Having not been familiar with Double Indemnity or Body Heat---not to mention Bollywood films in general---I wasn't quite sure how to approach Amit Saxena's Body (AKA Jism, 2003). For those also unfamiliar with the first two films, they're psychological thrillers with a seductive twist: both revolve around women who encourage their lovers to murder their husbands. For those unfamiliar with the term "Bollywood", it simply refers to Indian cinema---a genre not unlike the classic American musical, usually filled with spontaneous song and dance. Of course, it's also worth noting that in typical Bollywood films, even the most daring adult situations are much more reserved than those found elsewhere---yes, even in America, where guns are more acceptable than breasts.

To make a long story short, Body is basically the Hindi remake of both previously mentioned films. To make a short story long, however, Body is an uneven, dull film that could have easily been trimmed by 30 minutes. As far as the plot goes, it's a remake so parts of it might sound familiar. The story revolves around the unemployed Kabir Lal (John Abraham) and his infatuation with Sonia Kappor (Bipasha Basu), an attractive young woman whom he falls for at a club. After ignoring his advances, a second encounter leads to her confession that she's married to an abusive spouse. She can't leave her husband for financial reasons, so she encourages Kabir to murder him so they can be together. It wouldn't be a thriller without a few plot twists, one of which includes her true intentions.

Naturally, remakes can't earn points for a story that's been done before---only for what's been added or modified. As it stands, Body's weakest points are in the worst possible areas. For starters, there's plenty of filler, including a handful of songs that remain true to the genre but will likely turn off viewers unaccustomed to them. With its bloated 136-minute running time, Body runs roughly 30 minutes longer than its predecessors but really doesn't add much at all. It's a fairly dull journey given the subject matter; though both leads seem to have good chemistry at first, their encounters quickly become tedious. Half the time, I wasn't sure whether I was watching an actual film or just a feature-length Mentos commercial.

Even so, I wanted to give Body a chance but it never grabbed me. There's a significant culture gap here; maybe not enough to drive away most American audiences, but this disc doesn't always exercise truth in advertising. Both earlier versions of this story---especially the classic Double Indemnity---are light years better than this remake, which isn't a total loss but comes very close. The horrible DVD treatment from Image Entertainment adds more fuel on the fire, combining a lackluster technical presentation with no bonus features. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

I cleaned my glasses after the first few minutes of Body, but was disappointed to learn that they weren't dirty in the first place. This soft and murky 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is extremely uneven, looking in some places like it was mastered from a VHS copy. Background detail is minimal, while colors range from bold to completely flat. Bright outdoor scenes are sharp on occasion, but the visual presentation here is disappointing overall. The audio doesn't fare much better, as this film is presented in Hindi 5.1 and 2.0 Surround with optional English subtitles. It's a bit blown-out at the high end---especially during a few songs---but the standard dialogue doesn't seem to suffer very much. Atmosphere and rear channel activity are very limited during all but the musical numbers.

I didn't care for Amit Saxena's Body in the least, and the below-average DVD treatment certainly doesn't help matters either. An overlong film, a shoddy technical presentation and a complete lack of bonus materials spells disaster on all counts---so unless you're completely chomping at the bit to see this one, you're better off leaving Body sleeping on the shelf. Skip It.