Shaurya and Sirf - Art films going bad

Shaurya : My question to the makers is- why the need for this film? Now before I go further let me cut to the chase, Shaurya is a scene for scene, act for act, copy of A FEW GOOD MEN. Forget getting
inspired, etc, this is just a plain and simple HINDI language copy of AFGM. So picture this. When movies like AFGM are released in India, we have the English speaking, possibly metro-centric, perhaps the
multiplex audience going and watching it. Chances are these people are also fond of Bollywood Films, but when they go to see AFGM, they are going for a different experience, a Hollywood masala. NOW WHY WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WANT TO MAKE A HINDI VERSION OF THIS KIND OF A FILM (and get this) TARGET THE SAME AUDIENCE WHO WENT TO SEE THE ENGLISH VERSION?

We have two kinds of plagiarism in Bollywood. While both are wrong, given that we don't live in a perfect world, I will bypass the moralistic argument and get on with it. The first kind is the Sanjay Gupta kind, where he takes Hollywood masala and makes it pure and simple Bollywood masala, with the intended target audience being the average Joe or Jane in ALL OF INDIA, not just the English speaking multiplexes. This makes economic sense.

Then we have the one like Shaurya , which takes an English version of a not totally Hollywood masala, but something in between, and (this part makes no economic sense or general knowledge sense) takes the SAME FILM, for the SAME AUDIENCE and puts it in a different language and with DESI ACTORS???? And then they complain it does not do well in the box office? I mean c'mon dude...do you see where I'm going.

That apart the film does have some positives, fine acting by Javed Jaffery, some good locations shoots of probably Kashmir, although hard to say and some fine music. However, this is more than offset,
by some avertly Artsy acting by Rahul Bose and Kay Kay Menon.

Overall verdict, since I have the luxury of renting A Few Good Men, why would I bother with Sahurya .

Sirf: The good news is that Bollywood is changing. We are having "smaller but as popular" films coming out like Bheja Fry, Mithya, Honeymoon Travels, Johnny Gaddaar, Brahm, Black Friday, Mixed
Doubles , Khosla Ka Ghosla, etc which do better business than starry films like Jhoom Barabar, Tara Ram Pam, Tashan, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, etc.

However, BUYERS BEWARE- CAVEAT Emptour- Not anything that is small, or has top notch actors like Kay Kay Menon, Ranvir Shorey, Manisha Koirala, Sonali Kulkarni, is good. But put SIRF in that category, ABAD SMALL FILM. In the name of giving us "intelligent because it is not your song and dance cinema," don't give us "dry and boring stuff." I mean this is about mass communications, so try and attempt that. By including 6 actors and trying to weave a story around them, which has no soul or direction, just does not cut it. There used to be a saying that in the commercial Bollywood world, scripts are written on the sets. Sirf proves that it also applies to the art house world.

Sincerely,

Vivek "Yes, yes art house cinema is for snobs, but even snobs have
intelligence." Kumar