A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Baadshah Khan falls in love with Benazir, a member of a rival clan who has defeated him in a game of buzkashi. Benazir will not marry him unless he brings back the head of her father's killer, Habibullah, from India.Generally speaking, Indian films have not impressed me. Some stand out as great, but the more recent ones tend to run much too long and are full of far too much singing and dancing. This obviously appeals to some people, or they would not be this way. But it does not appeal to me.That being said, "Khuda Gawah" is actually quite good. There is still singing and dancing, and the running time is rather long. But the characters and plot are quite rich, and tell an interesting multi-national story that goes above and beyond the usual fare.

Yes, Khuda Gawah is, lamentably, low on imagination. What it does have is loads of drama, melodrama, melo-melodrama. It is hugely unconvincing as a story, even though as a fairytale it might be a good watch for lovers of Hindi cinema. No one should be giving it too much attention, let alone take the story too seriously. The portrayal of Afghan people and culture is terribly lacking and even as an epic the emotions are so gushing and exaggerated that few people with normal patience would be able to go through it all. Ditto for the typical action scenes. What it does have is relatively good production values, nice locales and impressive costumes. The idea is interesting, since few filmmakers would be willing to step out of their comfort zone and do something like this, as flawed as the result was. Amitabh Bachchan is too old for his part, and therefore one cannot take his performance very seriously anyway. Danny Denzongpa is efficient as the loyal friend. Sridevi has sure got great histrionics, and it is sad that she was probably not good in choosing the right films. She rises above a poor script, but who does it really benefit when the quality of a film is not up to the mark and the role is so missing in depth? She is wasted even though she is responsible for some of the film's brightest moments and does well in both her roles. Khuda Gawah sure was special, but sadly, not good enough, and for me, it was just a one-time watch. Watch at your own risk.

This is not an afghani film!!!! Its a bollywood potboiler, starring all Indians - not one Afghani actor. Only a few scenes were shot in Afghanistan, during the rule of the Communist Dr Najibullah, when Kabul was a civilised city, not the rubble pile it has become today. Its a fun film, all fantasy and popcorn entertainment. It says nothing about afghans, however - its based on an old Indian conception of the Afghans and their attachment to honor and their word. Reality is of course very different.

shot on actual locations in afghanistan nepal and india this film transports youto a world of subcontinental adventure and romance intelligent colourful and sensitively directed this film is a must for viewers who would like to see an indian spielberg a thing of beauty joy forever