Review: Cheerful, colourful, singing and dancing are elements that you probably have in mind if I say Bollywood, but wait; they also have their share of darker stuff. What about a dark and serious thriller set in the world of Indian gangsters?

What is very particular about this film is that even though it contains Bollywood elements, director Ram Gopal Verma took an approach very different from the average Indian movie. First thing is the running time, two and a half hours is quite long for a movie in North America, but not in India, when the average running time is more than 3 hours. Second, the music is an element that is taken very seriously in Bollywood cinema. Musical numbers are meticulously choreographed; having big name singers is also a must. It could be easily compared to how Hong Kong treats martial arts in their cinema. In COMPANY, music has its importance and the main theme, which is quite excellent, is used many times with visual editing worthy of any great music video. However, only one musical number can be seen in the whole movie, and again the piece is edited in a way that the musical performance is not cutting you off from the story.

Very serious, limited in musical numbers and a running time under the average are features that Ram Gopal Verma enjoys working with, as most of his movies use these unconventional elements and miraculously succeed very well with the very conservative local audience. His latest success, BHOOT, was also bought for a North American release in 2003, but we are still waiting for it.

Ram Gopal Verma has that edge over most Indian directors, as his movies are usually very serious and original. Indian cinema is very famous for their many (probably not official) American remakes, but Ram Gopal Verma has stayed away from that so far. He is the kind of director that puts quality in a film that most Indian directors seem to miss, and his visuals and editing are also very interesting to watch. Fortunately, COMPANY’s story is very well handled. It’s true that the first hour, which is when the story is set, is a bit long but it is a common practice in Bollywood films to have a long introduction. This is probably the biggest problem people not familiar with the genre will have in this film, but if you can handle it you will be in for an excellent gangster story which can be put next to any great Triad, Jopok, or Yakuza films. The friendship and revenge aspect between the two main characters is very well done and the small plot twists that will create the sparks are surprising and fit well within the story.

The story would probably not have been so exciting if it was not for the performance of the two main actors. Malik is played by Ajay Devgan, who was a new face in Bollywood at the time of this movie’s release. The gangster boss, Chandu, is played by Vivek Oberoi, the fetish actor of Verma. Both actors gave an excellent performance which really made the friendship or tension believable and without this the story would not have worked so well.

Not a lot of action occurs in this movie but fans of gangster films will have no problem dealing with the slow pace for sure. You have a couple of short gun fights and pursuits but that’s about it. The entertainment factor is really the building of the tension, how the two friends will rise in the world of gangsters and who will be the last one to stand. The world of gangsters can be sometimes enjoyable, with all the advantages and riches, but it can also become hell within just a few hours.