Tarantino liked Kaante, a rip-off of his Reservoir Dogs

Evidently, imitation is the best form of flattery. So, when Quentin Tarantino the filmmaker whose Reservoir Dogs 'inspired' Sanjay Gupta's Kaante, saw the film, he was flattered. Kaante was a complete rip-off of Reservoir Dogs, and Tarantino liked what he saw.


In an interview conducted by film director Srinivas, who also writes at a popular cine-blog Passion For Cinema, Tarantino commented on the many rip-offs that his film has spawned. "I think it was fabulous. Of the many rip-offs (of Reservoir Dogs) I loved Hong Kong's Too Many Ways To Be No.1 and this one, Kaante. The best part is, you have Indian guys coming to the US and looting a US bank. How cool is that! I was truly honoured. And these guys are played by the legends of Bollywood."

In fact, Tarantino actually felt that Kaante had more flexibility in its narration, than Reservoir Dogs. He says, "Here I am, watching a film that I've directed and then it goes into each character's background. And I'm like, 'Whoa'. For, I always write backgrounds and stuff and it always gets chopped off during the edit. And so I was amazed on seeing this. I felt, this isn't Reservoir Dogs. But then it goes into the warehouse scene and I am like, 'Wow it's back to Reservoir Dogs'. Isn't it amazing!"

Tarantino has some special words of praise for "the big beard guy… the famous guy in Bollywood". Yes, he's referring to Amitabh Bachchan.


Sanjay Gupta is, expectably, happy and even amused. "When I heard Quentin Tarantino had said good things about my Kaante, I thought people were pulling my leg. Then someone e-mailed me the interview. And I was impressed. After being ripped by critics for re-making Reservoir Dogs, I'm being praised to the skies by the guy who not only made the original but also some of the finest contemporary American films."

Original article is here.