User Reviews

Finally, we get to see our Cinema experimenting outside traditional boundaries.

People who didn't like this movie will probably hate iconic films such as good bad and ugly, taxi driver or raging bull, but these films are showcased as examples of fine film making around the world.

IMO, Lal Kaptaan is an extremely well made film that deserves it's recognition in our industry. Indian cinema needs more creative projects like this, or else we will be stuck with another four installments of mindless "Dhoom's" and "War's"!

8/10

Plot: Around 1789 a Naga sadhu (Saif Ali Khan) who works as a bounty hunter gets wind of Rehmat Khan, a man he has been trying to find and kill for 25 years.

A Naga sadhu (Saif Ali Khan) Addressed in the film as Gossain has built a legend by bounty hunting. Some even calls him a ghost. He covers huge land and difficulties to find his target Rehmat Khan. The film revolves around the question who is he and why is he obsessed with this particular target.

Laal Kaptaan starts with a bang. We get to see some cool actions and amazing dialogues. Saif looks awesome in his Naga sadhu avatar. The whole first part is awesome. I enjoyed it.

The best part of the film is the tracker played by Deepak Dobriyal. His character is amazing so is his performance. His catch phrase is Howdodoo! For few gold coins he can track anyone. If this was The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, he would be the ugly.

For this type of film to succeed incredible acting is required, Deepak Dobriyal did and for the most part Saif Ali Khan did it too. The young man in beginning awaiting to be hanged was amazing too. Rest of the cast did not add much.

I found the music to be great as well, it accompanied with some amazing visual.

The self destruction of Rehmat Khan begs the question how he managed to live for so many years. The character of our Bad guy is incoherent and feels dead like the eyes of the actor who played it. But the worst actor credit goes to the widow (Zoya Hussain). It is a pain to see her ruining a superb film. Her character had to had the most depth but she ruined it. A cardboard has more emotional range. In the second part many unnecessary things were shown. And the film felt long.

I enjoyed the first half immensely also the climax. It is an enjoyable film. Also some of the dialogues are very impactful. Over all a very well written film.

Nice saga story of a naga. Watchable for saif's best ever performance, and Deepak' s fabulous performance.

I am very generous with 10 as I am a sucker for Western films n it's rare to come across a Western film from Bollywood.

The story is set in the 18th century India n it is about a disturbed sadhu/ascetic who is on the hunt to seek revenge. The disturbed bounty hunter is on a killing spree n has spent two decades chasing his enemy. For the first time in Bollywood history, we r introduced to a man with no name.

We also have our desi tracker a la David Gulpilil, who can find out the whereabouts of any man or animal by just following his scent n he is aided by two ferocious hunting dogs.

After Sonchiriya, this is the second western to come out from Bollywood and while revenge is a common theme in Westerns, it is the harsh/rugged terrain which is a character itself in Western films. This film too has some splendid sun soaked dry settings like Sonchiriya. The cinematography brings the bleakest of environments to frightening life, aided by the fact that the locations were every bit as bleak as they appeared on screen in both the films.

Yes, there is revenge in the movie but the plot that leads is something different. Watch it if you like to watch different movies. The plot starts very slow but ends with thrill.

I rate it 5/5.. Pros: 1.) Narrative is Gripping 2.) Strong Character Work 3.) Great Direction and Screenplay 4.) Good Story and interesting plot points 5.) Great acting by every actor

Cons: 1.) It should've been a Series, they should've stretched this movie by more 3 hours and dwelled upon the characters a bit more because they were really interesting. This could've killed as a TV series, better than sacred games and any other recent popular TV show. 2.) Theater audience is not mature enough to handle this movie, people should go and watch Race 3 and Housefull if you didn't like this movie!

Laal Kaptaan is one of those films; you either like it or hate it. There's no in between. Majority of the people who watch Bollywood movies on a consistent basis; they might not understand the film much. As a result it didn't generate the success it should have in the box office. But for the minority people who absolutely adores cinema making and have an understanding about films, they will applaud it a lot. The sets, cinematography, Costume designs all felt so genuine considering the era it has set in. The eerie feel of the surroundings really makes you feel isolated and invested into the plot. The stellar performances are the catalysts who help us to make ourselves more engrossed into the storyline for the good! Saif Ali Khan has acted his heart out, pure hard work and dedication. This man can surely do versatile roles for sure. I hope he gets more opportunities to showcase his true talents. Deepak Dobriyal gave his usual best. The other characters were good enough too for their respective roles. Although I felt some character development has been lacking for their parts; hence we couldn't really engage or feel much about those characters! The slow burn was necessary in order to build up but The makers have made it too much slower for my liking. There are some longer period of sequences that weren't totally essential in my opinion. There are some obvious flaws and loopholes too that you can't really get rid of once you notice them. I would have love too see more depth rather than the simplicity it has shown. The climax was disappointing, the suspense was there but the ending couldn't really satisfy that eagerness I contained For the entirety! At the end I must say; as this is a fresh approach, I would love to see more films coming in the distant future. With time the audience will surely grasp this newer approach for sure. The makers will serve better finished products too.

This is not a conventional action film or a regular period film as such, its just a fiction mixed with some assumed real incidents. So for a different entertainment and flavor, this is good stuff.. Just sit back and enjoy the film and the shades, and the acting.. No judgments. If all try to be critics then who will be the audience. Just keep the pen and paper aside without writing down the good and the bad stuff.. And be a raw viewer for a better experience.

Beautiful visuals. Lovely score. Great makeup and costumes. Good performance by whole cast. Only thing is that it is predictable but still enjoyable.

Lal Kaptaan could have easily been the best of all the Bollywood's historical sagas that has been releasing for the past 2-3 years. Lal kaptaan has a brilliant unprecedented storyline compared to the usual king meets king or king meets queen and bash up their enemies sort of melodramas. The premise was not only aided with good actors but in fact it had interesting characters who made the storyline but Lal kaptaan never takes of the ground despite all the advantages it had.

The biggest problem despite such an interesting story which begins aftermath of the Battle of Buxar and involves Bengalis, Afghans, British, Marathas, Mughals, and many others was in its screenplay, as there was no character introduction as such to begin with and most of the scenes had lacklustre dialogues adding to the woes.

Every now and then there was a brief few minutes of exceptional scenes, which only fizzled out faster than cola on a hot day. The lead character Gossain looked like the "Lone Ranger" but with a "Tonto" makeup and the movie draws heavy inspiration from Lone Ranger-Wild Wild West stories.

Most of the actors had done their parts to the best of their ability with Deepak Dobriyal being exceptional as the tracker. Costumes and production design was decent enough given the magnitude of the movie. Makeup was the only outstanding department in the movie. Stunts/ Action scenes were a big disappointment.

Editing and music was also just about par but the despite all the strengths the crew had, the entire blame has to go to the director Navdeep Singh, whose bursts of brilliance in many parts undid everything when it reaches the final cut.

Lal Kaptaan could have been a pulsating triller given the story but ended up as a dull and boring quagmire with occasional brilliance. Overall for the inexperienced eye, Lal Kaptaan would have looked brilliant but definitely not recommend for the serious movie watchers.

I havent posted a review for 7 -8 years.. This forced my hand. First of all Saif may not be important at the Box office but boy is he doing some good stuff. This movie completely bowled me over.. An absolute masterpiece. Woh Zakhm hi kya jo dikh jaye..

Though it is a simple revenge story but the way it is narrated and the environment in which story is set makes this movies a nice movie experience. Saif Ali Khan is the best as well as the main part of the story. After seeing this movies i can't imagine someone else insted of Saif. Overall the movie is good but this movie is not going to be liked by everyone as this one only apples to a small number of audience.

Let me start off by saying, I love stories taking place in ancient India (my biggest reason to watch the movie) but the movie felt incomplete and slow.

What i liked - *Good characters *Great world building *Great performance by actors What I disliked- * Extremely slow pacing ( you can cut out like 10 scenes from the movie and it would make no difference to story or character in anyway except to emphasis how badass protagonist was) *Bad plot (The story just seems to be dragging on for something massive but nope, it's just a typical cliche you probably will see coming if you didn't fall asleep halfway) *Out of character scenes - some actions by the characters didn't make much Overall a very slow and tedious movie not worth watching.

The movie was overall slow. It was a mix of boring & interesting moment Stretched out way more than was necessary. I literally started playing Pokémon go during the boring parts of the movie. The movie deserves somewhere between 6.5 stars & 7 stars rating, but is definately below 7. Of course I gave it a 7 because hasn't created a decimal rating system yet.

Definitely, best of this year as for as concept, treatment & technique concerns! It has pure feel of Hollywood type movie with true thriller movie concept. Recently if I have to compare it, I will say it has same feel as of " Bone Tomahawk " & that is the best complement I can give for direction! Length is bit too long, especially second half but it rarely drags anywhere in between. Performances are 'A' class Saif, dobriwala, zoya Hussain have played perfectly. Only blemish I can see is Manav vij. Though a good actor just caught in the magnitute of big role in offer. He has an opportunity to make this great role into legendary but he can't lived to expectations. Looked very rigid. Director Navdeep deserved full credit and all accolades for wonderful job done. It was his best work after "Manorama five feet under" and best ever as for big commercial project. I wish this gets the success it deserve. It helps us narrowing the gap between Bollywood & Hollywood !

At the outset, Laal Kaptaan is your classic Bollywood revenge drama. What still makes it an interesting watch is how the makers create an interesting world that keeps you riveted.

The film does take time to set up the character and his conflict. For the first half an hour you keep wondering what is the motive behind Saif's title character - is he a messiah who kills dacoits or is he just a mercenary who works for money or a rebel fighting foreign forces until you realise he is on a revenge mission, which forms the crux of the film.

The makers aptly explore the untouched ravines of central India that recreate the bygone era and give the film the intrinsic flavour it demands. The production values are not lavish like a war film but authentic as per the film's demand. The setting often reminds of another film of 2019 (Sonchiriya) which too was rustic, set in ravines and had the same dialogue flavour by same writer Sudip Sharma. Yet Lal Kaptaan manages to stand by itself.

More than the basic storyline, the makers are successful in creating interesting characters - like Zoya Hussain's mistress who desperately vies for her kid's custody, Simone Singh's queen who doesn't want to give her authority and a junior Maratha leader who is stuck amidst impulsive Pindaris. Deepak Dobriyal's character is intentionally kept wacky and over-the-top which he plays a little more animated than required. Alas his character remains peripheral and doesn't contribute much to the central plot. Saif's character is a glamourized version of sanyasi Baba though one wouldn't get to see any aghori angle or Naga Sadhu symbolism over there. You root for the character more for the hunger in his revenge than for his stylization. Also, though he puts a very convincing act, Saif looks fat in several frames.

The suspense that the director desperately tries to maintain till the climax with multiple flashback cuts is, unfortunately, something that you see coming too early in the narrative. That is also because the plot is largely one-dimensional and there isn't any other angle where the makers could have possibly deceived the audiences.

Also in that respect, the film could have been crisper in terms of both it's storytelling and editing. Some scenes just keep going. The unnecessary slow burn kills the audience attention. At two and a half hours, the film does test your patience. A shorter span and faster pace would have easily made it more entertaining. Also there are many subplots from Afghans, British, Pindaris to the Marathas though none is really connected to the main narrative.

Other than Saif, Manaj Vij as the antagonist is authoritative. Zoya Hussain is quite good. Deepak Dobriyal hams at places. Neeraj Kabi, Aamir Bashir and Simone Singh add good support.

Set in 18th century Civil War between the Maratha, Mughals, British East India Company and Princely States. A Naga sadhu in India sets out on a journey across Bundelkhand to seek revenge for an injustice committed in the past. This movie is an art of fine cinema making, brilliant screenplay and acting by Saif Ali Khan and Manav Vij.

This movie is dark and brutal definitely for audience who understands meaningful cinema not for all masses. Revenge story are always entertaining so is this movie 👍

3/out of 5 🌟 🌟 🌟

It could have been so much more but fell short on too many fronts. Had the making of an excellent revenge story, had a good historical backdrop, had one of the better star actors...yet it's nothing but disappointment for me. Even Saif's performance looked forced at instances.

LAAL KAPTAAN is a slow and a poor movie that has nothing good to offer the audiences in general.

Film sets in 18th century India, a Naga sadhu named Gosain (Saif Ali Khan) in India sets out on a journey across Bundelkhand to seek revenge for an injustice committed in the past by the evil Rehmat Khan. This is the main plot of Lal Kaptaan.

Well into the second half of Laal Kaptaan, film takes some twist and turn to its climax and spends an awfully long time to get there.

Director Navdeep Singh keep the film away from the sentimentality common to Hindi cinema, Laal Kaptaan lacks pace. Dialogues, so essential for a historical thriller like this one, falter and flail in critical scenes, puncturing the impact of a unique story.

Laal Kaptaan will take you to a path for nowhere. It should have cut to the chase, literally and figuratively, but instead, it becomes an unbearably long and pointless pursuit.

Could have given 8, but extra 1 for story telling.... Bollywood is growing in right direction. Need more like this.

A simple story of a Naga Sadhu in search of someone. The story isn't extraordinary but was well written in simple terms. The music and lyrics was really good, so were all the actors. This was a wonderful watch. Just over 2 hours and 30 minutes, this won't bore you. Available on Amazon Prime.

#FinalVerdict

Laal Kaptaan is excruciatingly slow and bizarre. When the director sometimes starts thinking that 'Apun-ich God Hai', then the fate is similar to the second season of Sacred Games. DEBACLE!

Not just the unconventional story/screenplay (Deepak Venkatesha & Navdeep Singh), even the execution leaves the viewer clueless & the lack of subtitles adds to Laal Kaptaan's woes, especially when so many characters are speaking in different dialects throughout. On top of it, the editing (Jabeen Merchant) also spoils the overall impact as Laal Kaptaan has multiple tracks and a lengthy runtime with dreary and dull proceedings, repetitive imagery and banal dialogues (Sudip Sharma). The movie attempts to amp up suspense & tension but fails to sustain either. Director Navdeep Singh has directed a hollow period drama with nothing interesting to say. Shanker Raman's cinematography is the only saving grace in an otherwise barren film. Opting for generic combat sequences & seen-to-death sword fights, director Navdeep Singh fails in executing anything memorable here. The pre-climactic battle sequence is intriguing but soon fizzles out because the ultimate moments are also silly. Abdul Salam Ansari's authentic action scenes deserve special mention. Doesn't go over the top.

Zoya Hussain appears desperate, disheveled and has a haunting presence as per the requirement. Simone Singh, too, has an arresting presence but reduced to a bickering wife. Despite the physicality, Saif Ali Khan looks disinterested. He's too wooden, bereft of any allure or mystery, both key components for a character like this to work. Deepak Dobriyal, accompanied by two dogs: Sukhiram & Dukhiram, is a delight to watch as usual. Manav Vij is FANTASTIC. His intense eyes compliment his character. Neeraj Kabi and Sonakshi Sinha are wasted.

All in all, Laal Kaptaan also has a menacing BGM (Benedict Taylor-Naren Chandavarkar) but the movie is insufferable. FIASCO! Avoid at all costs!

Everyone should watch this masterpiece!what a performance by everyone and specially saif ali khan superb!

Movie starts out promisingly but somehow could not keep me engrossed throughout the run time. It missed the spark required for such genre. Saif and deepak dobriyal looked convincing in their roles but if the story is shallow then you cant do anything. This was promising but am really sorry, it just didnt work.