Raj Kumar Santoshis new dacoit film is a tribute to
Akira Kurosawas "Seven Samurai".
The movie breaks the trend of monotonous love stories, love
triangles and revenge dramas. It requires lot of guts and dedication to break the rules of
mainstream commercial cinema. Raj Kumar Santoshi has shown that by making one of the
costliest action films to be made in India.
Though inspired by "Seven Samurai" and Ramesh
Sippys "Sholay" to some extent, China Gate has a very well crafted script
written by Raj Kumar Santoshi and Anjum Rajabali of "Ghulam" fame and K.K.Raina.
The script flows in its tight narrative structure through out the film. Dialogues are also
good in the film. Though there is no comedy in the movie there are some light sequences
among the ten main characters of the film. The love and hate relationship among these ten
characters which keeps them united has been shown pretty well. The film has fabulous sets
designed by Sameer Chandra. Shot largely in the vintage and raw locales of Gangavati near
Hampi, Karnataka.
The beauty of this simple story lies in its approach.
Santoshi chose best ten character artists, studied their strengths and made proper use of
their talent. All the characters have a distinct identity and each artist has got enough
space to display his talent.
Naseerudin Shah emerges as the star of China Gate with his
terrific acting. Om Puri and Danny Dengzongapa have given good support. Debutant Mukesh
Tiwari as Jageera the dreaded dacoit has given a stupendous performance. His mere presence
evokes terror and hatred. His make up and presentation is excellent. Paresh Rawal is
outstanding as the corrupt cop. Mamta Kulkarni has a non-glamorous role and done a good
job. With Piyush Shahs excellent cinematography, China Gate is thoroughly enjoyable.
- Abhishek Sharma.