Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag Movie Review – Sholay Remake
Sholay is evergreen. It takes a lot of courage for a director to remake Indian Cinema’s most memorable movie ever. Ram Gopal Varma took up the challenge, but does he deliver?
Babban Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) a psychotic gangster has killed the entire family of Police officer Narsimha (Mohan Lal). Narsimha takes help from two small time crooks Heero (Ajay Devgan) and Raj (Prashanth Raj) to kill Babban Singh. The childhood friends arent aware that they are fencing themselves into such a deadly war that had just two options, win or die!. Their life of hardship finds peace in love. While Heero falls for tom-boyish Ghunghroo (Nisha Kothari), Durga (Sushmitha Sen) after facing a massive tragedy felt her life blossom in an unspoken bond developed between her and Raj.
The battle which involved revenge, anger and fire had just one way of winning, and that is the death of the other….
The name of the characters has changed. Amitabh Bachchan portraying the legendary character of Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) is now Babban Singh. Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) is now Narsimha. Veeru (Dharmendra) is Heero, Jaidev a.k.a Jay (Amitabh Bachchan) is Raj, Basanti (Hema Malini) is Ghunghroo and Radha (Jaya Bachchan) is Durga.
Comparisons with the original are inevitable. So here we go..
- The chemistry and friendship shared between Heero and Raj (Jay and Veeru in the original) is completely non existent.
- RGV has messed up big time with the casting of the legendary characters. Except for Amitabh and Mohan Lal, the others disappoint.
- The emotions, drama and thrill is missing.
- Aag isnt a scene to scene rip off of the original. The story is the same, the scenes are completely different. But the Aag script leaves a lot to be desired.
- The scene that I was looking forward to most, was the suicide scene. Ajay devgan is so bad that you feel like burying your head deep into the pop corn tub. The direction and writing is worse!
- The choreography is pathetic.
- The songs are way below average.
- Ram Gopal Varma has got it all wrong, his execution is horrible to say the least.
The best thing about the movie is without doubt Amitabh Bachchan. He is brilliant as Babban Singh. Mohan Lal as always is top notch. Ajay Devgan is a mis-cast. Sushmitha Sen is good. Sushanth Singh deserved a meatier role. Prasanth Raj is expressionless throughout. Nisha Kothari cannot act! Urmila Matondkar is extremely hot. Abhishek Bachchan appears breifly for the song Mehbooba. The rest of the cast is strictly okay.
Overall, Ram Gopal Varma Ke Aag / Sholay is a below average product that desevers to be rejected by the audience. Take my advice, buy yourself a DVD of the original Sholay. Trust me, although you have already watched it several times, your gonna enjoy it a 1000 times more!
Sorry RGV, your upgraded version of Sholay is unbearable.
Rating: 
I Havnt watched AAG .Will watch AAG as Mohanlal is in AAG.MOHANLAL IS THE BRILLIANT ACTOR WHO IS ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!
I just watched the movie, its below average.
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag lacks Aag.
Amitabh Bachchan is good as Gabbar. Mohanlal is great in the movie.
My Rating – 1.5 / 5
not yet seen but their is some curiosity to watch the movie but after reading reveiw i will not go to theatre.
what r u doing RGV do something good
aag is a waste of time like all other hindi movies… neways MOHAN LAL ROCKS…
RGV ki AAG sunk badly…. who the hell casted ajay devgun? so boring….only the good thing in the movie was the the main 2 characters Amitabh and the Malayalee actor Mohan lal (who by the way did a superb job…and according to my mallu frnds, this was it seems nothing!!!)…….
RGV, please dont burn your fingers or our purse………
Hi I watched the movie… It was a gud experiment. I liked it. Come on.. Sholay doesnt ve a great story line by which it has to create such hue and cry… Ppl r jus overreacting on the situation.. jus that script and its contemporary… pls.. so many songs r made horrible by remixing nobody cries like this…
Gud job RGV.. it was worth a gud experiement.. somebody has to bring gud sense to the field of movies… its tym for ppl to get out of movies like running round trees and heroes go on top n get all appreciation…
RGV ,
You have lost all your creativity , Time to get married , tie the knot with your darling Nisha ….. full time family man ….. Forget movie …
Well. Sholay was not classic when it was released. When it surprised everyone at the box office, it suddenly became a ‘classic’ to us. We are all shameless, dishonest people. Our reviewers are the worst.
Here is wishing RGV best of luck although he seems to be standing on the deck of a sinking ship. The media and net are today his disadvantages. He has been adjudged a failure on day one first show itself! He doesn’t seem to stand a chance like Ramesh Sippy in 1976. God help RGV. He did what he thought was right and he was bold enough to do that. Let the Aam junta help him out this time.
Noone can save a bad film. Neither the critics nor the Aam Junta.
Sometimes even critically acclaimed movies perform extremely poorly at the box office.
RGV had the balls to remake a movie which i think was great idea doesnt matter if it does well or not, look at devdas remake with SR Khan which i think just bloody over acting.
the sholay movie is a exact copy of an american movies which i forgot the name of, it was a western movie, so why the hell this sippy guy messing, there are lot more movies in india with the name sholay then why didn’t he object, if it is like that then no film should use the copyrighted name Gabbar or Gabbar Singh and basanti in there movies even for jokes. there must be someone out there with these names, you cannot copyright names, i could easily change my name to gabber singh and my wifes name to basanti, what will sippy do take me to court and have my name changed back.
to sippy family – you should have got involved in making the movie with ramu who was trying to boost the movie, showed him and helped him with the cast so the name carrys on not bloody object on everything should have how him how he could do it good, because original is always an original which is not sholay coz you copied it your self.
GUYS THE OLD SHOLAY WAS ALSO INSIPIRED FROM AN ENGLISH ONE REALLY IN INDIA IF THE WORST MOVIES CAN BE SUPERHITS THEN WATCHING RGV AAG IS NOT SUCH A BAD IDEA ..
Not watched the movie yet.the movie reviews are disappointing. i was waiting to see mohan lal one of the finest actors in the county in the move.
I never posted a comment in any blog for any movie. this is the first time. please please do not watch this movie. its wrost of the worst movie RGV ever made. iam a RGV fan. but this kind of movies are not suitable to RGV. i request RGV please use his creatvity to create new characters but not try to copy becuase it was his so liked movie.
I saw the film and was letdown, ive seen the origanal sholay countless times. That was a classic.
I really dont know why RGV totally messed this film up, surely he would have known everyone wanted to see this. maybe he was badly advised. You cant blame the actors the director has to take 100% of the blame for fooling them that he was making a classic remake.
Someone mentioned that the orginal sholay was a copy of some english film, well you are talking about magnicent seven, but do you guys know that Magnicent Seven was a frame to frame copy of a japenese film.
Sholay just took some scenes from magnicent seven, but that itself was a frame to frame copy anyway from another film.
[…] Indicine Rating: Thumbs down …Ajay Devgan is a mis-cast… See full review […]
Theatre owner…. ”Yeh sannata kyon hai bhai”
Ram Gopal Varma to the audience… ”Jab tak teri saans chalegi yeh film chalegi”
Audience to Ramu Gopal Varma… ”Sardar hame goli maar do”
Audience among themselves.. ”Yeh bollywood wale Ramu ko kaun sa chakki ka aatta khilate hai”
Audience on top of a mobile tower.. ”Suicideeeee…mausiji ab mai ji ke kya karoonga”
Even pirates don’t want this Bollywood movie
By Mid-Day, September 3, 2007 – 14:09 IST
The pirated master print of Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag sold for a record low of Rs 50,000. In comparison, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De India sold for Rs 10 lakh. Then again, Heyy Babyy went for Rs 6 lakh and Victoria No 203 for Rs 1 lakh.
Shakeel Ahmed, a dealer in pirated film prints, says, “The disastrous reports sent the bid for the film’s master print tumbling from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50,000.
The …Aag DVD will have two other movies in it, so the sales don’t suffer because of the poor demand for the film.”
Added M M Satish, president of the Anti Piracy Cell for T Series, who have the audio and video rights to the film, “We have received some tips and have laid traps across the country. No matter how the film fares, we will curb piracy and seize the master prints.”
There is no excuse for RGV. So wht if original Sholay was blockbuster. Remakes can still be made in a better way. New Devdas and Don were superhits and among 100 all time hits even after adjusting for inflation with the old movies. See the link http://www.boxofficeindia.com/alltime.htm. RGV has failed terribly…he is the worst director these days…with movies like Naach, new Shiva, Nishabd, Darna Zaroori Hai, Aag. Even his Sarkar was much poorer than original Godfather…not only is he directing bad movies, but he is also producing bad movies like james, vastushastra, darna mana hai, etc.
Glamsham Review
Movie Review : Ram Gopal Varma KI AAG
Director : Ram Gopal Varma
Music : Ganesh Hegde
Lyrics : Shabbir Ahmed
Starring : Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal, Sushmita Sen, Nisha Kothari, Ajay Devgan.
For the first 30 minutes you wonder what’s happening on screen. There’s no direction, there’s no script (of course it’s a remake of SHOLAY, we all know) but the way Ramu goes about introducing the characters of Ajay Devgan and his buddy is stuff made by novices. And this is a RGV flick! Then there’s Rajpal Yadav’s annoying act with a put-on accent. After that you know where this AAG is headed. It’s a blaze, and Ramu and gang desperately try to quell the fire using Amitabh Bachchan (Baban) who meekly tries to blow with his parted lips in an effort to scare the daylights off you!!!
Ghungroo (Nisha Kothari) arrives on screen with her auto and straight away tries to take-off in top gear while Ajay Devgan and Prashant Raj sttuter and start. There’s also Sushmita Sen who has an expression which says, ‘I don’t know how I got caught in this fire’!
It’s such torture to sit through the movie that it made a dud like CASH look better. The music is passable and dialogues lack the finesse and punch. If Gabbar’s ‘Kitne Aadmi The’ line still rings loud and clear, Babban has not a single line to shout about. If Gabbar’s mannerisms terrorized Thakur and his villagers, Narsima looks Babban straight in the eye. If Samba was a perfect side-kick for Gabbar, Tambhe is a character caught in a fix. If Basanti rocked, Ghungroo annoys. And if Helen’s dance in Mehbooba Mehbooba was class personified, Urmila Matondkar does not even come close to it.
Forgive me for the comparison with such a classic as SHOLAY, but comparisons are a must when it’s a remake. If Bally Sagoo could immortalize the song Chura Liya from the film YAADON KI BARAAT and re-introduce it to today’s generation with his classic remix, Ramu with his remake of SHOLAY has shown how a parody should be made for Television.
Sorry Ramu, Babban does not work. I just wonder how you now plan to quell this fire. Or will you now sing Billy Joel’s famous song “We didn’t start the fire…”
Don’t get caught in this fire!
Rating : 1/5
Oh My God.. RGV you are such a fantastic director what on earth possessed you to do this. Did you not sit at the dubbing of this movie and want to cry at this horrific creation. you knew how much pressure was on you remaking and absolute classic and THIS is what you give us???
and teh casting! omg! i wouldve loved to have seen abhishek bachan as Jai and bobby or sunny as veero.. ajay and prasant especailly have killed the lengendary roles. Babban singh? what kind of name is that? its more funnu than scary.. giving this movie a contemproary angle was not a bad idea but u totally stuffed it up.. the backdrop of mumbai city overwhelms the film and the characters become lost.
the friendship between raj and heero ( wat da hell is heeero?) is again soo stupid! the tune of teh song “” yeh dosti” comes up at the most innapropiate time and leaves no impact on the scene.. we are just simply happy to hear it. it doesnt even seem liek they are friends.. just two men forced to work together.
the first half of the movie develops so quickly you are lost and very very angry. the songs are hopless and ghungroos role ispointless.. she displays none of the humor and charm of basanti and is not a rememberale character but actualli one we cannot wait 2 forget.
this movie isnt even worth giving a rating at 1/5 even seems 2 much for it
0!
i havent seen the movie but it seems i mght not enjoy the movie , whats happend to ram gopal varma . please ramo get nisha kothari out of your movies, i was never happy with the cast , guys thanks for informing me about the aaaaaaag torture
I AGREE WITH “THIS MOVIE SUKS”
[…] biggest blockbuster in the history of Bollywood, Sholay. His version of the classic movie titled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag churned out to be his worst product ever with bad remarks hammering in through all possible means. […]
Ramu wake up you are nowhere close to the classic SHOLLAY after 30 years a remake of this film is a shame to you.
Amitabh wake up as well lately your choice on films is washing out. Amitabh that stood for that powerful act in movies like
Yash Chopra made are made for you. At the age of 60 keep that pride and prestige. Ramu you had
a golden opportunity to make a film with a story in hand and what a waste on it. Amitabh one suggestion to you being my
favorite actor read the script follow the directors that have given you what you are today, kick ass to directors like Ramu and
other directors that have no idea what they are doing. Overall Ramu your aag movies is on fire to end your courier.
A nacked shame to the classic SHOLLAY which I can watch 10 times and would watch again and again.
I watched the RGV’s AAG . It has to be the worst re-make of a classic film which i have watched a countless amount of times . It is such an insult on the surviving original cast . I think Amitabh must be regretting playing the most revered villians in bollywood cinematic history . What a let down , you just can not forget the original scenes whilst watching this useless film . Sholay lovers should not even waste their time watching this laughable spectacle – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ramu…ye tune kya kiya
I had seen worst kind of movies in my life, but unable to finish to see your aag. Take rest for few days and make another try…can be called aag-2 or sholay-3
Rating 0.5/5
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all u can do while watchin dys film..
this is by far the worst movie i have seen in my life !! absolute crap.
amitabh is no where near to the original gabbar singh played by amjad khan.
rgv – your film is sillyness in filmmaking. what a waste.
[…] Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag Movie Review (RGV Ki Aag) Sholay 31 Aug 2007. RGV had the balls to remake a movie which i think was great idea doesnt matter if. “We have received some tips and have laid traps across the country.. with his parted lips in an effort to scare the daylights off you!. this movie a contemproary angle was not a bad idea but u totally stuffed Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag Movie Review (RGV Ki Aag) Sholay […]
Hey buddy i guess am in the same boat as u r in an absolute movie buff like me n now inculding u 2 in the picture, hardly dislikes any movie but this ramu ki aag am surprised how am still alive although it wasnt any less than committing suicide all the characters were total waste n why the hell all of them esp mr.AB had to overact to the extent that he never seemed to be the negative character but a complete joker (on top of it, the name Babban, suits a character like Rajpal Yadav more than Gabbar’s counterpart); his weird expressions were rather funny than scary infact now mothers would tell their children that better get ready for a sweet dreamy sleep coz Babban uncle would come and make you laugh with his comic acts I dont understand why all the other actors like Ajay Devgan and Sushmita Sen wanted to be a part of this blockbuster flop show where they just had to over-react on every dialog and underact for every little scene, respectively, that they had in the movie alltogether it was disastrous and pathetic sorry, actually disastrous and pathetic would be an understatement!