Kaminey : Isko Dekho!. Review on Kaminey

Are there any good people around? If there are, they should not watch Kaminey. The ones who should watch Kaminey are the people who like everything raw. Even the goodness! And good people would probably fall short of capacity on that count.

There is a bit of Quentin Tarantino and hell lot of attitude that every frame of Kaminey oozes. It is one of those intelligently arrogant and lovable films that give a damn to ‘public ko samjhega kya’ line of thinking. People, this film is awesome in the true sense of the term and triply awesome when it comes to define cinema in terms of story, story building, screenplay, characterization, camera and acting.

Guddu and Charlie(Shahid Kapoor) are ‘poles apart’ identical twins. Because Guddu loves Sweety(Priyanka Chopra) and because Charlie loves money, a mess follows which is too much, really too much for them to handle and too much for us to witness on screen with breathtaking pace and torturous unpredictability. Obviously, there is a gang of people involved in making the brothers suffer, but there is absolutely no point in revealing the plot further because if you watch this film without any idea about the story, you would certainly understand the meaning of the word – cinematic experience.

Kaminey’s major kameenapan is in the story and screenplay. Vishal Bharadwaj develops the story with such an enviable sleekness that you just cannot leave one single thread aside while watching the movie. Right from the first frame, you need to watch and understand. The movie gives some emotional relief while showing Guddu-Sweety track, but there also, at a particular juncture, when you are made to understand the reasoning behind Sweety’s compulsive behavior, you cannot help but smile at amazing craft of this story. Rarely do we see such a compact and meaningful dialogues and sequences in Hindi cinema. Each and every character is etched out to perfection and so are all the small pieces that make the whole movie. As I said, there are numerous pieces which are presented to you one by one and you need to be clever enough to understand the ‘whole’ behind these pieces.

Camera(Tassaduq Hussain) needs special, very special mention. Chase sequence in the beginning, Charlie’s escape from the hotel, sequences in rain – everything is treat to watch. Shootout at the grand finale is mind blowing. Vishal Bharadwaj, like Ramgopal Verma, keeps close-ups frequently, but unlike Ramgopal Verma, he is not in love with close-ups. I dare say that Kaminey is in line with Hollywood flicks, if we just talk about cinematography.

Shahid Kappor is first rate. He plays boy next door Guddu and rugged, stylish Charlie with equal ease. Guddu stammers and Charlie lisps. Watch out for the sequence where Guddu struggles to explain his innocence to the cops. Real good work! Priyanka Chopra is exceptionally good in all her emotional outbursts. It is her tremendously intense portrayal of Sweety that grants credulity to the love that she feels for Guddu and their togetherness throughout the fiery situations in which they are caught. Amol Gupte is terrific. Threatening as hell, he is the surprise package of Kaminey. Watch the entire sequence where he, Charlie and Mikhail(Charlie’s friend) exchange dialogues and further, he and Mikhail get involved in manic give and take of words. I must say that this sequence is one of the finest in Hindi movies in terms of conception and enactment.

Kaminey requires repeat viewing. It is a kind of movie that makes you wolf whistle. The movie has got ‘style’ written all over, but at the same time, it is so strong in substance that you feel exhausted as it ends. Major triumph of Kaminey is, like all good movies, it reinstates the fact that excellent cinema requires excellence in story, script and screenplay. Movies like Kaminey gain remembrance not because of star power, but because they truly are a work of art in all respect.

Finally, Vishal Bharadwaj is real kameena of this venture. This man attracts more jealousy than admiration even from a person like me who has not yet even touched a movie camera. Imagine what established directors would be thinking of him!

Cheers!

Utpal