Dear Mr. Raja Sen, Well, finally a piece from you that makes sense to me (you are repulsively opinionated at times- the way you tried to ensure that we think Black is the worst film in the history of cinema was hilarious).Well,I HAVE seen Zinda and one can say it is Mr. Guptas best plagiarized work. Oops, did I say Mr. Guptas work? Im sorry.This is a film made primarily by the cinematographer- also called Sanjay (F) Gupta by coincidence.The lead actors (both in fine form) take care of the rest.Zinda was most certainly- as we say- timepass for someone like me who has not seen Oldboy, but thats not the point. What we have is the danger of Bollywood being turned into a mere Photostat machine! While I was watching Zinda,there were these Chinese people sitting behind me. Probably having heard about Indian cinema, they had come to see what it had to offer. As the movie progressed,I saw their eyes widen in horror as they saw frame after frame ripped from Oldboy- they were simply flabbergasted. Halfway through the film, they left the theatre. Now Sanjay Gupta and many others may not care two hoots,(He just had a big bash to celebrate Zindas success) but I certainly felt ashamed.
As the movie progressed, I saw their eyes widen in horror as they saw frame after frame ripped from Oldboy- they were simply flabbergasted. Halfway through the film, they left the theatre. Now Mr. Sanjay Gupta and many others may not care two hoots, (I believe he just had a big bash to celebrate Zindas success) but I certainly felt ashamed. I must admit that this is one of the best articles I have read on rediff.com for a long time. Mr. Sen, I am proud of you. Your article moved me enough to write this and I applaud and salute you from the bottom of my heart for: a)Being passionate and brave enough to write this; b)Wearing your heart on your sleeve; c)Having your heart in the right place & d)Hitting the nail right on Mr. Guptas empty head. And for all those people who called Zinda one of the best movies in recent times- if you are so starved of good cinema then go to the local DVD library and see Iqbal, Swades, Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi, 15 Park Avenueyou will come to know what original, quality and above all Indian cinema means. This Republic Day, let us make it a point to boycott Sanjay Gupta and his ilk and usher in a new era of cinema we can be proud of. Yours truly, Jahan
Dear Mr. Raja Sen, Well, finally a piece from you that makes sense to me (you seem repulsively opinionated at times- the way you went all out to ensure that we all think Black is the worst film in the history of cinema was hilarious). However, here somehow I really have to agree with you. Well, I HAVE seen Zinda and one can say it is Mr. Guptas best plagiarized work. Oops, did I say Mr. Guptas work? Im sorry. This is a film made primarily by the cinematographer- also called Sanjay (F) Gupta by coincidence (the dumb critic from the TOI actually thought that the director is the cinematographer too and obviously impressed, went on to give the film a generous four-star rating). The lead actors (both in fine form) take care of the rest. Now Zinda was most certainly- as we say- timepass for someone like me who has not seen Oldboy, but thats not the point. What we have is the danger of Bollywood being turned into a mere Photostat machine! While I was watching Zinda, there were these Chinese people sitting behind me. Probably having heard about Indian cinema, they had come to see what it had to offer. As the movie progressed, I saw their eyes widen in horror as they saw frame(contd
Let me begin by saying that some time back in an interview Mr. Sanjay Gupta was asked as to why he doesn't go for original films.As a reply to that he had the following to say,"I started off with original ideas such as Aatish,Hamesha and Khauff(For people who joined late, these were Gupta's first 3 movies!).When I made these,people had to say,"Yeh to English filmon ko copy karta hai!" Then I made Kaante and people showered me with praise!At that point of time I realized that you really need not be a writer to get appreciated for your work, you might as well be a photocopier!"These are the exact words that Mr. Gupta said in a Filmfare interview in the year 2002.I guess that says it all.Its human nature to be cynical towards soemthing that gets appreciated and Mr. Raja Sen is no different.Mind it,I've seen both Oldboy and Reservoir Dogs and according to me,Kaante and Zinda as the "copies" were far more superior both technically and content-wise.Every director has his vision and be it a copy,it takes skill to translate your vision onto the screen.And as for Written&Directed by Sanjay Gupta goes,who is a saint in Hindi film industry anyways?Go watch Zinda guys,its as good as it gets!
Mr. Sen's point may be valid but what intrigues me is why is choose just one film maker and went after him aggressively. If he argues that it is because of max no of copy cat movies, I would think Yash Chopra is also on the top of the heap- case in point Hum Tum, Salaam Namaste, Neal & Nikki and many more.The only original film maker in bollywood seems to be Ram Gopal Verma . As Indian moviegoers, we're used to copies and inspirations! But all we look forward to is a well made and well acted copy - unfortunately even that is rare. Zinda provides that and more.
Now Hollywood has started remaking Sholay,Don, Umrao Jaan etc. Will Mr. Sen not watch them?? Who want's to bet?????
zinda is a great film. its a 5 star film. its true that its a copy of korean film old boy, but how many ordinary people in india watch korean movie.? go and watch zinda for sake of sanjay dutt. he is terrific. truly deadly dutt.
Mr Gupta is not the only one to blame. There are so many other films that are also lifted from Hollywood, lock, stock and barrel. Has Mr Sen avoided seeing all those? Even the first half of Black was lifted from The Miracle Worker. If Mr Sen saw Black, whether he knew this or not, then he should not be pointing fingers at Mr Gupta.
Mr Sen's letter to the director of Zinda, is strong but not a valid argument. Oldboy itself was inspired by Japanese comics by Minegishi Nobuaki and Tsuchiya Garon. All creative work is inspired from some other source and inspiration put to good use takes its own form. All movies are inspired from some source, infact the same movies are being remade. Mr Sen will have to stop watching not only Gupta's movies but also every movie made anywhere. Frankly I like Gupta's movies as they are guaranteed different than the yashraj/sharukhkhan/karanjohar garbage. And Gupta is getting better with every movie(copy) he makes, I am already looking forward to his next and Mr Sen "just chill"! Gaurav K Goswami Seattle, USA
Well, its obvious from bunch pages of replies that people don't mind watching stolen material, after all its convinent for them. But lets be honest we really don't care much about intellectual property and its copyright, its pretty evident with the amount of software/audio/video piracy done in our country. However there are people who take offence to it, even we might if something of ours is stolen (i.e American company trying to copyright Neem Tree and its use). What is true is that Sanjay Gupta maybe making slick movies for Bollywood standards, but they are completley stolen material, and finally someone might take offence to it. Btw all ppl complaining for hollywood remakes of japanese horror movies, those movies rights of remakes are bought not stolen.
look, if zinda is a copy dats bad. but if ppl can enjoy watchin it, y do we the audiences care? u don' have to STAY AWAY FROM WATCHING IT just coz u know it's got a copied idea.the basic reason ppl go to cinemas is to chill out and njoy and not to measure the originality of the script or to find reasons to criticise the director(except 4 u critics,of course....dats what u watch movies for,right?) its ok 2 say it's bin copied, but y write a load of RUBBISH like "i wont watch it"....sounds downright dumb and foolish. wonder if rediff.com eva goes thru' the crap the reviewers write?
