Yes, Khuda Gawah is, lamentably, low on imagination. What it does have is loads of drama, melodrama, melo-melodrama. It is hugely unconvincing as a story, even though as a fairytale it might be a good watch for lovers of Hindi cinema. No one should be giving it too much attention, let alone take the story too seriously. The portrayal of Afghan people and culture is terribly lacking and even as an epic the emotions are so gushing and exaggerated that few people with normal patience would be able to go through it all. Ditto for the typical action scenes. What it does have is relatively good production values, nice locales and impressive costumes. The idea is interesting, since few filmmakers would be willing to step out of their comfort zone and do something like this, as flawed as the result was. Amitabh Bachchan is too old for his part, and therefore one cannot take his performance very seriously anyway. Danny Denzongpa is efficient as the loyal friend. Sridevi has sure got great histrionics, and it is sad that she was probably not good in choosing the right films. She rises above a poor script, but who does it really benefit when the quality of a film is not up to the mark and the role is so missing in depth? She is wasted even though she is responsible for some of the film's brightest moments and does well in both her roles. Khuda Gawah sure was special, but sadly, not good enough, and for me, it was just a one-time watch. Watch at your own risk.
