Accused of murdering his wife, Balajeet Roy (Sanjay Dutt), an IT engineer, is abruptly locked up without any explanation in a dark, murky room for 14 years. His only contact with the outside world being an old television set. During the grim, lonely, dark years which follow, Balajeet prepares himself, mentally and physically so that he can seek revenge on the person responsible for his lockup. All he had to live on was wantons! Fourteen years on he is suddenly set free. He strikes a deal with Jenny Singh (Lara Dutta) a taxi driver, to show him around Bangkok. His only clue were the wantons. Soon, the person, Balajeet is hunting for, reveals himself. He is none other than Rohit Chopra (John Abraham). Apparently, during his school days, Balajeet had played a prank on Rohit's sister which eventually led to her suicide. So this is Rohit's way to get his own back on Balajeet. But before Rohit can succeed at his game, Balajeet intervenes. So a cat and mouse game develops... Director Sanjay Gupta has successfully portrayed the grim atmosphere of this thriller. Everything appears dark, matching the mood of the plot and making your hair stand on end. Mr Gupta has been heavily inspired by the Korean film, Oldboy. Some scenes are an exact replica. Having said this, he has done full justice to the Korean counterpart.
The action director deserves a special mention too. All the fight scenes have been executed with realism - this is one area where Bollywood is improving very quickly these days. One thing is for sure, this film is only for the strong-hearted. There are lots of gruesome episodes which make you cringe in your seat. Zinda (meaning alive) belongs to Sanjay Dutt all the way. His mannerisms and his performance match the mood of the film keeping you engrossed throughout. Without any doubt, he is the star of this thriller and rightly deserves it. The rest of the cast have little to showcase. They are there to support Sanjay Dutt as the story progresses. On the whole, Zinda is a slick and well-crafted product which deviates from Bollywood norms. Once again, Bollywood is really advancing in its way of thinking as audiences become more demanding.
Reviewed by Manish Gajjar,
BBC Shropshire Bollywood
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