Kabzaa is a Bollywood movie from the 1980s, so don't expect subtlety, carefully elaborated characters, ambitious plots, interesting subplots, or highly consistent storytelling. But then, who said we can't enjoy a movie with a simple, straightforward story, cardboard heroes and a villain who is really BAD, if the actors manage to entertain? The movie begins with a young Sanjay Dutt (still known as "Sunjay" in those days) covered with blood, with four bullets in his chest and one in his head, trying to save himself. The rest of the movie lives up to the expectations raised by its catchy prelude.
Ravi (Sanjay Dutt) and Ranjit (Raj Babbar) are brothers. Ravi is a good-for-nothing without a job and without a purpose in life, Ranjit is a successful lawyer who works for the local don, Velji Bhai (Paresh Rawal). Velji Bhai wants to purchase a piece of land owned by Ustad Ali Mohammed (Alok Nath) at any cost, but the latter intends to use it for building a children's park instead, and thus refuses. When Ravi is sent out by Velji Bhai to persuade Ali Mohammed with violence, he is so impressed by the man's kindheartedness that he starts protecting him instead. Velji Bhai, of course, is furious...
The story is very similar to that of another movie, Ghulam, made ten years later by Mahesh Bhatt's nephew Vikram Bhatt. Both movies are based on (let's avoid the word "remake") Marlon Brando's all-time classic "On the Waterfront". Whatever one may think of Bollywood-style remakes, it means at least that we can't complain about a bad story. And indeed, unlike many other Bollywood movies from the same period, Kabzaa is a movie one can watch without ever getting bored: the tempo is decent, drama and action sequences follow each other quickly enough to keep one's thoughts from drifting away. Fortunately, Bhatt refrained from inserting obnoxious comedy elements, and the obligatory love stories are kept to a minimum. Still, it is the actors that make this movie worth watching. Sanjay Dutt, Raj Babbar, Paresh Rawal and Alok Nath all give fine performances. The two female roles, played by Amrita Singh and Dimple Kapadia, add little of value, but at least they don't spoil the movie, which is already an achievement in itself.
