BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

silvan-desouza Sanjay Gupta has made his career remaking Hollywood films,be it Kaante(Reservior Dogs), Musafir(U-Turn) and so on Kaante was a turning point in his career and his Musafir though was a flop but got some praise Zinda is a remake of Oldboy(2003) Korean film, which was recently remade in Hollywood as Oldboy(2013) and it bombed too. Zinda can be praised for being ahead of it's times, the film has a different plot, for people who have not watched Oldboy. The film starts with some c grade jokes of Sanjay and Mahesh Manjerekar but soon gets to the point, Sanju's scenes in the captive are identical to Oldboy almost but are well handled, there are some changes added to the film, the director cuts some parts which he found too objectionable for our audiences(in fact when I saw the film in theatre I found the people uncomfortable especially ladies). There are some logical errors like Sanjay recognising the guy with his shoes after 14 years? The torture scenes are toned down from the original and are well handled though, but the Lara Dutta character is a bit changed from the original, here she plays a local cabbie who speaks Punjabi in Bangkok. The fight scene which is shot in single take is different for bollywood and well shot, but lacks the impact of the original. The interval point is well handled(identical to the original). The second half starts off well, almost most of it being duplicated, but the director chickens out from using the incest angle and rewrites the twist which leaves several gaping holes, also the climax leaves you with questionsDirection by Sanjay Gupta is good only the writing could be better Music is amazing, Yeh Hai Meri Kahaani is a superb song, well placed in the film, rest songs are good Cinematography is good, most of the film uses a blue tint and brown tint which gives it an extra edge Dialogues are at places good while many times there are translated from the original.One of the strongest assets is Sanjay Dutt, he lets go himself and his image and plays the character superbly, conveying lot through his eyes and expressions. John Abraham plays the villain well, however tends to overdo in many high pitched scenes, Lara Dutta is alright, her role could be better Mahesh Manjerekar is routine,Raj Jhutsi is as usual

avinashk-saurav sanjay gupta is a known cult director in India. he became famous in a period which could be called transition phase for Mumbai film industry. Hollywood movies started to be released on a regular basis and most people came to know of actual Hollywood products. it is not worthwhile to go into details but sanjay gupta is a product of that transition. let me clarify something. i have seen almost all movies directed by sanjay gupta. i especially liked 'kante' and with this film his CULT personalty started to form. almost all of his movies are copies of Hollywood. 'Zinda' is different in two respects.first it is a copy of a Korean movie 'oldboy' which is refutes anyhow and second it is a clear example of how gifted he actually is. like me, most of the people didn't even know about 'oldboy' and were happy to know that he made these movies on his own.now that i have seen all the varieties of movies from every corner of the globe; i could say that he is nothing but a copier. 'zinda' was a worst attempt. acting is like sleeping pills. it seems that a bunch of school kids were given the DVD of the Korean movie and asked to make its Indian remake in shortest time possible and they came with 'zinda'. acting is poor because actors were not acting rather they were copying. it seems that during shooting, movie is played and all scenes are shot accordingly. cinematography has been done by Sanjay F. Gupta. he is a good cinematographer but you can't help it when you are asked to take shots from a particular angle only similar to the movie. 'zinda' is a good flick only if you have not seen the 'oldboy'.his earlier works are also copies like 'kante' whose first half is taken from 'usual suspects' while the later half is borrowed from ' reservoir dogs'. you can not blame him because he is making money only. i am sure sanjay gupta does not know even the basic of script writing.many reviews in this section claim that most of the Hollywood flicks are rip offs as well. well you must know the difference between the remakes and rip offs. a genuine attempt is never ignored even if it is a remake. but zinda is an example of solid frame by frame copy. what is the use of watching it in theater if you know how it will start and end.Mumbai film industry has a long history of copying from the Hollywood but there is very few examples like 'zinda'. there is one more movie 'bichhoo' starring Bobby deol which was also frame by frame copy of 'Leon'. now that Indian market is opening, let us hope that people would be more aware of all the current movies and would avoid watching same movie with 2 or more different set of actors.

premmood It's not something new for bollywood to copy foreign movie's script. I guess they (actors, director and creative staff members...) all gather around and watch the movie to be copied so that there will be no confusion what they are really after. Frame to frame. That's a shameful act for any responsible main stream actors and director. I am glad that Zinda is now under investigation for violation of copyright. Its about time now to stop this shameful piracy. Another thing is, Hindi movie don't have guts to go that extreme like jaw-dropper "Old boy". Pathetic. They make movie according to the public taste, mostly rickshaw pullers. I wonder where they found in between the plot to plant some songs and crazy dance. Somebody really needs to tell bollywood artist that movie is a serious art business. There is a very bold thick red link between copy and adaptation, and Zinda is way far across the line.

ninja667 Bollywood should NEVER try to be as ambitious to tackle films like Oldboy. Indian morality eventually gets in the way. Such attempts are cringeworthy. Do not bother watching Zinda unless you like talentless 'eye candy' type films. Watch the original instead. What is it with Bollywood anyway? They shamelessly copy from oriental cinema/Hollywood and try to pass it off as their own. You can't help but feel disappointed. It was a massacre of the cultish Oldboy. You have to have a strong stomach to stomach some of the things that happen in Oldboy. Its like Bollywood was sugar coating the themes in Oldboy and what do you end up with? A version which your granny can watch with you without feeling too offended. If that was the case then Zinda should never have been made. Well it shouldn't have!