunately has the responsibility of holding Terrorist Anupom Kher. Anupom Kher escapes and is responsible for the massacre of Dilips family. Dilip then decides to lead a secret mission, with the help of three death row convicts. The storyline is similar to many Bollywood Films like the Classic Sholay. Karma is still a good version packed with comedy and action. Dilip Kumar gives a great performance and is Bollywoods Best Actor before Amitabh took over in the early 70s. Jackie Shroff is OK, but not as good as his performance in Hero and Allah Rakha. Anil Kapoor provides most of the comedy in a superb performance. Naseerudin Shah is the silent Hero in a average performance. Sridevi is my old time favourite actress in a good performance. Poonam has a small role. Anupom Kher delivers his greatest Villain role as the bollywood baddie icon Deng.

jai_163 I first saw this film when I was 8. I loved it then and I love it even more now. The main aspect of this film you have to realise is that, whilst it may not be up to the usual standards of the sophisticated pallette belonging to your average everyday hollywood filmgoer, Karma was a huge leap in filmmaking within India. Its brilliance lies not within the meagre budget it was made with (meagre compared to Hollywood standards) but with the dedication applied by its cast, crew and of course its most prized asset...the director.Karma is a film that, admittedly, does not have the sophistication of a Lethal Weapon or Die Hard. You may think im making excuses for a poor film. On the contrary its with these obstacles in mind that Karma has become a GREAT film. The quality of acting talent within the film is awesome, including the great Dilip Kumar and Naseeruddin Shah. The story itself has won several awards and the most important part of the film is the directors style of filmaking which is so unique and stylised that, although this film has been made on a budget and some of the effects may leave a little to be desired, karma is beautiful to watch. The flowing camera movements never let you sit still, the music, though may sound the same, is emotive and used sparingly in the right places to create the perfect effect as a great wine does with your evening meal.Subhash Ghai is an awesome filmmaker as he never bows to the traditional method of filmmaking. He is an innovator in the art of Indian movie making who tackles the strongest issues and social weakness in India and indeed humanity itself. Be it the recruiment of children into crime and terrorism as displayed so eloquently by the three young protagonists, the strength of family values which can overcome even the hardened minds displayed by Dilip Kumar or just the need for unity in the country and the world against oppression. Karma is an ideological film, based on the idea that all humans are inherently good and that life itself creates the difference between an officer and a criminal. Therefore no matter which god you believe in, what country you are from, in life your actions define who you really are

existenz-6 I was really looking forward to this movie. I'd seen the poster in an old French textbook (don't ask why) and it looked quite awesome. I'd never seen an Indian film before, and I figured an Indian action movie from the 1980s could be great. So last month I purchased the Karma DVD online.Two words: big disappointment.I don't know if all Indian movies are like this, but the photography was terrible, the acting was cheesy, the songs are incredibly generic (they all sound the same to my western ears), and the action is TERRIBLE. The movie has a few good explosions, and lots of guys get gunned down, but the stunts are third rate (at best!). The director doesn't handle the story or the action with any sort of style or exuberance. The movie has only one redeeming quality, and that's the actor with the black beard. He's a real badass, and he nearly pulls this movie from the brink with his incredible Bronson/Eastwood-esque performance.If the Indians want to make movies like Hollywood, they need to trim their scripts down and learn how to direct. I still want to see Sholay, but if that's as bad as this movie then I won't be putting any more Indian films at the top of my list.