Kaminey

With respected names such as Vishal Bhardwaj, Gulzar, Ronie Screwvala and UTV, it is obvious that the project gets associated with huge expectations and craze even before its release. And if it also has a great energetic track, capable of bringing out all the hidden madness in you (Dhan Tan Nan), then the movie is destined to see long queues of cinema lovers at the box office window.

So all geared up, we got seated excitingly in the theater, expecting a complete new chapter to unfold on the screen. And as the lights went off, we were served with a slow and uninteresting start having the expected dark feeling, which continued till the intermission. Truly speaking, the movie is not so gripping till the mid-point as compared to the previous works of Vishal. Though he succeeds in making a film on the similar lines of Quentin Tarantino & Guy Ritchie, but I found the entertainment factor quite missing in his current venture. Post interval, the movie has a better pace with some fast interconnected sequences featuring every single character in the screenplay. But the routine climax, with everyone killing each other leaves you with mixed feelings about this latest “Vishal Experience”. 

The story moves around two brothers who are not at talking terms with each other but get unintentionally involved with different Gangsters. The identity mix up and a big deal of drugs involving the local police is the main plot of the movie. But the movie cannot be judged by its story plot alone, since it heavily relies on it’s out of the routine treatment and first of its kind of direction in Indian Cinema.

No doubt the movie is conceived intelligently and directed differently by Vishal Bhardwaj. But apart from its technical brilliance, the sad part is that the film doesn’t have the HUMOR element at all as promised in its promotional campaign. The main USP of the movie, wherein Shahid speaks “F” instead of “S” in his dialogues, is used in a very subtle manner. Whereas in the promos, this fun gimmick was used very aggressively. 

The other major point to be considered is the unimpressive use of the Smash Hit song “Dhan Tan Nan” in the movie. As the song commences on the screen, you don’t feel energetic or lively enough, as you may have felt watching “Sapno Mein Milti Hai” or “Omkara”. The over use of close-ups, strobe lighting and fast camera movements also took away the essence of an otherwise power-packed song. 

In the acting department, Shahid Kapoor does well in his double role and stammering. He completely devotes himself to his director’s vision. However, I found the witty humor part missing in his character. Priyanka Chopra tries her best in an underwritten role and manages to shine bright in all her scenes throughout the movie. The surprise act of Amol Gupte is quite pleasant since he delivers a fine controlled performance as The Bhai. 

Musically, keeping the cult track “Dhan Tan Nan” aside, I found the soundtrack a bit less scoring then the earlier works of both Vishal Bhardwaj & Gulzar. Camerawork is simply superb, giving the right kind of dark and grim feel to the project. But at times I missed a steady cam vision in the sequences. 

In all, after watching it, at one end, you like it for its unique & different approach adopted by the director. But on the other you also feel less entertained as expected from its promotional campaign which projected the movie as a roller coaster ride with great element of fun and humor. So we remain half way at the satisfaction chart with “Kaminey”. 

Rating : 2.5 / 5

(by Bobby Sing  from   www.bobbytalkscinema.com)