Bollywood’s take on JAWS, a wholly ridiculous
action/suspense/romance/musical/monster mash!
The Package
AATANK appeared in 1996 (over 20 years after its Steven
Spielberg directed inspiration) following a release delay of several
years. Beyond that I’ve been unable to uncover much info about the
film’s production or distribution. It was evidently shot quickly, with
little-to-no budget (and is not to be confused with the
GODFATHER-inspired Bollywood extravaganza AATANK HI AATANK).
The Story
The hunky young Peter lives in a remote coastal
village, which is ruled by a slimy gangster named Alphonso. One day some
valuable pearls are discovered off the coast, and Alphonso dispatches
several divers to scour the ocean floor. In doing so the divers attract
the attention of a mutant shark residing in the area.
The shark’s first victim is Peter’s bride Suzy, who
happens to be out swimming--and in the middle of a song!--just as the
shark emerges from its undersea lair. It goes on to terrorize several of
Alphonso’s henchmen and two young kids in an inflatable raft, one of
whom it chomps. Not content with this, the critter later yanks a
helicopter out of the sky.
All the while the corrupt Alphonso tightens his hold
over the village. Not even a band of revolutionary guerrillas armed with
machine guns can take him down. It’s up to Peter to save the day by
somehow getting rid of Alphonso--and the shark!
The Direction
Don’t get your hopes up too high for this film, which
is a far cry from JAWS--or even
REPTILICUS. You’re probably better off
viewing the short clips of AATANK uploaded on YouTube than the entire
movie, which in truth is more a gangster actioner (a crummy one) than a
proper monster mash. The shark that provides the movie’s raison d’etre
doesn’t even turn up until nearly an hour into the film, although its
initial appearance is rather inspired: it appears during a passionate
underwater musical routine performed by its victim! Yes, this being a
Bollywood movie, there are the expected song and dance numbers that
periodically break up the action, all eminently forgettable and allowed
to drag on far too long.
Bad movie buffs will at least get some enjoyment out of
the wholly asinine shark attack sequences. Like countless trash movie
auteurs before him, director Prem Lalwani attempts to disguise his
limited resources with fast cutting that clumsily incorporates a cheesy
model shark with real shark footage in the apparent hope that we won’t
be able to distinguish between the two. Quite simply, it doesn’t work!
Vital Statistics
AATANK
Bemisal Films Pvt. Ltd.
Director: Prem H. Lalwani
Producer: Prem H. Lalwani
Screenplay: Sachin Bhowmick
Editing: Das Dhaimade, Rajaram
Cast: Nafisa Ali, Dharmendra, Girish Karnad, Amjad Khan, Kader Khan,
Padma Khanna, Ravi Kishan, Hema Malini, Vinod Mehra, Ranjeet
