Passion Play

Whew! The New York Times said it was likely to harm Mel Gibson8217;s career and New Yorker magazine called it 8216;8216;no more subtle1...

Whew! The New York Times said it was likely to harm Mel Gibson8217;s career and New Yorker magazine called it 8216;8216;no more subtle8217;8217; than The Lord of the Rings.

Gibson8217;s ambitious The Passion of Christ, about the last 12 hours in Jesus Christ8217;s life, has triggered an angry religious debate. But who says it8217;s easy making a film on historical personalities and legends? Perhaps that is why no Indian director has yet attempted a movie on Mahatma Gandhi.

We tracked some of Bollywood8217;s reel escapades and recalled what the critics had to say about them.

PS: Some reviews will have you in splits, while others will inspire you to watch the films all over again.

Bandit Queen
8216;8216;The film is a classy version of your run-of-the-mill, rape 8217;n8217; retribution theme that our film industry churns out every now and then.8217;8217;

Madhu Kishwar, when Phoolan was still alive

Asoka
8216;8216;The first part of Asoka is pure romance, with musical interludes. The second part is boys8217; stuff, with massive battles and rivers of blood. The acting is not realistic. The stars are beautiful and the supporting cast ugly.8217;8217;

IO Film UK, a UK-based website

Story continues below this ad

	UP NEXT
	8226; The Rising 8226; Prithviraj Sanyukta 8226; Bajirao Mastani 8226; Indira Gandhi: Tryst with Destiny

8216;8216;A few waterfall sequences later, Asoka and Kaurwaki8212;whose hair is perennially wet, thanks to those long bath sequences8212;discover they are in love. While it is unlikely that the king and the princess would keep bursting into songs, at least Mr Anu Malik could have ensured they sounded somewhat believable.8217;8217;

rediff.com

23rd March 1931-Shaheed
8216;8216;Chandrashekhar Azad died fighting the British. He did not fall prey to their bullets. Also, Bhagat Singh8217;s constant slogan in life was Inquilaab Zindabad. However, if you watch Shaheed, for long stretches the director would have us believe it was Vande Mataram.8217;8217;

http://www.idlebrain.com, a film-based website

8216;8216;Bhagat Singh never married, nor did he have a girlfriend. The closest he came to matrimony was when his parents tried to matchmake. The film-makers latch on to this slim wedge just to have a girl sing. In 23rd March, it is Aishwarya Rai with a fully choreographed team8212;a jarring scene.8217;8217;

rediff.com