FILM REVIEW: ZINDA (2006)

Director: Sanjay Gupta
Screenplay: Sanjay Gupta, Suresh Nair, Kamlesh Pandey
Music: Naved Chinappa, Nikhil chinappa, Shibani Kashyap
Cinematography: Sanjay F. Gupta
Produced by: White Feather Films

Balajeet Roy - a software engineer has come to Bangkok with his lovely wife Nisha. Bangkok had a different culture, way of living and different food but it has become a city of his dreams. He feels comfortable here with a secure job and a sincere friend Joy Fernandas. And in the company of Nisha, things always seemed promising. Life took a turn for better when Nisha realized that she was going to give him a baby soon.

But the same city takes all wonderful things away from him…

Balajit is abducted and he awakens to find himself locked up in a room. This isn’t a prison for it is a confine of a small, dark and a dirty room where his only link to civilization is an old television set. He has not a clue as to why he is held captive, or who his captor is. Everything is of shades of darkness, black walls, black bed sheet, black pillow cover, black crockery and even Bala’s uniform. His only meal for survival fried wantons, fried wantons, more fried wantons and still more. Bala begs curses and damns his captors but his cries find no one respond. He himself starts questioning himself, was he put there, or is this place in his head? What is this place? When would he come out? What is his crime? He finds no apparent reason of his grief. Anybody would have gone insane but then he comes across a news in the television - his wife Nisha has been brutally murdered and he is the prime suspect. This makes him take an intense decision - he will find his captor and take a brutal revenge from him for making him stay Zinda (alive), to make his life worse than hell and to let him suffer slowly and painfully. He transforms from a civilized human to a savage animal. He builds up his fighting skills thinking that it would help him when he will be released one day. He waits for his release; for he is sure that his captor will be man enough to give him a chance in this game of vengeance.

His wait lasts for 14 years! Bala is seething to hunt down the man responsible for his ruin and to ask him the million-dollar question: Why? But his captor was no fool and neither is Bala - he realises that his freedom too is a part of more sinister plot. He finds that he is freed so that his captor’s henchmen can battle him out. Is this his captor way of finally hunting his sprit, to destroy his last strength, to make him physically and morally degraded so that he will not be able to make his last and only wish possible - to make his captor suffer as he suffered?

Bala has understood all rules to this game and he starts to hunt him down. Circumstances bring him to cabbie Jenny Singh and he makes a deal with her to show him around Bangkok and every single restaurant that serves wantons. Wantons are his only link to the unknown enemy. Every person Bala lays his hands on finds himself either drilled, maybe axed, or toothless but mostly dead. He is also helped by his loyal friend Joy in his search for truth. Like a volcano waiting to explode Bala makes innumerable people suffer who has some clue where his captor is. He finally comes face to face with his tormentor - a rich business tycoon Rohit Chopra (John Abraham). What happens next - the game has just begun!

Warning! Please put your seat belts on because the ending is so thrilling that it will consume you all.

Sanjay Dutt performance has made Zinda come alive. Only he could have made possible those emotions which made a viewer feel his inner suffering and outward anguish literally. His going from a prisoner to a survivor makes everyone feel that he has already won the battle. He keeps the movie going and does not leave even one moment to let go the already engrossed and excited audience. Anyone else in his place would have torn the movie apart. Thankfully he is Sanjay Gupta’s lucky mascot. His magnetism is real.

John Abraham persona and body works in his favor but his facial expressions and emotions need more polishing. He is looking fit for this movie and certainly exudes the cold and calculated malevolence of a man with nothing but revenge on his mind.

Lara Dutta is their just for the funny and glamorous bits but overall she did well whatever was expected of her. Celina Jaitley makes a two-minute nonsensical performance. Mahesh Manjrekar sticks to being loud but his death sequence was well executed.

Hats off to Sanjay Gupta for handling a delicate subject with such brilliance. Thumbs up to cinematographer Sanjay F Gupta and editor Bunty Nagi. Music works in the films favor as it add to its haunting nature. Bangkok backdrop works in Zinda’s favour.

RS Rating: 7/10

Credit: This review was submitted by Ankit Jain of Footprints.in. They run their own movie Blog at DCECinemas. To submit your own review for posting on radiosargam.com please email.