One of the best films i have seen

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Zinda has psychologically poisoned me. Words refuse to escape my mouth as I am beyond speechless, what this world is capable of ..... looking at you "Bollywood". For Starters Oldboy is my all time favourite piece of cinema, a masterful art work, that I truly respect and admire. Zinda uses Oldboy and devours its reputation and spoofs it presumptuously. I've never witnessed something so putrid, this film is simply a crime. Zinda is an unforgivable sin. The cinematography was chaotic, the acting was horrific and the experience as a whole was intolerable. The producers should feel ashamed and beg for their dignity back. Zinda is humiliating to the point were I can't even comprehend. While my brain was decomposing as I tortured my self to sit through an hour and fifty minutes of utter garbage. This movie is one of a kind, nothing has made me seriously doubt the existence of life like this ever before. My lord what have I gotten myself into my brain thinks to itself for the millionth time in the first 30 minutes. WARNING this film cannot be unwatched so be careful and I mean it. I apologise on behalf of Bollywood for all the true Oldboy fans or even the people who just appreciate film. Because for some reason I feel guilty this *beeping* film exists.

Sanjay Gupta has made his career remaking Hollywood films,be it Kaante(Reservior Dogs), Musafir(U-Turn) and so on Kaante was a turning point in his career and his Musafir though was a flop but got some praise Zinda is a remake of Oldboy(2003) Korean film, which was recently remade in Hollywood as Oldboy(2013) and it bombed too. Zinda can be praised for being ahead of it's times, the film has a different plot, for people who have not watched Oldboy. The film starts with some c grade jokes of Sanjay and Mahesh Manjerekar but soon gets to the point, Sanju's scenes in the captive are identical to Oldboy almost but are well handled, there are some changes added to the film, the director cuts some parts which he found too objectionable for our audiences(in fact when I saw the film in theatre I found the people uncomfortable especially ladies). There are some logical errors like Sanjay recognising the guy with his shoes after 14 years? The torture scenes are toned down from the original and are well handled though, but the Lara Dutta character is a bit changed from the original, here she plays a local cabbie who speaks Punjabi in Bangkok. The fight scene which is shot in single take is different for bollywood and well shot, but lacks the impact of the original. The interval point is well handled(identical to the original). The second half starts off well, almost most of it being duplicated, but the director chickens out from using the incest angle and rewrites the twist which leaves several gaping holes, also the climax leaves you with questionsDirection by Sanjay Gupta is good only the writing could be better Music is amazing, Yeh Hai Meri Kahaani is a superb song, well placed in the film, rest songs are good Cinematography is good, most of the film uses a blue tint and brown tint which gives it an extra edge Dialogues are at places good while many times there are translated from the original.One of the strongest assets is Sanjay Dutt, he lets go himself and his image and plays the character superbly, conveying lot through his eyes and expressions. John Abraham plays the villain well, however tends to overdo in many high pitched scenes, Lara Dutta is alright, her role could be better Mahesh Manjerekar is routine,Raj Jhutsi is as usual

I do not understand why many people are saying that it is a terrible movie... Even though it is based on the Oldboy story, Zinda is quite good. It was shot well, the acting is not bad, either... I would expect better from Sanjay Dutt when I consider his past but I think John Abraham did a very good job in this movie. He proved that he is not only the looks but he can act as well... I agree that Oldboy was an excellent movie, maybe one of the best of its kind but we shouldn't judge Zinda by comparing it to the masterpiece. Try to see the good in this movie... Think of it, what if this movie had an original script or what if it was shot before Oldboy, would you still say it was a bad movie? I doubt it... It may not be as good as the original but it does not deserve 4.5 out of 10. I would say it is a 6 but I voted 7 just to keep the average a little higher and not spoil the truth by giving it a 10... By the way, the hammer fight scene in the corridor was lame, especially the knife on Sanjay Dutt's back looked as if it was added later on but still I wouldn't call it that bad, it was more than an average movie... And I liked how they turned the story to fit the Indian culture where you don't even see lovers kissing in movies that often... Oldboy's having sex with the daughter story was turned into a clever way for a Bollywood movie, in my opinion selling the virginity of the girl was a brilliant idea... Also Oldboy's siblings having sex was converted to another good story where young Balajeet said he slept with Neema... I recommend all the commenters to be reasonable and rate the movies without prejudices...

One of Sanjay Gupta's best films after Kaante. I really enjoyed the movie and the cinematography was excellent it's like aqua blue I think its to suite the mood for the film and I wanted to watch it because Sanjay Dutt & John Abraham are in it and they are my most favourite actors & they both did a terrific job. It is quite violent it has drilling arms and teeth extraction with a hammer definitely not for the squeamish but the story is brilliant with a surprise ending.My favourite songs are:Zinda Hoon Main (Dance Mix), Yeh Hai Meri Kahani & Chal Rahi Hai Saanse It is a remake of Oldboy I have not seen it and I don't think I ever can because I don't know Korean & I'm not keen in Korean films and it's annoying watching a film of a different language you can with subtitles but yours eyes will be on the bottom of the screen the whole time. A lot of Oldboy fans have a huge problem with Zinda just because it's a remake. It is not a big deal because remakes are a good idea so other people from other countries can watch them, Oldboy will be fine its own place and don't watch remakes if it bothers you it is simple as that.