Review of Shaan

Shaan (1980)
10/10
Classic action-adventure Bollywood-style
5 December 2021
Hardworking Police Officer Shiv Kumar (Sunil Dutt) lives with his wife, his son, and two wayward brothers. When he is killed, Ravi ( Shashi Kapoor) and Vijay(Amitabh Bachchan) renounce their waywardness to find their brother's killer, to avenge his death.

Shaan was penned by Salim-Javed duo and directed by Ramesh Sippy, the team that brought you the iconic Sholay, and, of course, with such a group of people there were high expectations to match the 1975 films success, and unfortunately Shaan didn't ignite the box office returns in the same manner, however that doesn't, in my eyes, blight the escapist delight which is Shaan, a James Bond meets Bollywood adventure that has enough thrills, comedy, intrigue and drama to keep you glued.

With a big star cast featuring here, you just can't go wrong, and they all play their parts very well. Amitabh Bachchan is cool and is at the top of his game, Shashi Kapoor is a great foil to his antics, Sunil Dutt is solid in a police role, Shatrughan Sinha is cool in a roguish assassin role, and Parveen Babi and Bindya Godswami add the glamour, but of course, the attention will be on Kulbhushan Karabanda who plays Shakaal with the right balance of charisma and menace. His James Bond lair is well-designed. His island was shot in UK.

The plot is tight, moves snappily, and engages you - but it's the action is what I like. It's exciting in an outlandish way, but it's still reined in with some slice of grittiness. Loved the hostage tower scene. The car chases and shootout featuring Shotgun Sinha are great too.

If you want a thrilling Bollywood action-adventure blockbuster whose sole intention is to entertain, then Shaan is perfect watch.
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