probably one of the best movies to show why kamal has an is one of the best actors. the movie deals with the elder kamal killing all the corrupt officials who accept bribe and who a cop chases him. the elder kamal is a freedom fighter , he does not approve of bribing . his son younger kamal leaves the home as his father denies giving bribe for job , and loosing his sister as his dad did not bribe the doctor for saving her. later the younger one becomes a driving inspector accepts bribe . he becomes the main convict for a school bus accident. he tries to cover the incident by bribing and ends up killed by his own father. the variations shown by the actor are amazing , and the best i have seen so far. he is fat as a freedom fighter, lean as an old father and a bit intermediate as a son. three variations in body in a single film, amazing. the music is good.

The best Indian movie ever made. Every indian should watch this movie.

"Hindustani" is a Hindi Version of a Tamil Movie and was also an official entry to Oscars in 1996. The story of the movie involves the increasing corruption in government offices and how corruption has engulfed the public and country. For cleaning the corruption, a veteran freedom fighter, who had fought for the country against the British ruler, sharpens his weapons and kills every corrupt official he encounters, including his own son. The story which the film tells is pretty questionable. Is killing every corrupt official a right solution. Despite a very improbable story, the film remains just compulsively watchable and you just feel like clapping when every corrupt official is killed; which explains how important it has been to wipe the roots of corruption. Kamal Hassan in double role is the biggest strength of the film. Especially in the role of an old fighter against corruption, Kamal Hassan excels and you just become compelled to clap for him. The film is pretty overlong though and many scenes and sequences seem to have no connection with the main theme. Only one-third of the film comes to the main theme and is the flawless segment of the film. The film uses superb special effects in the choreography and in the flashbacks showing the historic war against the British Rulers. Urmila Matondkar and Manisha Koirala have very small roles in the film which they have done well and added glamour to the movie. Overall, despite overlong and flawed, the film shall be remembered for a relevant issue the film raises and an excellent performance from Kamal Hassan. Rating: 3 stars out of 4

STAND UP AND SALUTE and don't waste your breath because mine has rebounded back to me, in these two lines.

Having watched it when it was released in 1996 and once again in 2024, not much has changed in how I see this movie. The only saving grace in Shankar's otherwise hot mess is Kamal as Senapathy. From a loooooong, uninspiring plot with a rudderless screenplay, disjointed scenes, pedestrian music (less said about the cringe BGM, the better), tacky lighting, low grade CGI, pathetic social stereotypes like putting higher caste people on a pedestal and showing ordinary people as dirty and cheapskates, cringe in the name of comedy, the list goes on. The only saving grace is Kamal as Senapathy and path breaking prosthetics. Can't believe I've agreed to watch Indian 2 - wonder what monstrosity awaits.....

Despite the movie being as old as I am, I have never really watched Shankar's "Indian" in its entirety before today (during its 2024 re-release). Having seen clips every now and then on TV, I sort of assumed the movie to simply be about an old guy killing corrupt government officials. As shallow and stupid as a concept that might be, the actual movie is a million times stupider. Shankar is a director who has ALWAYS had the social awareness and reasoning of a caveman. He has a very binary view of right and wrong, and any social issue he choses to address can easily be boiled down to "corruption should be eradicated by killing everyone". There isn't a single intellectual position to find in any of his movies beyond the insanely single minded brand of pop-patriotism and delusional masturbatory acts of social justice. It couldn't be any more apparent than in this Kamal Haasan starrer. I knew going into this movie that it wasn't going to be any smarter for me to give it any credit, but I just didn't expect it to be this insufferable. Not just from a messaging perspective, but even from a movie perspective. The screenplay is a drag, the comedy is nothing to write home about, the songs (none of which I've heard before today) were surprisingly garbage, the action and fight choreography is an absolute joke and if there's anything redeeming about this movie, it's probably just the make-up work on the Senapathy character (which seems really well done for its time). Overall, this movie just gives me all the more reason to dislike Shankar as a filmmaker and even more so as someone who thinks he somehow has anything of value to say regarding any social issue.

I highly recommend to watch this movie for two type of audiences- first, those who expect a good thriller from Indian cinema (of course not only Bollywood) and second, those who have only heard Kamal Hassan's name but never watched his any single movie yet. Kamal parts here dual role, one as an old man (Senapathy) who stops the corrupted people, and the other as his son (Chandru) who works in transport department concerning licenses. Kamal did brilliant job in this movie by offering both the roles of a father and a son. Perhaps, if examined clearly this is his career reflecting movie. There are some high definition visual scenes where we can see the real freedom fighters like Subash Chandra Bose and Senapathy together. This is a remarkable work from director Shankar, or say in Indian cinema. His directorial works are highly appreciable. For action lovers also this movie is a good reference. In romantic words, this is a love-triangle movie due to the presence of Manisha Koirala and Urmila Matondkar, both who love the same Chandru. They did their own works, and run the movie. But again, this movie falls under three categories- thriller, political (mixed with social) and patriotic as the title itself denotes. I watched countless times, but never felt bored as it is highly entertaining for the three hours continuously. It has two versions, original one in Tamil and another in dubbed Hindi version. In Hindi version there is a slight uneasiness with the uttering words of the actors in their lips as those do not match exactly, since it is a dubbed version.

Probably one of Kamal Hassan's best movies ever. It has a good story line to it, different from the usual Indian movies. For once there is no real bad guy in the movie. Yup that is true; the movie shows the evils in the society, which is the society itself. The cinematography is the movie is great. The locations are too. If there would be anything I would recommend is that to drop the songs, thought they are great and part of Indian movie culture, it really takes away the seriousness from the movie. The makeup is the movie is great, kamal really does look like someone that is that old. The fight scenes look just as cheesy as they usually do in any Indian movie. But hey it is great entertainment for the family. PS. Do not try the stunts in the movie at home.

S. Shankar has a reputation for churning out expensive trash. I couldn't help but crack up when I heard that 'Indian' was India's entry to the Oscars. Not that I hold the Oscars as one of the most esteemed awards but they are classy and the idea that someone would even think of submitting what looks like a B-grade product is beyond laughable. 'Indian' is pretty much just another patriotic vigilant film. Kamal Hassan assumes a dual role. He's stiff as the aged patriot Senapathy who wears the same monotonous facial expression throughout the entire film and as Chandra who hops around like a caricature. Manisha Koirala and Urmila Matondkar do not have much screen time but they shine in their few scenes. Matondkar provides some great comic relief. Sukanya is competent. A.R. Rahman's music is very pleasant to the ears. The lyrics may be weird but they're catchy. Obviously the film hasn't dated well in the technical aspect. The special effects are very poor and the cinematography is flat. Anyway, other than A.R. Rahman's music, 'Indian' doesn't have much to offer. S. Shankar needs to learn that a script comes first where filmmaking is concerned.

Very good movie. Kamal Hasan's acting is good. Story is good everything is ok. Shanker is a very good director. I will rate a good movie 8-9-10/10 because they made movie and everybody enjoys it so why not if we like it we have to appreciate it.