Rajesh Vivek Movies

Bandit Queen, based on the true story of legendary female warrior Phoolan Devi, is a confrontational epic that paints a far different picture of India from other arthouse productions. Devi (Seema Biswas) is married at age 11, abandoned by her husband when she resists his advances, and turned into a social outcast who, at one point, is gang-raped by the upper-caste men of one village. She later gets her revenge by organizing a massacre that leaves 20 villagers dead. Devi ultimately leads a band of latter-day Robin Hoods on bold raids against landowners in Central India during the late '70s and early '80s, often taking their spoils and redistributing them to poor tenant farmers. By the time she is arrested in 1983, Devi has become a folk hero, especially to the women who live in rural India's brutally patriarchal society. A full-fledged commercial production, handsomely produced and directed by talented Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (who emerged from the country's vaunted "Bollywood" system), Bandit Queen painfully exposes a controversial aspect of Indian culture, while providing a triumphant portrait of female empowerment. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Joshilaay is a bitter pill to take for anyone who thinks that Indian movies consist chiefly of Satyajit Ray epics and lighthearted musicals. Popular Indian film personality Anil Kapoor doesn't make his entrance until after half the cast has been murdered. The culprits are a pair of out-of-control criminals, played by Kulbhusan Kharbanda and Rajesh Vivek. Kapoor and Sunny Deol, the sons of two of the victims, wait many years to exact their revenge. The question: was it worth the wait? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young boy who has been forced to mature well beyond his years experiences a life-changing encounter with his famous role model in director Samir Karnik's warm tale of admiration and friendship. Nanhe is a ten-year-old boy who speaks four foreign languages and has been forced into the role of family breadwinner. His family resides in the arid region of Rajasthan, where little changes from day to day. The one escape that Nanhe has from his daily drudgery is his obsession with popular movie star Bobby Deol. Not only is the young boy's bedroom filled with magazine clippings of the actor's illustrious career, but Nanhe's sister also sends Deol a letter describing her brother's daily activities. Even at night, when Nanhe closes his eyes, he dreams of the day he will meet his charismatic idol. Though it seems like a long shot that an average boy such as Nanhe would meet such a successful and adored star, sometimes life holds some pretty amazing surprises in store for the innocent at heart. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This historical drama, based on a novel by John Masters that was in turn inspired by actual events, follows William Savage (Pierce Brosnan), a British agent of the East India Company, as he is sent with his new wife to India in the early 19th century. While Savage holds the unusually progressive view that the people of India are human and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, he is still a very proper subject of the British empire and behaves accordingly. One night, when he sees a group of seemingly crazed men rob and kill a defenseless woman, he demands to know what has happened. He learns that the killers were members of a bizarre cult called the Thugees; Savage is determined to do something about them, and he works his way into the group by disguising himself as one of their number; however, the more Savage tries to win the trust of the Thugees, the more he must act as one of them, which leads him into a murderous secret life of his own. The Deceivers was produced by Ismail Merchant, his first film with a director other than James Ivory. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide