The big bad wolf!!. Review on Kaminey

First of all, let me congratulate Vishal Bhardwaj for such an outrageous title – Kaminey!!The title itself puts the movie in a league of its own and from the outset the audience can see the will to be different. Kaminey… (“Rascals” would be the literal translation, I believe) breaks all barriers and sets new standards. It is outrageous, dark, witty but most of all – it has its roots in humanity. It is classic!

Plot: The story tracks down the life of two brothers – Charlie (one who substitutes ‘S’ for ‘F’) and Guddu (one who stammers) both played by Shahid Kapoor. The two brothers get separated after their father commits suicide. Now, both can’t stand the sight of each other. Charlie goes on to live the ‘get rich quick’ life (life has two options: one shortcut, the other – chota shortcut!). He goes on to become a bookie but gets stuck with smuggling of drugs. Now, once you have entered the murky waters, the only way out is at the other end…

Guddu has life planned out. But fate takes a u - turn when he has to marry his girlfriend Sweety (Priyanka Chopra) because she gets knocked up. Apparently, it’s no big deal (as Sweety puts it – “Kyamaine tumhaara rape kiya hai?”). The deal does turn big however, when the ‘great bhaiya’ finds out that the two have decided to get married. A local politician, who follows the strict ideals of “marathi manus” he cannot let this catastrophe happen in his own backyard (Guddu is not a Maharashtrian, so it is original sin for Sweety to get married to a Non-Marathi). Thus, both brothers are on the run to save their skins. The holy trinity (drugs, sex and money) is a bad, bad world and to survive in this labyrinth one has to be the big bad wolf… The film shows what we all know but fail to acknowledge: There is a kamina(rascal) hiding somewhere in all of us. The film culminates in a riveting climax that is a fitting end to this avant-garde piece.

Avant-garde:

What is it about this film that sets it apart from its contemporaries? Kaminey breaks new ground and pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable as the norm or status-quo. It delves into the mechanics of the human mind (much like Dev D) and reinvents the perspective on humanity. People are not good or bad. The world is not black and white. It has shades of grey. Similarly, humans adapt themselves to suit the situation. This might mean going against the norm and taking a ‘not so acceptable’ route to achieve your goal but it doesn’t make the person bad/evil. It just makes him a kamina! The film forces the audiences to look outside the box and be more accepting of the anti-hero (don’t get me wrong here, I don’t mean villain).

Vishal Bhardwaj has introduced the Indian audiences to the anti-hero: he isn’t the archetypical larger than life knight in shining armour, quite on the contrary, he is one amongst us – with virtues and vices, one who just wants to live his life while facing the drudgery of everyday life. Hollywood has set some brilliant examples – one which sticks out is Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean). Now, it is the turn of the aam junta to meet the new breed. This paradigm shift is groundbreaking for Indian audiences who are now more accepting of a protagonist with vices just like them, one whom they don’t need to idolize – because they can find him somewhere within themselves.

The return of the director:

Kaminey is essentially a director’s film. Vishal Bhardwaj has full control of the reigns. Once again, he succeeds in taking you, the viewer, out of your shell and transposing you into his world – a world where reality bites, catastrophes do happen, happy endings don’t always take place but still it gives you immense satisfaction. Basically, because you know that this is not a figment of someone’s imagination, but it is reality, harsh reality… or at least Vishal Bhardwaj manages to keep you under that illusion. The humour is black, and it highlights the façade which blinds society. Lift the curtain to get to the truth, the truth which was always there, but you kept it at arms length because you were not ready to face it… not yet! Finally, there comes a director who doesn’t spoon feed you with a happy – go – lucky story. He has faith in his audience that they would be able to put the pieces together and come to the end. This profuse profanity and non linear storytelling is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino (of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction fame). It would not be an understatement if I were to crown Vishal Bhardwaj India’s Quentin Tarantino!! But the brilliance of Bhardwaj lies in the fact that he makes the film his own.

Cast:

Shahid, Shahid! Where were you hiding all these years?? It is the industry’s gain that you shed the ‘chocolate hero’ tag and after Jab We Met, teri to nikal padi!! He portrays two characters that are as different as chalk and cheese but still share something similar. As Charlie he was simply awfome!! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist). Two men who want different things out of life, Shahid catches the nuance of the anti-hero. He considers himself to be the hero but society sees him (the anti-hero) in a different light. He is a recherché (going overload here – this word means exotic and obscure) character. He doesn’t show inherent evil. This role will definitely catapult Shahid to the top. My best wishes are with him.

Priyanka Chopra as Sweety is adorable. Even though, to an extent she is overshadowed by Shahid’s gripping act she does have her moments (my favourite being the line: Kyamaine tumhaara rape kiya hai?). Her marathi mulgi persona is par excellence. The surprise package though, is Amol Gupte as Bhope Bhau – Sweety’s politician brother (I was surprised to make the connection with Taare Zameen Par!). Why the hell didn’t he act before? He hits the nail on the head with the ‘marathi manus’ ideology. Others (whose real names I don’t know) such as Tashi the drug dealer cum arch rival bookie, the policemen duo Lobo and Lele as well as Charlie’s buddy Mikhail impress in their roles.

Overall roundup:

Dhan te Nan!!! (How could I have missed that?) This song is awsome. There is a certain addictive quality about this song. You just can’t get it out of your head and when you see it unfold on the big screen, you can’t help but go “Dhan te Nan”… I’ll ignore the fact that the background score of this track sounds suspiciously close to Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Pump It’. The cinematography gels well with the feel of the film. The only thing that spoils the fun is the sound! Sometimes, one has to strain their ears to get the dialogues. Also, subtitles had gone a miss (for the Bengali dialogues).

Vishal Bhardwaj packs a punch with this ground breaking film. This film has risen to all expectation and has set a new benchmark for Indian cinema, especially with the way it is set out. So, make a loud noise (Dhan te Nan!) and pay homage to the Kamina within you, the Big Bad Wolf that was raring to be accepted into society…

My Rating: 4.5/5