You`re in for a scare!!!. Review on Kaal

Whenever,a Dharma Productions or Karan Johar film is due for release,viewers eagerly await to see the film and why not? After all,these are the same people who have given Bollywood superhits such as ”Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”,”Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” and ”Kal Ho Naa Ho”.This time also,the film is as eagerly awaited,the film is as big budget as Dharma Productions` previous films and the film is as exciting as their previous projects but the biggest difference this time is that the production house which used to make feel-good family movies and romantic movies,has come up with a thriller/horror film this time.This film is a songless one,unlike,their previous film.Shahrukh Khan,Kajol or Rani Mukerji are not the stars of this movie [though SRK is there in a song],but this time around,they have roped in a very different cast.So,how has the film shaped up,without all those essential ingredients,that are needed to make a Karan Johar film?

Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar`s ”Kaal”,directed by Soham,stars Ajay Devgan,Vivek Oberoi,John Abraham,Lara Dutta,Esha Deol,Kushal Punjabi,Vishal Malhotra,Parmeet Sethi and Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora-Khan in a special appearance.This film is eagerly awaited because it is a Dharma Production film and secondly because of its different story line.Does the film succeed in sending a chill down your spine?

”Kaal” tells the story of the mysterious Orbit National Park,a jungle,where hunters go for hunting animals.Recently,several deaths have taken place and it is rumoured that anyone who has gone to the Orbit National Park has never returned back.To find out the mystery behind this thing,Krish (John Abraham),a tiger expert and his wife,Riya (Esha Deol),who is a National Geographic photographer,go to the Orbit National Park.Unfortunately,their National Geographic jeep gets stuck,there and they can also not leave the Orbit National Park,so they start exploring this mysterious place.Another gang,of young friends is also going to a farmhouse,but they are mistakenly led to the Orbit National Park,and their car is also stuck there.They decide to start hunting in the jungle.This gang of friends consists of Dev Malhotra (Vivek Oberoi),his girlfriend Ishika (Lara Dutta) and two other friends (Kushal Punjabi and Vishal Malhotra).Dev is a brave and a daring guy who cane never get afraid of anything where as his girlfriend Ishika is a coward who gets scared very easily and who is very superstitious.She believes that if a black cat passes through your path,that is a sign of a bad luck.After their jeep is stuck,Dev and his friends hire another jeep and incidentally,they meet Krish and Riya,who are there to hire a mechanic.Both these parties of the married couple and the gang of the four friends bond together with each other,as they are in the same circumstances.All of them decide to stay in a guest house for that night,and they plan that they will leave the jungle,the next morning but all is not as easy as much as it looks.Little do they know that this is going to be an experience of a lifetime or should we say a time where they are going to experience death.Now some terrible incidents start to take place.Krish`s driver dies,followed by Dev`s friends and they all realise that slowly and gradually,one after the another,everyone is dying.They come across fierce and frustrated animals and three dangerous tigers.They have a fatal attack on them by these three dangerous tigers.They all realise that they are trapped in the jungle and there is no way out for them.Finally,they find help in the form of a mysterious man Kaali Pratap Singh (Ajay Devgan).He wears a strange kind of a locket,has ‘surma’ on his eyes and carries a strange sort of a stick in his hand.He is one kind of a person,whom no normal man can understand.The more you will want to know of him,the more you will get confused.He knows everything about the jungle-the dangerous tigers,its dangerous animals,its harsh climates and its whole map.He knows how these people can get out of this mysterious jungle.Will Krish,Riya,Dev and Ishika be able to escape from the jungle,with Kaali`s help?Will they save themselves from the dangerous and wild animals and those tigers?What if Kaali is actually not the one who is helping tem but the one who is getting them involved in further trouble?

Ajay Devgan as usual,is excellent in this film.He is a very versatile actor and in this film,he performs in a manner, that you have never seen him performing,before.This Ajay Devgan is a very different one,which we usually see.He is mysterious,he is hard and he has some grey shades to his character.The variations that the actor has shown in such a complex character is worth noticing.This is one of Ajay`s finest performances.

Vivek Oberoi also does a good job,as the fearless and casual Dev.He performed very well,in the scene where Krish finds out that he is carrying a gun,and then the argument that he has with Krish.Dev`s character suits him very much and you feel that this character was written with Vivek Oberoi in mind.

John Abraham has shown a great improvement over his previous performances.This time he doesn`t seem to be as wooden as much as he looked in his recent films,such as ”Karam” or ”Elaan”.He has given his best to this film,and it really shows.

Lara Dutta has nothing much to do,except for wearing skimpy clothes and screaming out loud.This is one such role,which any other actress could have done but I must say that she makes a good pair with Vivek Oberoi.

Esha Deol,also does a role which any other actress could have done,such as Mallika Sherawat (???) because even Esha wears quite skimpy clothes in the film,but her role is a bit meatier than Lara`s and her peformance is also better than Lara.

Vishal Malhotra is wonderful as Dev`s friend and it is fun to watch him.Ditto for Kushal Punjabi,who also lends able support.Parmeet Sethi is totally wasted as the man in charge of the forest,but did we really want more of him?

Soham Shah,the debutante director who earlier assisted Ram Gopal Varma and Karan Johar,manages to make a gripping film and dares to be different than other directors of these days.There are definitely some spine-chilling sequences.The first night,that the cast of the film spends in Orbit National park,is interesting enough to keep you hooked ontot the screen.All the murder sequences are very intriguing and they are done in a very unpredictable manner.Kaali Pratap Singh`s introduction scene,is done very well and the film`s graph turns upwards with his entry.The scene,where Riya goes to drink water from the well and a rope pulls her back is very unpredictable and spine-chilling.The climax is very unpredictable and you will all be shocked.

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