Serious critics will pretend to love it. It always happens with a Vishal Bharjdwaj movie. How can you not enjoy a Vishal Bharjdwaj movie? You’d be dumb to not like it. I’ve not yet seen Maqbool and I thought Omkara was overrated. But this time I was looking forward to watching Kaminey. I somehow felt good about Shahid’s look and his lisp-ness in the promos. I wasn’t disappointed, not for the first half at least. For the better part of the movie, it keeps you engrossed, it surprises you and the tight crisp script keeps you edgy. But later somehow, it just flattens out. The brilliant screenplay somehow nearing the end loses steam and just wants to get done with. And the surprising part is that the lengthy climax scene wasn’t really necessary. The movie could’ve ended before the climax began but I dunno why, all the characters gather in a chawl in Mumbai and the climax goes to party with blazing guns. It feels like suddenly Vishal went for a loo break and Priyadarshan took over.
There are some outstanding moments though. Bhope’s conversation with Mikhail is funny, fascinating and chilling all at once. The background score at that point, the dark lighting in the room, the dialogues, everything about that scene is almost perfect. Then, there’s another scene where Charlie and his friends discover they’ve screwed up at the hotel. The understated humor in the circumstances is just too good. Even the romantic angle between Shahid and Priyanka and the political issue is a nice complete subplot in itself, not at all belittled by the crime thriller going on at the other end. Priyanka in her role as bold and beautiful Sweety is remarkable. She is a wonderful actress and with her performance she almost single handedly carries the parallel plot to conclusion.
Shahid Kapoor has finally grown up. This has to be one of his finest performances to date. He plays a double role and though, as Guddu he is his regular chocolate boy self; as Charlie, he comes of age. Charlie the lisp will definitely be added to the most interesting characters in Bollywood – Ferioufly. His rugged look with unkempt long hair and stubble fit his character perfectly. He looks exactly what his character is – Bad guy but naïve, tough yet soft, greedy yet scared… There is something about Vishal Bhardwaj’s characters. Langda Tyagi in Omkara or Charlie in Kaminey or even Omi Shukla in and as Omkara, all his characters have depth, shades, typical mannerisms and that makes them a treat to watch.
I enjoy a movie with different characters and their personalities if it is woven tightly into the main plot but I’m not sure if a movie with so many characters appeals to a many people. I think a lot of audiences find such plots discerning and they loose the plot. There are numerous characters and a few sub-plots into the main plot but the script has been kept taut right to the end… almost. The last half hour is where all hell breaks loose, literally. All characters assemble at a location and start playing ‘Contra’. You don’t really understand who’s shooting who but people are surely dying. This sort of left a sour taste at the end.
But apart from this, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The story is interesting, the screenplay has been kept tight, the humor is unassuming yet intelligent and hilarious and the music – a few songs are definitely very good. ‘Dhen te nen’ is already a club thumper. But I loved the slow title track sung by Vishal Bhardwaj himself. Technically the movie is awesome. Brilliant cinematography by Tassaduq Hussain; He was the same guy who won a number of awards for cinematography for Omkara and this movie similarly has warm overtones to the picture. Similarly the editing by Meghna Sen (again who won an award for Omkara) is equally good keeping in mind there are scenes where twin brothers fight each other.
After the glut of nonsensical fare being dished out, finally there is something to enjoy, something worth spending your hard earned money in the theatres. This time the critics might actually love it.
Located in Dubai but Heart in India 