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For action movies, this takes some beating I have seen some Sci Fi action scenes in my time, but for sheer, oh-my-god-that’s-incredible-when-can-I-see it? sort of level, this India-made film is extraordinary. Another sign, by the way, of India’s economic prowess, I think.
There are robots, lots of them, and of course, the all-important hot brunette in a tight costume. That’s got your attention, Perry!
(H/T, Boing Boing).
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I prefer my action slightly more human:
http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/12/twitch-top-kills-simha.php
Best theme music ever. “Every hero should have one.”
Hehehe… no one does lunatic gonzo excess quite like Bollywood 😀 The cheapo Russian dubbing added to the surreal quality
… Michael Bay is Indian?
Nothing to do with LVT, I’m afraid. Victorian Puritans, OTOH…
“About those three laws Isaac…”
‘Another sign, by the way, of India’s economic prowess, I think. ‘
Not really. It’s another sign of the economic power of some people in India.
If India had ‘economic prowess’ it wouldn’t have 80% of its population living on less than 2$ per day.
You can watch the whole thing on Youtube with English subs, there’s a link in the comments under the linked article that is linked from this link. That is, the link is linked in the linked link.
How many of those are smallholders whose production isn’t traded in the cash economy? Bear in mind that if you have your own land and grow your own food, you’re living on $0 a day. Famous evil bastard Cecil Rhodes famously had to introduce a hut tax to force the natives into paid work.
As a poor man myself, I often contemplate the fact that effectively all my production- measured in pieces of paper- is spent on subsistence. Rent, energy, food, porn. So when I look at these very low wages per day in the Third World, I think, well, I couldn’t live on that. But then, look at my rent. Look at my energy bills. Look at my food bill. And if I were living a subsistence lifestyle on a smallholding in Farawayland, I wouldn’t have those bills. So we have to be a bit careful about making cash comparisons. We earn a lot of money here in the land of King Mervyn. But look at what everything costs..!
This is a pedantic point, as I know it has become common to use the term “Bollywood” as a generic for the entire Indian film industry.
Nevertheless, “Bollywood” is properly the Hindi film industry, and this seems to be a Tamil film.
Ian B @ 06:37 PM – recurse you ! Do you know how many scans it takes to parse those two sentences ? (grin)
@ 06:49 PM – my own first thought/respnse to reading the excerpt you quoted was more along the lines of “And at the less than 2$ per day, what is their life like ?” – I suspect most of ’em would rather live in India under those conditions than in North Korea, for example …
Here in the ex-colonies, we recently had a ‘lady’ whingeing that she couldn’t afford cable (TV) for her kids … not that she couldn’t feed ’em or house ’em or clothe ’em – she couldn’t afford her cable bill …
It displays a disconcerting lack of perspective based more in envy than in concern for the well-being of her kids …
Douglas2, Thanks for saving me the effort.
I love South Indian movies, they make overblown Bollywood fare seem like Jane Austen adaptations.
Busby Berkeley, please call the office!
Ah Aishwarya Rai. . . Even when she just has to stand around and look surprised or scared the screen lights up.
Hard to believe she’s 37.
India – land of vast economic growth since deregulation (the end, or at least reduction of, the “Permit Raj”).
However, India is also now the land of vast growing welfare schemes – which will bankrupt the country.
None of the voices on NDTV (English language Indian news) ever oppose these vast schemes.
There was supposedly a “debate” about Indian government policy today (in Davos), but having seen who was taking part in the “debate” I turned off.
As always with NDTV, they were all Welfare Statists.
Of course there is also the little problem of the two wars – one against the Islamists, the other against the Maoists.
Wars that go virtually unreported in the West – but which kill Indians every day.
The Maoists are helped by Indian land law – which allows the Indian government to (seemingly at will) take land and hand it over to private companies (remember a certain Supreme Court case in the United States…..).
Surprise, surprise, villagers do not like have their land stolen.
Also, even if the villagers are anti Maoist, they have to submit – due to “gun control”.
It is illegal for ordinary people to own firearms without permission you see – so when the Maoists (or the Islamists) come….
Sorry JP, but what a load of tosh. Stopped watching half way through.
Call it hammers and nails, or better, confirmation bias, but am I the only one who saw a strong anti-collectivism metaphor presented in the most literal way? How often do we get to see arch-typical collectives portrayed as an evil villain and then defeated?
I know. I think to much. “It’s just a movie. Lighten up.” I hear that a lot, but usually for seeing pro-collectivism themes and metaphors in movies.
I wonder what you would make of this then, Mid. I’ve only noticed the lyrics today for the first time.
Midwesterner, the Borg were the supreme villains in the Star Trek TV series, and they were the ultimate collective. (“You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”) I suppose that was a metaphor for the old Soviet Union or something, but to my recollection nobody made much of that. But perhaps my memory is faulty.
Loved it.
I mean, if you are a Robot or mad computer trying for domination, just don’t bother to try in India – those guys will hack into you and make you beg for your electrons in no time at all…
Nope. I did not say that all of India was strong, merely that the country is rising fast in wealth terms and that that country’s movie industry, among other things, is proof of that. The fact that a large number of folk do not yet share in that wealth does not disprove that point. In Victorian Britain, large numbers of poor people existed, but that did not mean the country was not moving upwards.
My point stands.
Laird you fell for a Star Trek trap.
Stung by protests that Star Trek (especially New Generation) was wildly pro statists – with all economic needs taken care of by the Federation government, and businessmen (when presented at all) presented as evil – and normally alien…..
The makers of the show came up with a collectivist foe.
But it is the old collectivist line – “we OPPOSE the destruction of the individual personality, we just want ……”
Karl Marx said the same thing (as did so many others) – economic collectivism would lead to “true freedom” where the individual could fully realize his or her potential and explore their minds (and so on).
In short – The Borg (and so on) are a diversion, from the basic point.
India – J.P. is right, there has been economic growth PEOPLE ARE BETTER OFF THAN THEY WERE.
I explained why – and I also explained how and why it will be undermined and destroyed.
As for the film.
O.K. an individual hero against a corrupt system.
Good as far as it goes.
Junk.
Spectacular junk, but that’s all.