Raj Shekhar Azad (Sunny Deol) is one the most decorated cops in India and he is worshiped by many who feel that the police are corrupt. His legendary status as a super cop reaches even greater heights when he captures the worlds most wanted terrorist Wasim Khan (Mukesh Rishi). When a higher up official in the police department asks him to let Wasim Khan go Raj soon realizes that the problem is larger then he had anticipated and close to home. Raj’s wife Anjali (Shilpa Shetty) feels neglected by her work obsessed husband and she asks for a divorce. With pressure mounting form all sides will Raj be able to expose the traitors in the police force and reconcile with his estranged wife?

Indian plot wise bears many similarities to the 1996 Hindi film also titled Indian. Including several actors/actresses like Kamal Hassan & Sukanya reprising their roles in the 2001 version of Indian. The differences between the two films are enough to make me believe that the 2001 version is a sequel of sorts.

The direction is Indian is over stylized and hyperkinetic as the director over uses every action movie cliché ever to grace the silver screen. The most annoying affect happens mostly when Raj played by Sunny Deol has just finished kicking some ass and as he walks away he puts on his shades as the action is shot in slow motion. The action sequences are also over blown and then some as one punch or kick sends an opponent across the room and often through walls. The fighting in this film reminds me a lot of the way marital arts scenes are put together in Hong Kong cinema.

The star of this bone crunching action adventure is Sunny Deol an actor that exhibits the psychical prowess one expects from action hero. One might confuse him for Nic Cage is you see his from a side profile with his shades on. Acting wise he leaves a lot to be desired so they god that this is not Shakespeare. Another notable performance is that of Mukesh Rishi a the terrorist mastermind named Wasim Khan. Rishi let’s lose and totally embraces the characters more sadistic side. The best performance in the film comes from Shilpa Shetty who gives one of her most well rounded and heart felt performances to date.

The plot for Indian could have been and most likely was ripped from current headlines with its Osama Bin Ladin like bad guy and corruption by government officials. Both topics are prevalent to today’s world and especially the people’s fading trust ion those who they have empowered. At times though the thick political overtone of the plot does get in the way and action films with messages tend to fall on deaf ears. Three are a total of three musical numbers in the film.

The DVD:

Indian is presented in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the films original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Color looks nicely saturated and details look sharp. There is some minor print damage in the form of specs of dirt and I did notice some minor blurring during more action oriented scenes. Overall the transfer is above average at best.

This release comes with one audio option a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in Hindi. The audio fares better then the video as it is loud and packs a lot kick especially during action scenes. There are no audio defects and dialog is clear and easy to follow. Removable English subtitles have been included that are easy to read and follow.

Extras for this release consist of two bonus musical numbers and a four minute interview with Mukesh Rishi, Shilpa Shetty and Danny Denzongpa. Shilpa Shetty and Danny Denzongpa speak English during the interview while Mukesh Rishi speaks Hindi. No English subtitles have been provided for this interview. This release has no forced trailers like many of Eros Entertainments other releases.

Indian is an uneven action film that stills manages to overcome many of its flaws and the end result is an entertaining action romp. Eros Entertainment DVD release for Indian while not perfect is more then satisfactory.