KAMINEY - Movie Review : More artistic touches leave you less entertained in the end. (Review By Bobby Sing)

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. That's really a good news for the Hindi Film Industry since after a long time, this kind of response is seen for a complete out of the box, dark and witty thriller coming from the thinking director, Vishal Bhardwaj.

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. The majority of Hindi Cinema viewers are not familiar with this kind of genre where you are not spoon fed each and every development in the plot. So, it should be clear, that “Kaminey” has not got the normal “Bollywood Entertainment” factor in it for a change. But will this change work favorably, is what I have my bets on.

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. So the viewer keeps waiting for some funny dialogues or humorous sequences to be there but instead they have to laugh on the deliberate stammering act by the second Shahid (in double role).

The other major point to be considered is the unimpressive use of the Smash Hit song “Dhan Tan Nan” in the movie. The moment this song commences on the screen, you just don’t feel energetic or lively enough, as you may have felt watching “Sapno Mein Milti Hai” or “Omkara”. The reason may be that the song is shot without any specific dance steps and also doesn’t capture the free style freak out dance act by the characters clearly. The over use of extreme close-ups, strobe lighting effects 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 but still he comes up with one of the finest performances of his career. 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. Apart from the famous Sukhwinder number you don’t get that impressed by any other track while watching the movie. 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, technically Vishal Bhardwaj comes up with a polished new age kind of crime thriller for the Indian viewers, which may generate mixed responses especially in the smaller centers. 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 to be a roller coaster ride with great element of fun and humor. So in the end, we remain half way at the satisfaction chart with “Kaminey”.

Rating : 2.5 / 5