Naksha: meaning map I think, and Indiana Jones adventure for the Hindi movie goer

So I'm going to try and keep this blog to movies before 2002, but sometimes I find some homage films that are just too culturally important for America to forget. I also think it is important to talk about films made today about previous eras because of the lost, recycled mentality I'm noticing in our culture. For example, hit songs, films and newest fashion trends are all taken from previous American styles and made to form a hipper version that loses the original ideas. Like Rihanna's use of the song "Tainted Love" to recreate a vapid dance number.

For foreign films, I will be more relaxed about the varying release dates since I've noticed foreign perspectives bring new elements to film that are different from American cinema.

Speaking of which, let's go onto Naksha. On the Netflix summary, it is described as the Bollywood answer to Indiana Jones. And it is sort of (notice the hat).


Potential for making comical suggestions a la mystery science theater? Yes, is what I thought when it arrived. Especially when I saw that Vivek Oberoi, somewhat goofy or melodramatic B actor was in it. He was silly in Deewane Huye Paagal, and way too weepy in Saathiya and Yuva. Here comes my shift from my preconceptions: Good acting and the film had entertainment value. Vicky (Vivek Oberoi) and Veer (the talented Sunny Deol) follow in their father's footsteps to protect an ancient map with a Hindu background. Veer first tries to get Vicky to give up his quest as per Vicky's mother's request, but then helps protect his little brother and complete the intentions of their murdered father. Along the way, ancillary Riya (newcomer Sameera Reddy) gets washed upstream along their journey. And they better be careful because the obsessive and blood thirsty Baali (Jackie Schroff) is after them.

The film does a wonderful job evoking the same spirit as Indiana Jones, with dusty landscapes and mystical obstacles. There is a lot of empty space where nothing happens except Veer and Vicky banter and bicker through the wildnerness trail, but it is pretty charming to watch. There is some backstory missing, but the plot is definitely more important than the characters. The songs, the reason why I expected a reason to make fun of this, totally delivered corniness.

Take a listen to "Shake it" or "Let's do Balle Balle": Naksha

There are all kinds of English words that are out of context, which of course is to be expected. But the quality of these musical numbers are really unimportant and not even long enough to contribute anything to the film.

BOTTOM LINE: Delightfully mystical and short Bollywood (only about 2 hours). Really well made film save for the fluff. Good for a rainy day