7cb1d79195 Ravi is killed by his wife after his marriage. He is reborn as Monty and is now a singer he goes to holiday in Ooty where he recollects his memories from previous life and inquires about his family from first life and his evil wife Kamini. After killing, Ms. Ranimaa son, Ravi Verma, the scheming Sir Juda takes over the vast estate and parental mansion from Ms. Ranimaa. Years later a young artistic singer, Monty Oberoi has a visual flashback of this story of when a girl mysteriously killed him and a woman to will her property in a man's name. What Monty does not know is that he has had a rebirth and is remembering bits of his past and if he does remember everything he will have to remain quiet as he will reach the same faith as in his previous birth. Please be aware, I watched Karz 2008 (which is a remake of this movie) before seeing this version of the story. And I enjoyed the 2008 version. But it also meant - I already knew the story and how it was going to play out. For me, viewing this movie was an exercise in seeing someone else's vision of this story play out. Which is always a fun geek experience - if you like the story, which I do. <br/><br/>The other thing you need to know is that the only Hindi language movie I own on blue ray is Om Shanti Om. Because I love that movie. <br/><br/>Why is this important? Because - Farah Khan - who directed Om Shanti Om - borrowed heavily from Karz 1980 for Om Shanti Om. In fact, Om Shanti Om is clearly Farah's reimagining of the story. And I had no idea until just now - having just finished watching Karz 1980. And now that I've seen the original Karz - I have a much better understanding of Farah's brilliance. Keep in mind, I already thought she was brilliant. This just seals the deal.<br/><br/>I tell you all this because it's impossible for me to review this movie without referencing the other 2 movies since they are all related. Om Shanti Om is basically a reimagining of Karz 1980 by Farah Khan. And … I had no idea that Om Shanti Om had anything to do with Karz while I was watching Karz 2008. <br/><br/>So let's talk about this version of Karz (1980)<br/><br/>1st - The is the best thing I've seen Rishi Kapoor in. I don't like him that much. I like his wife and his son a lot. But him. meh. Like in Chandni - I found him really annoying even though I totally loved Sridevi and enjoyed the movie. I understood I was supposed to root for him in the love triangle, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Neither could my dad who saw it with me. I don't like how rough Rishi is with his dancing partners and he's not a very good dancer. Even in this movie - there were times when it looked painful how awkwardly and roughly he was pulling his partner into a spin. Granted, I did like Rishi in Kabhi Kabhie - but I still found him - odd. This movie - I was with him and rooting for him the whole time - and yes - his acting was so good in a pivotal scene - it made me cry. <br/><br/>2nd - the music. I own the soundtrack to Om Shanti Om - and LOVE that music. So - hearing the original songs that the writers for Om Shanti Om were stealing from - was awesome. Really enjoyed it. And again - it points to the artistry of the writers for Karz that they could write melodies that would be so haunting and so adaptable to a different style. And to the artists who wrote and sang the music for Om Shanti Om - for stealing from Karz directly - and yet creating something entirely new. Brilliant.<br/><br/>3rd - the cinematography. They made use of a lot of spinning and camera rotation throughout this film. From the record player in the Om Shanti Om sequence to the pivotal scene where they get Kamini to confess. I would have said it was a bit much - since it was everywhere. But … it only happens when someone is experiencing a flashback moment where the present and the past are colliding. And it's surprisingly effective at conveying the confusion and mixed emotions of those moments. And again, it's really amazing to see how Farah adapted the rotation element into Om Shanti Om and more importantly why she did. It also helps me make sense of the climatic scene in Veer-Zaara where this same rotation occurs, melding past and present emotionally and physically in space. <br/><br/>4th - the ballad of Om Shanti Om. OK - in Karz - it's not called that. But it's basically the same scene and the base melody is the same AND the outfit our girl is wearing is echoed in what Farah did with that exact same scene in Om Shanti Om. I LOVED seeing the version in Karz 1980 as a result. It was just as powerful for me, probably because I could see the two movies (Karz and Om Shanti Om) juxtaposed on each other. It was seriously cool and again - speaks to the brilliance of Farah that she could steal so blatantly and make it her own and yet be so totally overt that she was stealing and what she was stealing from. <br/><br/>5th - the house. Yeah - the set where the ballad of Om Shanti Om is shot in Om Shanti Om - makes sense now. As does the fire element. Again - brilliance how Farah stole those from Karz and how she used the differently.<br/><br/>To summarize: I understand now more of what Farah was doing with Om Shanti Om. Is Karz 1980 worth watching on it's own? Yes! It is. Totally. It's a good story and Rishi is great it in and the music is great and its a very good movie. It's just all the more awesome when you have the added layers of film making future and past mixing in your head while you watch it. This is one of my favourites. When I was growing up, we had a video of this movie. I saw this movie countless times and never got tired of it. That song dard-e-dil is an amazing song. Tina Munim looked so beautiful in that song with a black scarf on her head.<br/><br/>Rishi Kapoor truly is one of the best actors. He did justice to the role. Durga Khote as Rishi Kapoor's mother played a very emotional role. Simi Grewal was stunning in her role as Rani Sahiba and a villain.<br/><br/>This is a must see movie. It's the best movie on reincarnation, I can think of. The only other movie that would come close is Kudrat.
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