A thriller mystery, did you say?. Review on Kaal

Soham Shah has got it all – two of the biggest names as producers, a sumptuous starcast, Shahrukh Khan and Mallaika Arora Khan dancing to the tunes of Salim – Sulaiman. What more could he ask for?

Shah has rightly combined Johar and Varma’s skills to generate something that is far from usual. The cries of “we want something different” from the Indian audience have been heard!

Krish (John Abraham), an environmentalist and his wife Riya (Esha Deol) set out to investigate a mystery of the strange killings of man-eating tigers. On the other side of the frame, Dev (Vivek Oberoi), his girlfriend Ishika (Lara Dutta) and a couple of friends (Vishal Malhotra and Kushal Punjabi) start out on an adventure trip to a farmhouse. But fate had something else in mind. They get sidetracked and end up meeting Krish and Riya in Orbit Park, only to help them out of the jungle.

The spine-chilling and bloodcurdling journey begins here when death replaces adventure.

When the group comes face to face with death, Kali Pratap Singh (Ajay Devgan) comes to their rescue. He promises the gang to help them escape the cruel jungle where walking is like committing suicide. He warns them to follow the rules of the jungle because if they don’t, they will have to face death. Will they follow the rules? Will Kali succeed in helping them escape the jungle? Will they survive the fierce attacks of the unknown power?

The thriller and the mystery parts of the movie are carried out very well in the first half. It grips the audience and forces them to keep their eyes glued to the screen in pursuit of knowing what will happen next. However, in the second half, the mystery part is taken away, leaving the movie with just the thrill.

The film appears to be directed by an experienced director rather than a newcomer because it has all the signs of intelligence in it. It is very common to have flaws or faulty loopholes in mystery movies, but this one shows no signs of error although, there are some mysteries that remain unsolved in the movie.

The use of small details like signs, words, sounds, etc. plays a very important role in adding to the meaning of the story and it also helps the audience to follow with what’s going on in the film. Another positive aspect of the movie is the subtle and dry comedy that appears every once in a while. It lightens the mood of the audience amid all the trauma and terror.

The background score by Salim – Sulaiman and cinematography by Santosh Thundiyil need to be applauded. Besides the direction, these are the two major elements that make the audience grab their seats.

Ajay Devgan emerges as the winner of the movie, despite of having a small role. His remarkable performance is sure to be admired by the moviegoers. There couldn’t be another actor who could perform this role with more accuracy.

John Abraham suits the role well. Simple, sober and to-the-point! John clearly proves himself as an awesome actor. No place for criticism here!

Vivek Oberoi seems to have taken the challenge of playing Dev very well. He makes his presence felt. Not bad!

Lara Dutta and Esha Deol don’t get much to do but are acceptable in what they do.

Vishal Malhotra and Kushal Punjabi are capable of performing!

All in all, Kaal can undoubtedly be considered as a different film bringing a revolution to the Indian cinema (after Black). But the film should not be called an absolute mystery because it tends to divert on a superstitious side. Nevertheless, the movie is worth a watch. Not bad, Soham, not bad at all!