Thugs of Hindostan

I was actually interested in seeing this movie when I saw the poster at the theater. Usually when I go see Bollywood films, they are straight up action movies with the manliest of men doing feats of strength to save the world and his woman (And in-between they do a song and dance which always puts me out of the mood).

The only difference between those and Thugs of Hindostan is the fact that it takes place in a Pirates of the Caribbean backdrop. It’s a pretty well laid out rip off: The main protagonist is just like Jack Sparrow, he’s suppose to be the hero, but you never know which side he’s actually on. Although he’s not as entertaining as Johnny Depp he does have his own theme music (Which actually becomes a bad running gag after a while).

So this guy Firangi is a con artist hired by a British company to spy on a group of Rebels looking to overturn the empire that took over their country.

The film even has it’s own Elizabeth Swan in a though as nails princess who does some pretty cool movies. There’s also another woman in the movie, Suraiyya who looks like she was just inserted to make up for the lack of eye candy.

I am impress with the effort the film is doing. It tries hard to be an epic action adventure. Although in comparison of Pirates of the Caribbean it feels cheap, or rather closed in. It feels like it was filmed on a movie set that did not have enough space. The action scenes were not loose enough, not extravagant enough. Every one was boxed in and they really couldn’t let go in the area they were filming.

Despite that, I die enjoy it. something different from the Bollywood genre, but I guess it will take more money than Bollywood is willing to give to do that.