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By Joginder Tuteja, October 21, 2009 - 13:24 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Amol Gupte, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Tenzing Nima, Shiv Subrahmanyam, Hrishikesh Joshi
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyrics: Gulzar
THE FILM
It is going to be quite a predicament for the awards organisers early next year. They would have to nominate Shahid Kapoor in different categories for the same film. One would be for the 'Best Actor' and another would be for 'Best Actor In A Negative Role'. The young man, who was doing 'aaja ve maahi let's do balle balle' till a few years back gets into some serious 'wham-bang' mode with Kaminey.
Which brings one to Vishal Bhardwaj who is bound to enter the same territory from here on. Simply put, Vishal has redefined film making with Kaminey. There would be hardly any film makers in the country who would wish to enter into a zone hitherto unexplored. However, Vishal not just does that but also succeeds in a huge way. He gets a complete masala flick rolling in Kaminey which is simply unique in all aspects of film making and still comes out unscathed.
To think of it, while making Kaminey there was absolutely no reference point for Vishal Bhardwaj at least in Bollywood cinema. Not that he would have really needed that considering the kind of original work he has done in the past (Omkara, Maqbool). Still, it is commendable to see him just picking strings from Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino brand of cinema and adapting it perfectly well for a Bollywood milieu.
Set in Mumbai, one would have almost tempted to begin the narrative with a clichéd 'Mumbai is a city of dreams' narrative. However, Vishal Bhardwaj plays his cards in a completely different manner and takes audiences into a world that has never been explored before on Indian screen. He keeps introducing characters for the first 30 minutes while making sure that the twin brothers (Shahid Kapoor) aren't brought together in a single frame till way past the interval point.
Not just that, he also confuses (purposefully so) his audiences in at least a couple of sequences and tests their intelligence. Like this scene where two groups of three characters each are shown interacting amongst themselves and eventually it turns out that all of them were in the same room. Or the entire hotel sequence where a drug deal goes kaput. And then of course the coming together of all the 10 odd characters who are connected to each other eventually. Each of these scenes is a masterstroke from Vishal Bhardwaj who successfully gets Guy Ritchie and Tarantino home!
So what one gets to see is a day in the life of two brothers who are on the run for different reasons. Good Shahid has seen a sudden marriage with Priyanka Chopra (excellent in her relatively short but meaningful and important role) and is now being followed by her brother's (Amol Gupte) henchmen. Bad Shahid has got hold of drugs worth Rs. 10 crore and is now all set to sell them off a throwaway price.
And in between them, there are cops, gangsters, international drug mafia, narcotics department, a 'Jai Maharashtra' slogan raising brother, an over-'coked' friend and his two mad Bengali brothers - all of whom make sure that Kaminey turns out to be one joy ride that keeps the excitement on till end credits start rolling.
The film starts off decently though one has to really concentrate hard to get the point of the story and the narrative. All of that starts making sense after 30 odd minutes but you still feel that there could have been a little more meat to the proceedings. However, it's the post interval portions that make Kaminey simply irresistible. Layers after layers unfold, dark as well as humane side of people are put on display and finally comes an explosive climax (pun intended) that pretty much justifies the route that
Vishal Bhardwaj takes in Kaminey.
In Kaminey, Shahid has dared to pick a subject which would have looked impossible to execute when read on paper. Still, credit to film maker Vishal Bhardwaj, who doesn't let Shahid down and gifts him a film that immediately pushes him further into the top league. There are men like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Salman Khan already sitting there. Now add Shahid Kapoor to the list. After Kaminey, audiences would be expecting a moon from him in each of his outing.
PACKAGING
DVD of Kaminey comes in a regular plastic case along with a free DVD (I got a little known film called Bomb Blast)
DURATION
The film's duration is 135 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Making of Kaminey
- Original Beginning
- Deleted Scenes
The best part about the special features in Kaminey is the 'Original Beginning' which is set in Angola. A lengthy sequence, it shows an African family trapped amidst gun fire between mobs. The entire sequence has an international feel to it and the original language being retained along with English subtitles to help the audience comprehend what exactly is going on screen lends further authenticity to it. Though it by no means is connected to the film, it has a metaphorical relevance as it's eventually a war like this and the one set in Mumbai that ends the film.
There are a few more deleted scenes as well though not really creating much impact. Michael's extended death sequence doesn't quite add much value. However the extended version of the song 'Pehli Baar Mohabbat Ki Hai' looks cute. Finally, there is also an extended version of the climax. While the one in the film lasts for 3 minute, the extended version is made of 6 minutes duration and has dialogues instead of background song which goes in the theatrical print. This makes for an interesting watch, especially with Amol Gupte shown to be fighting while sitting backwards on a scooter!
And then there is the entire 'making of the film' segment which thankfully does show a film's making in the true sense. While the cast and the director do talk about their reasons behind making this film, what makes it further interesting are the portions in this segment where the audience is actually taken to the sets where the shots are being captured. Most memorable are the ones where action sequences are being canned. Especially watch out for Priyanka Chopra's real life accident being captured on lens when she was driving her scooty with Shahid behind her. Overall, this 'making' does make for a good watch.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 99/=
CONCLUSION
When the film ends, the first question that comes to the mind is - 'Why was the film granted an 'A' certificate?' Frankly, there aren't any expletives in it that one hasn't heard before in an Indian film. And violence too is hardly the kind that would have required any chopping away. The film has nothing in it that would have made youth go haywire or loose direction in life.
Simply put, Kaminey is one of the few MUST WATCH films of 2009. After this movie, Vishal Bhardwaj can now well open a film academy! He shows the world that he knows the art of creating a new world of cinema and lays out a road ahead for many an aspiring filmmaker to tread his path.
 
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