Q: What country produces the largest number of films per year? What country
has the most profitable movie industry?
A: India, on both counts.
When we are small children, our internal understanding of what is possible in
the set of all things "movie" is constantly being expanded as we see more. As
we grow older, this expansion of our movie worldview slows, and eventually
comes to a stop. We are then jaded; we can go to the theater capable of
enjoyment, but not that same childlike wonder. That is, unless we see a movie
that completely goes beyond anything we even dreamed of expecting. It's such
a thrill, it's almost a religious experience, because it alters our
perception of what is possible on film.
Once I reached adulthood, I have only three times had this experience: when I
first saw a Gene Kelly movie (SINGING IN THE RAIN), when I first saw a Jackie
Chan movie (POLICE STORY), and when I first saw a "masala" film (KHUDA
GAWAH). Everybody in the world seems to have already been a fan of Gene
Kelly; by this time, most people are now familiar with Jackie Chan; but here
in America-unless you are of Indian descent-chances are exceedingly slim
that you're a fan of Bollywood musicals.
Masala films mix together seemingly disparate film genres in a heady blend,
resulting in a completely unique flavor. My first masala film, KHUDA GAWAH
("God Is My Witness"), was a romance western crime mythic prison drama
religious multigenerational epic action musical. How is that possible, you
ask? How could that possibly work? It's brilliant. It does.
The opening: 1960s Afghanistan. A horde of horsemen race across the
plains-Two rival families are playing a deadly ritual game of buzkashi,
racing to be the first to carry a goat carcass across a finish line. The two
greatest warriors on both sides are neck and neck, each with one hand
grasping the carcass-and then one's scarf falls, revealing to the other that
"he" is actually a "she". Stricken by the beauty of lovely Benazir (Sridevi),
Badshah Khan (Bachchan) lets go, allowing her to win. He will marry her, he
decides in that moment.
One lush music and dance number later, Benazir has agreed to take Badshah
Khan's hand in marriage if he travels to India and brings back the head of
Habibullah, the fiend who killed her father. Badshah Khan swears, "Khuda
Gawah"-"God Is My Witness," that he shall do so. And so begins a tale of
romantic oaths, honor, and betrayal like you have never seen before. I won't
give away more, because I want your experience to be a pure one, but be
warned that the movie doesn't go where you would expect it to.
The movie is three hours long, but it is one of the few you will ever see
that truly needs that length. No stalling in this movie; the plot on this
thing is a rollercoaster. And it actually makes sense! I only bring this up
because the movie's closest brother, in terms of feel, might be the school of
Hong Kong cinema which wobbles perilously between total screwball comedy and
overwrought tragedy, and is characterized by a marked lack of coherence. But
this film replaces the comedy with soap opera twists, and goes to great
lengths to be completely coherent. Every time I questioned the movie's logic,
I was then able to promptly answer it myself.
And the cast! Talk about charisma. Amitabh Bachchan is kind of a Harrison
Ford mixed with James Earl Jones mixed with Paul Newman with a dash of Cary
Grant. Only in India, he's evidently bigger than all of them ever were, put
together. Sridevi's a hot-hot hottie, and she gets to sink her teeth into a
dual role as two contrasting characters. And Kiran Kumar, as the
scenery-chewing villain Pasha, deserves cult status for a performance that's
part Alan Rickman, part Dom Delouise.
Watch it with friends, and you might laugh at the silliness of the musical
numbers mixed in with the John Woo-style action. Watch it by yourself, and
you may find a lump forming in your throat at the climactic final
musical-action sequence. Either way, you'll get the catchy title song "Khuda
Gawah" stuck in your head for days-and like it. But watch it! If you're
unfamiliar with Bollywood, it will be an experience unlike any you've ever
experienced-and KHUDA GAWAH is one of the best of the genre.
-Quin Arbeitman
While we would never encourage anyone to destroy a video... 
