Aar Ya Paar (1997) Poster

(1997)

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4/10
Not what you expect from Ketan Mehta
MindblowingMahiya1 March 2010
The director that made "Bhav Ni Bhavai", "Mirch Masala" or even "Mangal Panday" is not even close to being his best in "Aar ya Paar". It looks like a cheap and easy movie he was arm-twisted into making so he sleep-walked through it. Th story of "The Sucker Punch" has been made into a Gujarati Drama: Shrugal. Paresh Rawal who played the inspector in the movie actually played the crook husband in the Drama - a much more entertaining performance than Jackie Shroff. Ketan Mehta also once more used his then Girlfriend, now wife Deepa Sahi in the movie. She is not particularly talented and when she tries to be sexy, she becomes laughable. Ketan should have learned from V. Shantaram and Chetan Anand's disastrous pampering of their spouses/lovers. The other girl who plays Meena is not even able to read her lines convincingly.
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10/10
Didn't Expect That from Bollywood
saurabhkas19 November 2007
I really don't like the reception this movie has gotten so far. This is a very well made movie and deserves a lot better rating.

Like I said, Ketan Mehta has always impressed me with his exclusive style of film making. Sort of similar to M Night Shyamalan in US. You never know what to expect.

The movie is fast paced, the director wasted no time in useless song sequences, unlike other Hindi movies where it seems like director just turned on the camera and went to doz off. The casting is superb! Jakie Shroff is excellent.

Well worth a watch. I seriously recommend this!!
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10/10
A good thriller.
p_mandal26 May 2002
This movie has everything viewers want.... 1. A brilliant story 2. Good performance by everyone especially Jackie, Paresh Rawal... 3. Good songs and 4. A brilliant climax.

The only reason the film did not do well in the box office is that it got caught up with the censor board who wanted a few scenes cut off it.

Otherwise the movie is really worth viewing.
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8/10
Gooddd Thriller Flick!!
tumbde-akshay4 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, the plot is 'inspired' by a British novel 'Sucker Punch' but the Bollywood adaptation is fresh and crisp. The pace is neck-breaking and the suspense is ever-mounting... I must say that I was taken by surprise by the twist and the story that follows. The pace rarely drops and keeps you guessing all the while. For a movie made in the later half of the 1990s, its a feat to capture the audience attention with such little number of songs and concrete script. Jackie Shroff & Paresh Raawal are the stars of this movie. (wish Raawal had more screen time).Deepa Sahi is good for how much she gets to do. Shooting locations are mostly exotic and Dialogues are average.

No, the female lead Kamal Sidhu messes it up completely. Her performance is wooden, to be polite. Music disappoints, considering what Viju Shah has achieved in the past.

All in all, the movie if watched without any expectations comes across as a very pleasant surprise. I wish they'd make a sequel!
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9/10
Good Stuff
searing_brutality26 April 2005
This movie is one of my all time favourites,not just because of the fast paced nature of the flick or the performances but because it is nothing like what most other Hindi movies are. No weepy crap or family drama,Aar Ya Paar is a kick ass movie. I was very impressed when I first saw it and couldn't believe it was original. I was right.The entire dialogue has been lifted from James Hadley Chase's 'The Sucker Punch'.Not one part of the story has been changed and I think all the scriptwriter(???) has done is translated Chase's book in Hindi. I don't think any actor could've played Shekhar Khosla the way Jackie Shroff did.The only thing this movie lacks is originality. A very well made movie with a brilliant performance by Jackie Shroff.
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8/10
An underrated crime thriller worth a watch.
nadkarnisumeet31 January 2021
Aar Ya Paar review :

Ketan Mehta's underrated thriller which was evidently inspired from a popular James Hadley Chase novel. Aar Ya Paar had Jackie Shroff playing an anti hero who marries a richie rich sanki lady (Kamal Siddhu) for her wealth and then plots to kill her with help from her sexy secretary Deepa Sahi. The plan is executed but goes awry due to his past girlfriend Ritu Shivpuri. What happens next?

Of the cast, Jackie aka Jaggu Dada was perfect as the philandering anti hero. It is one of his best performances yet highly underrated. Deepa Sahi was equally good in her complex role and she looked truly ravishing in a swimsuit. On the other hand, Kamal Siddhu and Ritu were bad casting decisions. Paresh Rawal left an impression in a small but important role of ACP Khan.

Mehta Saahab's direction was competent (though he concentrated more on his wife Deepa than the other two ladies). Music by Viju Shah was also memorable with a song filmed in Venice, Italy.

Despite being a well executed taut thriller, Aar Ya Paar didn't work at the box office. The audience just couldnt accept the main lead as a villain killing his own wife. But today, the film makes for an entertaining watch and can pass off as a precursor to Sriram Raghavan's neo noir thrillers like Johnny Gaddar (2007) and Andhadhun (2018).

I had seen this film at Hindmata cinema Dadar during its theatrical run and loved it. Was pretty disappointed by its box office outcome then. Well as the clichè goes, some films are way ahead of its time. This one surely was!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni
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9/10
Thriller fans would love to indulge in this Cracker of a movie!
activatebhargav9 August 2020
Aar Ya Paar is not what you expect from a regular Bollywood movie. The plot was way ahead of its time. The movie is pacy with very minimum dull moments. Actually a remake as an OTT would be great option during these times.. Ketan Mehta has made this really well and direction is fast. Jackie was excellent in his role and performed the role to the T. A complete no nonsense role by him and has elevated the movie by his presence. Paresh Rawal is also fantastic in his role. Others do a decent job in their limited roles. Kamal Sidhu was bad and very loud in her role. Somebody else would have done a better job. All in all must watch Bollywood thriller. An ode to James Hadley Chase.
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10/10
A movie ahead of its time and audience
aravindnair-2297125 November 2016
This movie was made ahead of its time and audience and so out of character for Indian cinema. Great Story (a rare commodity in Bollywood), good acting (again rare), solid thriller. Over all should have gotten a much higher rating it deserved.

This movie shows so many facets of Human emotions at one go. love, Lust, Betrayal, Corruption, Greed, Desperation and Salvation. It would have best suited if the movie was allowed without any cuts and editing, If cuts are so necessary then they could have done better with less songs. I don't know why but this movie's plot still seems to me as inspired from somewhere for the writers because of the over all bold theme and presentation of the movie which is a surprise to me. No offense, its just an opinion i have, i may be wrong. Over all a very good movie. Kudos to the makers.
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8/10
Hollywood style Jackie acting like Harrison Ford
mfhadm-073339 September 2019
It's a total Hollywood style thriller. Good work from all the actors. Paresh Rawal and Jackie stole the show. Their one on one conversation scenes are great. Bollywood was having all melodrama movies that time. This was way ahead of its time. Watch it.
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8/10
Based on the novel of james hadley chase "sucker puch" .
afzala-1539119 November 2020
This movie based on the novel "sucker punch" james hadely chase. Its very good and ameazing thrill suspense.
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Sex violence and an original screenplay, a remarkable achievement for bollywood
nishantsirohi12323 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
first the good-

music- like all ketan mehta films the music is amazing, trance and such sexy lyrics, not to mention all shot likewise

Plot- Richard Hadley chase(nothing more, nothing less)

Photography and screenplay- slick and tight all around

Strong performance- Jackie Shroff, Deepa Sahi (man she is sexy)

Downside - Kamal Sidhu- wooden frame and wooden acting, on the bright side she gets killed soon and spends most of her time tossed around as a corpse

Ritu Shivpuri- not so pretty to begin with, ...saving grace is that she is not given much screen time except the songs

Songs- at times(all Ritu shivpuri songs) they are simply "inserted" and do nothing for the plot.......but they are excellent both to listen and watch
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