For those who haven’t watched Parinda, Broken Horses could perhaps be a moving, serious watch. But for those who have already been blown away by Chopra’s original, Broken Horses pales in comparison…

Broken Horses comes across as Parinda, with non-Indian actors. But then, while Parinda was a brilliant film, given its context and milieu, this one doesn’t impress as much. Watch it if you’re keen on seeing what the first Hollywood film written,directed and produced by an Indian filmmaker is like. Else, hire a DVD and re-watch Parinda.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film borrows most of its plot from Parinda, which is indeed one of the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Hence, Broken Horses can be treated as a one-time watch, just to relive Parinda. On a broader note, you can take a filmmaker out of Bollywood, but cannot take Bollywood out of him.

Broken Horses is a stellar attempt by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The story is simple, but with the grandeur of Hollywood. If you are into crime thrillers, Broken Horses can be an easy watch this weekend.

With the showboating Broken Horses, he joins the growing herd of Indian cinema’s finest filmmakers who surprisingly find more merit in adapting and remaking old literary and film works. Perhaps it’s time to stop romanticizing the past, and create a more original legacy-original stories, new visions, enduring cinematic memories that can be frequented with admiration by future generations. Instead of recreating Parinda, perhaps it is time for someone to create a new Parinda.