by Omar Ahmed

Bollywood is taking on the box office big-hitters from the US with two new movies - Kaante, from Sanjay Gupta - a Quentin Tarantino-style remake of Reservoir Dogs, and Saathiya, the directorial debut of Shaad Ali.

Kaante has already been credited with saving the beleaguered Bollywood film industry, with takings in India topping �1.9m in its first week of release plus �1.8m for overseas film rights.

Like recent Bollywood success Devdas, it moves Indian cinema into newer pastures whilst implementing Western practices to almost phenomenal effect.

It is a tale of a group of bank robbers spearheaded by Amitabh Bachchan, in a Quentin Tarantino-style remake of the cult classic Reservoir Dogs.

Amitabh Bachchan is "sheer perfection"

It transcends the clich�s of the genre thanks to sublime cast performances and a fast-paced script.

With hardly a redundant scene in sight, Gupta has created nothing less than a cinematic miracle, which boasts ensemble acting of the highest quality.

Bachchan is sheer perfection as Major, whilst Sanjay Dutt's immensely mature and emotional performance as Ajju speaks volumes for an actor labelled as one-dimensional.

Mahesh Manjrekar's debut is commendable as he provides comic relief with relish in this otherwise serious action flick.

Sunil Shetty, pop sensation Lucky Ali and Kumar Gaurav also provide excellent support but add in several musical interludes.

What you are left with is an Indian film reaching number seven in the UK Top 10 from just 30 screens.

Debut

Director Gupta might just be the man who provides that evasive Bollywood crossover hit with Kaante, delighting fans of world cinema and imperiously venturing into depths where few Indian films have been before.

By contrast, newcomer Shaad Ali's Saathiya (Partner) hardly strikes out into new cinematic territory but such an accomplished first work will certainly gain attention.

Inspired by Mani Rathnam's Tamil hit, Alai Payuthey, Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukherjee find themselves in an identical situation, sharing an intense relationship amidst complicated misunderstandings between both sets of parents.

As marital responsibilities grow, their once blossoming love story faces the ultimate strain; the realisation of life without each other.

Despite being a love story with the usual boy-meets-girl-meets-boy routine, Ali creates enough twists and turns to make it an engrossing affair.

The director does well to extract solid performances from all, particularly with Rani Mukherjee who has moved on leaps and bounds since Mujhse Dosti Karoge.

Sandhya Mridul also impresses, with a solid and honest performance as Mukherjee's elder sister, whilst Vivek Oberoi steals the show, proving he possesses the acting talent to back up his flawless looks.

A promising start for Shaad Ali and for Bollywood, where new talent may be needed to shake off last year's poor performance.

Saathiya and Kaante are on release in the UK now.