Sindbad (1975)
Cast: Shahid, Sangeeta, Munawar Zareef, Ishrat Chaudhary, Saba, Saqi, Adeeb
Director: Iqbal Kashmiri
Synopsis: Old fashioned fantasy adventure is full of mind-blowing special effects.
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

Sindbad’s ship appears to be drifting to nowhere, and his crew is distraught without any food, water or medicine and unwilling to go an inch further. They threaten mutiny and abandon ship leaving Sindbad and Jigar, his sidekick, to deal with the mysterious island they find themselves on.

Fortunately for Sindbad and his friend, they are rescued by some friendly tribal beauties led by the curvaceous Queen Sania (Ishrat Chaudhary). The jungle women provide Sindbad and Jigar (Munawar Zareef) with plenty to eat and entertain them with an exotic dance. Just as it seems they’ve landed in paradise, the beauties mutate into bloodthirsty flesh-eating witches! The intrepid duo barely escapes the cannibal witches.

In an adjacent locality Shahid (Sindbad) doesn’t take long to win over the local princess’s heart, which brings the evil prime minister to the warpath as he intended his son to marry the brainless princess. Sindbad’s skill wielding a torch manages to save the day, but only momentarily, as for greater horrors lurk around the corner. A statue turns into a benign, bearded genie that provides Sindbad with a swank, flying carpet that whisks him and his friend to a Kingdom ruled by the gorgeous Sangeeta and some corrupt ministers.

A devious minister has a scheme that will rid them of Sindbad. Just as Princess Sangeeta is about to announce her wedding plans, the ghastly horror is unleashed. The scheming minister unleashes his masterstroke through an evil magician who curses Sindbad, turning him into a shriveled hunchback with hideous, twisted features and an ape’s gait. Sangeeta is appalled and too shocked to react to the minister who has banished Sindbad from the Kingdom so that his son can marry Sangeeta.

Poor Sindbad faces the formidable challenge of tracking down the dreaded Khooni Parinda (Bloody Bird), draining its blood and presenting the liquid to another witch-like creature (Gulnar). She will hopefully return his dashing good looks, or so he hopes. Unluckily for Sindbad, the Khooni Parinda is the most dreadful adversary ever known to humanity. His chances of surviving an encounter with The Bloody Bird are not even minuscule. However, his looks are all important, and he has no choice.

It’s not long before Sindbad and Jigar spot the dreaded KP as it swoops onto a bunch of hapless sheep. The KP descends, groaning rhythmically in keeping with its wing flapping motions, labouring along, looking like a cross between a giant Russian Antonov and a flying cow. It’s not a pretty sight when the killer bird swoops onto the sheep, carrying them away to their gruesome deaths moments later. Desperate, Sindbad decides to skin a sheep and wear its hide to tempt the Khooni Parinda to carry him away to its feeding area. Soon the monstrous bird flaps along for a quick bite and plucks Sindbad out, carrying him away in its giant talons, then dropping him into its den, where it plans to toy with him a while before devouring him for supper.

Sindbad takes full advantage of the Khooni Parinda’s rather ungainly movements (on land) and manages to do the impossible after a helter-skelter fight to the death. He kills the Bloody Bird by impaling its head with his sword. Then he collects the blood in a bottle to offer

Sindbad it to Gulnar, who is supposed to return his killer looks. However, significant complications arise as Gulnar falls madly in love with Sindbad (who wouldn’t?), starts becoming possessive and jealous, and refuses to let him go back to Sangeeta. If he ever overcomes that issue, a mad, disgruntled magician and a nasty bag of tricks await him.

This movie is a light-hearted action-adventure romance in the best Harryhausen tradition but with the most bewildering special effects ever created. The monsters are awesomely cheesy, and the king of beasts, The Khooni Parinda, is a sight to behold—one of the cinematic wonders of the world demonstrating Lollywood’s unparalleled genius in the special effects field.

Shahid and Sangeeta make a charming couple, but Iqbal Kashmiri’s direction begins to lose its grip in the second half, and the film begins to drag. Though one or two dances are fascinating, the songs are nothing exciting. The supporting cast is impressive, with “sex kitten” Ishrat Chaudhary and Adeeb excelling. A funfilled special effects extravaganza in the best old-fashioned tradition of Saturday morning TV serials, the film builds brilliantly until the classic confrontation where Sindbad takes on the KP. After that, it all seems a bit of an anticlimax.