gavin_coolhgr Shaan tells the story of an honest inspector named DCP Shiv Kumar (Sunil Dutt) who lives a very peaceful life with his wife (Rakhee Gulzar), daughter and two brothers Ravi & Vijay. However, upon, investigating about different crimes in his area, he is killed in his line of duty. However, later on his two brothers Ravi (Shashi Kapoor) & Vijay (Amitabh Batchchan) was persuade by a circus master and a marks man (Shatrughan Sinha) that a man called Shakal (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) who keeps a man-eating crocodile was responsible for his death. They, however, after fighting a prolong battle of great difficulty they manage to reach the island where Shakal is holed up and killed him and also have there brother's revenge taken.

shahkaal "If you have read my reviews for Elaan-e-Jung or Return of Jewel Thief, you already know that I survived the end of Shaan. Yes, Sippy and I had planned a sequel - Shahkaal vs Gabbar - but the box office put paid to our plans of world domination." - Shahkaal circa 2005.Ramesh Sippy is among the best Indian directors of the 70's and 80's but has had a very sporadic output in the late 80s and 90s. Like many other directors of his time, he was caught in the downward spiral of Amitabh Bachchan's box office draw in the late 80s and 90s caused by the star's increasing desire to not allow himself to be overshadowed by other actors or a plot.Shaan was the first film to be a victim of this phenomenon. Amitabh did not have a strong counterfoil to balance his antics in the film and the film did not do well as a result. Technically, it is among the most slickly filmed and edited films of its time, and has a very good case - Amitabh, Shatrugan, Sunil Dutt, Kulbhushan, etc. The film has an excellent soundtrack and the first hour is very good with Sunil Dutt subduing a desperado aptly named Durjan by his parents. However, the film is a little too long and Bindiya Goswami puts in a very cloying performance.The most important flaw is that fans did not react well to Kulbhushan Kharbanda's breakout portrayal of the villain Shahkaal. On a personal note, I must admit that I did not appreciate his confused and tentative portrayal of Shahkaal either. It was a weak follow-up to Amjad's formidable Gabbar Singh, and really, the real Shahkaal is much more scary that Kulbhushan made him out to be. No nervous patting of a bald pate, no infinite chances for tricky opponents, no getting fooled by people masquerading as gypsy dancers, and most importantly, no rubber crocodiles in his den. On the other hand, they did get the attire and epaulets right, as well as the undersea lair with the sliding doors, and self-destructing island bit. Fans were also confused with how this Shahkaal fit in with Ajit's podiatrist plagued Shahkaal from the classic Yaadon ki Baraat (separately reviewed) Just fyi, these days, Shahkaal is semi-retired and living in the suburbs of Navi Mumbai in a modest 1-room chawl flat. The neighborhood kids laugh at his baldness and ironically shout "Shahkaal" behind his back and run away - not knowing that he is actually an aged super villain. The depreciation in the rupee and falling interest rates have hit his ill-gotten gains badly, and he should never have invested in the Harshad Mehta stocks. The same thing happened to Amitabh - but alas no TV comebacks for Shahkaal. There is no honesty among thieves any more. If anyone reads this, and is looking for a genuine super-villain, Shahkaal still has his chops. Send a telegram and he can help you plan something big. If nothing else, throw a few CIDs to ravenous marine life, sharpshoot at a ferris wheel, fry a few henchmen (MacMohan and Sudhir are available) in their round table seats, and catch up on old times. Fie on you - Kulbhushan for your craven performance!

Simon Booth 5 years after the breakthrough success of SHOLAY, director Ramesh Sippy once again teamed up with Amitabh Bachchan - and this time they're taking no prisoners. SHAAN is a grandly conceived epic of action, adventure, comedy, romance, drama and a bald supervillain who keeps a man-eating crocodile in his underground lair.Amitabh Bachchan and <some other guy> are bad guys! But they're not the kind of bad guys you hate... they're the lovable rogue types. They're con-men, but they only con other bad guys. Their policeman brother knows this, and when he arrests them it's really for their own good. When they get out of jail he's there as a brother to support them, and they earnestly decide to try and go straight. But their plans of living an ordinary life are foiled when they get caught up in the investigation of super-villain Shakal, a bad guy in the best James Bond tradition played brilliantly by Kulbhushan Kharbanda. The good bad guys have to go up against the really bad bad guys!SHAAN is like every movie ever made all rolled up into one, and barrelled through at a pace that makes the 195 minute running time seem very brief. It rides a little roughly, with some pieces of plot development and editing that challenge logic and continuity, but with tons of energy and enthusiasm. It's not as carefully crafted as the masterful SHOLAY, but it does provide the same kind of fun and thrills that make DON such great entertainment. It's a grandly ambitious movie that sometimes skirts the line between genius and simple madness very closely. It's the kind of movie they just don't make anymore!A movie so grandiose can only work with a cast up to the task, but Amitabh rises to the occasion, oozing cool and commanding the screen most of the time. As with SHOLAY though, the bad guy nearly upstages the heroes - he definitely has all the best lines (plus an island fortress surrounded by sharks!).SHAAN may borrow most of its elements from other movies (notably the James Bond movies), but it has enough personality of its own to make them seem fresh and special all over again. You just can't help grinning at the sheer silliness of it all, and getting carried away by the melodrama. It's a movie treat, jam packed full of high calorie entertainment. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

bal_singh If you like James Bond, you'll love it!!!Pure action, good roles, good songs! Bit different from the usual indian themes too.Recommended!