I wanted to write on something connected to rain as its raining in Bangalore. So I popped RAIN in the search box and voila... I get THE BURNING TRAIN!

So I said to myself ’’hey... here’s one that all these movie freaks missed out on’’ and it was a movie I’ve seen. Since all the good writers are writing on all the cool, current topics, I decided to go on a different train of thought and write on...

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The Burning Train
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The Engine

The legendary B.R. Chopra produced this movie and got Ravi Chopra (his brat) to direct it.

And the actors? There’s Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna and Jeetendra. They got Hema Malini, the late Parveen Babi and Neetu Singh to dance and hold hands with. Then you got Danny Denzongpa as the villain with Vinod Mehra playing a role too. Star Studded indeed.

Throw in another legend - R.D. Burman - and you got a great score as well.

All the ingredients for a blockbuster.

Bogey: The Plot

I was 10 years old when I saw this so I dont remember character names.

Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna are two amigos who connect with the two lovely lasses - Hema and Parveen (much to the disappointment of a certain Danny). Danny swears to take revenge. Meanwhile, Vinod Khanna works on his dream project - a sophisticated train that forms the focal point of the movie.

Dharmendra’s love story hits a dead end when Hema disappears from his life without a warning (well she has a good reason which is revealed later in the movie and not in this review).

The train project is soon complete and its ready for its run. Dharmendra boards the train and lo and behold - Hema is there (melodrama zone). The train is packed and rolling....

Mid-journey, several characters board the train including Mr. Jumping Jack and the pretty Neetu Singh. To add to the festivities, some minstrels board on the train and sing ’’Pal do Pal Ka... Saath Hamaraaaa’’...

Ah... this isnt going to be your regular train ride - Mr. Danny has planned a surprise or two for the passengers.

One or two kabooms later, the train becomes a speeding inferno of death. The burning train is on a one way ride to hell...

It is left to the two ENDRAS - DHARAM and JEETS to play supermen and keep as many passengers alive. With some clever manouvering and some good old (b)hollywood ingenuity... they stop the burning train, save a lot of lives, destroy the baddies and go home.

Its a happy ending for everyone except the ones that lost their lives in the fire.

Caboose: The Music

R.D. Burman kicks things off with the title track ’’The Burning Train’’, to which he lends his throat. Its a good time to get some popcorn.

Then there is the song ’’Pehli Nazar Mein’’ which is pretty good and features a quartet of heavy duty voices (Asha Bhosle and Kishore included). Then there is ’’Meri Nazar Hai Tujpe’’ which had Hema emoting to the classical side and Parveen, the western side - pretty decent. And yes, there’s that cool qawaali style track ’’Pal Do Pal Ka...’’

My pick of this soundtrack is - Teri Hai Zameen one of the most inspiring songs you’ll ever hear.

Why the train derailed?

The actors did a fair job, the plot was ok, the music was good, the movie had a decent pace... then why did it bomb?

Maybe it was ahead of its time.
Maybe the Hollywood influence wasn’t the audience’s cup of tea.
Maybe having too many stars in one place was its downfall.

So many maybes and so little time. All I know is - the Train derailed at the Box Office.

~finis~

I honestly dont know if its worth a watch but please go ahead and watch it to know whether its worth a watch :)

Actually, I think its worth one watch (so hard to make up one’s mind)

Plot Revealed In The Review:	Somewhat revealed
Best to watch with:	Friends
Movie Genre:	No Comment
Best part in the movie:	No Comment