Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Gypsi Bates Durga Singh (Raakhee) has two sons, Karan (Salman Khan) and Arjun (Shah Rukh Khan) that are the joy of her life. When they are murdered, she prays to Kali to reincarnate them, and restore them too her, so that they can take vengeance on her enemy. This is both a poignant story of a mother's love and faith, and an action packed tale of revenge. The music and choreography are average, but the costumes are spectacular. The fight scenes are well staged and exciting. The supporting cast is quite good. Khan and Khan are both great in their roles, and it is fun to see the superstars act together. (Though, in my opinion, seeing them together shows that Salman Khan is a superior fighter, dancer, and actor.) It's a solid movie overall, and will please fans of either Khan.

Suman Kumar Ganguly (Rated on the basis of watching on T.V. 17 years after release)Plot:The two sons of a widow, Karan and Arjun are murdered by the evil village-lord. But she believes her sons will return. Will the miracle happen?Review: Reincarnation has been the subject of Bollywood films for a long time from "Madhumati"(1958) to "Dangerous Ishq"(2012). Rakesh Roshan also chose reincarnation as the subject of his 1995 venture, "Karan Arjun"; but with a difference. Unlike other films where the purpose of rebirth was unfulfilled/betrayed love; the sole objective of reincarnation here is revenge. The first half-an-hour of the film is captivating. The murder-sequence of Karan-Arjun hammers at the heart. But from the opening-credits, the film meanders on without any direction. The romantic-tracks of the two brothers is clumsily written. While the Ajay-Bindiya romance is undercooked and never depicted properly, the Vijay-Sonia romance seems too fast to be convincing (there introductory scene is quite embarrassingly amateurish). But the film springs back to life from the well-shot stable-fire sequence and from there onwards it's non-stop fun.The second half is thoroughly entertaining. The sequence where Vijay remembers his past is beautifully shot and edited. One can't hold back a smile (or tear!) at the scene where the two brothers are reunited with their mother. The mountain-valleys of the village are breathtaking. One only wishes the killing-scene of Durjan was shot at some of these grand locales and not at the dingy lanes of the village (preferably with 'elegant' swords replacing the 'petty' pistols).The script packs in all the clichés in the many highly-emotional scenes; but they do succeed in packing a punch. The dialogues range from emotionally stirring to hilarious.Getting Salman Khan (riding high on "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun") and Shah Rukh Khan (of "Baazigar","Darr" fame) together for the first time was a casting-coup. The hit "Baazigar" pair of SRK & Kajol was also reunited. The makers clearly modelled the characters of Karan/Ajay & Arjun/Vijay on Jai & Veeru from "Sholay". While SRK as the chirpy and cheerful Vijay scores easily; Salman as the brooding and quiet Ajay fails to create much impression as he lacks that imposing personality in Big B's immortal portrayal of Jai. Kajol and her chemistry with SRK is rollicking as ever. They have just five sequences together; but even that is pure magic! One really wished to see more of them together. Mamta Kulkarni gets the most thankless role as her only job is to dance to as many as four numbers (she sings more than she speaks)! Rakhee reprises her avatar of the wronged widow from "Ram- Lakkhan" and she is a show-stealer. Amrish Puri in his habituated evil- avatar is good, though his broom- moustache was unintentionally comical. Ashok Saraf and Johny Lever are hilarious.Rakesh's direction is solid in the opening 30 minutes but then it wanders. But from the second half he gets the narration under a tight leash and some of the sequences are tremendously executed. The composer, Rajesh Roshan scores with all the songs (except 'Ek Munda'), out of which 'Yeh Bandhan' and 'Jaati Hun Main' live on in the mind for long. Equally impressive is the background music where special scores are played for almost every character in similar sequences.But despite a brilliant track, the picturisation of 'Jaati Hun Main' is quite atrocious. Due to limitations in script, the makers clearly wanted to exploit the famous SRK-Kajol chemistry to the hilt through this one song. Intended to be erotic, the song starts off well but then what follows is embarrassing! It seemed everyone including the stallions were just having fun. It didn't help that SRK used to have two left feet during those times. But more the madness, hotter grew the chemistry between the leads. It's only the rocking melody and chemistry that salvaged the song from being an erotic disaster to just a raunchy number. It's almost guilty pleasure for the viewers because it's so bad that it's good! Even in 'Bhangra Pale' the continuity is absent with alternate scenes of sunshine and overcast skies.But the biggest flaw of the film is that it doesn't give equal weightage to both its leads. The makers seemed biased towards SRK as he gets the wittier dialogues, the more popular heroine and romantic number, he discovers their true identity, escapes unhurt while Salman is hit by a bullet and lastly takes a shot on his left palm but Salman takes it on his right (no wonder the director chose SRK as the solo lead for his next, "Koyla")! Salman is not required to perform any task alone (unlike SRK's discovery of their past) which prevents him from creating an unique impression. But Salman's latent utility lies in the formidability he lends to the Karan-Arjun duo; as without his muscled physique SRK, in his slim figure standing up to the mighty villains would have been unconvincing. They make you root for them; only if they had engaged in some banter between them."Karan Arjun" is not a totally satisfying watch considering its unfulfilled potential. But by the end a smile does crop up on the face, even unknowingly. What more important can one ask for?Box-Office Verdict: Riding on its cast, songs and time-tested theme of reincarnation, the film became a 'blockbuster'. The songs 'Yeh Bandhan', 'Jaati Hun Main' and 'Bhangra Pale' became hits with the first two becoming classics. Rakhee's dialogue 'Mere Karan-Arjun aayenge' got cult-status. The raunchy picturisation of 'Jaati Hun Main' attracted many repeat audiences due to the absence of music-channels those days. SRK-Kajol went on to become one of the most popular pairs of all time, starting with "DDLJ" later that year. "Karan Arjun" set the path to mega-stardom for Salman, SRK and Kajol. But considering this age of sequels, if Rakesh Roshan decides to make "Karan-Arjun:2"; will he able to regroup his two leads (now behaving like Karan&Arjun from "Mahabharata")? Maybe,in next birth!

chetan_r411 I still remember the first time I watched this movie back in 1995. I was almost hypnotized during the movie. Dialogues like "Mamta Ka Karz" and "Inteqam Ki Aag" may sound cheesy in today's time, but these were pretty common those days and who better than Shahrukh and Salman to mouth those lines. Salman did his tough guy role with élan. Shahrukh though physically unsuitable to play that kind of role didn't do bad either. Kajol may be remembered as an actress of substance today but this movie showed her and Mamta Kulkarni, both as mere showpieces, a trait of 90s. Amrish Puri did another of those evil Thakur kind of roles, that he could even played in his sleep. However the soul of the movie is Rakhi Gulzar, every time she mouthed that unforgettable "Mere Bete Aayenge, Mere Karan Arjun Aayenge" line, I used to find myself almost in tears. Music was average, but "Jaati Hun Main, Jaldi Hai Kya" became a chart-buster and was like Kajol's own "Dhak Dhak".Not to forget "Mujhko Ranaji Maaf Karna", which was one of the most talked about songs after "Choli Ke Peeche". Bravura performances, hit songs, high emotional melodrama and above all Rakhi's spirited performance made this movie a cult. Not to miss if you have been bored of NRI characters roaming in Mercedes and dancing in exotic locales and want to see some real Bollywood extravaganza.

long-ford This is a long reincarnation flick whose sole selling point is the combination of the two Khans- Shahrukh and Salman. Shahrukh overacts as usual and a silent Salman has greater screen presence. The plot line is that of a typical revenge drama. However, Rakhee and Amrish Puri breathe life into stereotypical roles. Rakhee specially convinces as the pining mother out for revenge. The other villains are caricatures. The action is overdone and production values are middling. Some songs are catchy but there's a dance number with suggestive lyrics. Watchable film as long as you ignore its flaws.Overall 5/10