Enjoyble movie. Review on Ki and Ka

Starting off an ungainly note, the film Ki and Ka help us dive into the world of Kia, a "corporate robot" who's evidently up, running and getting pulled into the rat race with each passing day. Sparks fly when Kia meets Kabir under not so dramatic circumstances in an aircraft, when the latter yearns for his mother who we are told is no more. It is revealed that Karan is an IIM-B topper, a son of business tycoon and needless to say, rich. From thereon begins a journey between two people who we are repeatedly reminded, are reversing roles, with what our male protagonist wanting to be a homemaker and imitate his mother at the art and the female protagonist wanting to make it big in the corporate world.

A short affair culminates into an obvious marriage with the "perfectly compatible" couple at hand, evidently without the support of Kabir's father. Kabir is a flawless house husband, doing the dishes, managing household chores, keeping a watch on the maid and excelling at a thing associated closely with a homemaker, culinary skills!

While all of this, packed with a generous dosage of witty one liners make the first half breezy and enjoyable, there's no doubt that an element of sensitivity should have overshadowed the at times mocking attitude towards a homemaker and his/her chores. Director Balki captures the fascination of the "male" home-maker towards railways with perfection, with the theme of the house décor revolving much around the railways, including a moving toy train doubling up as a food-serving device and even his ringtone being a railway engine horn. The obsession to this theme décor prompts the couple to buy the house erstwhile rented by them and have decorated with genuine affection, when the owner of the house wants to sell it for an unforeseen cash crunch. This is where the "home-maker" chips in with some financial help and gains fame in the process, and unfortunately, the graph of the film slides from that point on with monotony setting into the proceedings with ego clashes and misunderstandings. While there's nothing mentionable about this part of the film, the cameo by the Bachchan couple does indeed undermine the importance of either the man or the woman in the couple giving up on his ambitions in order to realize the dreams of the other. The drive away point of the film, though, is delivered by Kia's mother in law(played by the natural to the core Swaroop Sampat) when she states that the feeling of insecurity and jealousy has something got to do with the one in the couple who's financially stronger, when he or she feels the other one is quickly catching up.

It is so heartening to see Kareena doing an author backed role after a hiatus and deliver a knockout performance, a far cry from the arm candy roles essayed by her in Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Singham Returns. The confidence exuded by her while being a corporate honcho, her outburst during the pregnancy scene and her breezy presence in the first half underlines what an immensely talented actress she is. It was mandatory on the part of Arjun Kapoor to make this character likeable above all, and to his credit, he does. Don't miss him in the scenes where Kareena introduces her "house-husband" to her colleagues at a house party and his intentionally awkward chemistry with his father. If his claims of having learnt cooking specially for this role are true, he's done a fantastic job to atleast look proficient in that department. Arjun also excels in the scenes when the couple's ego clashes threaten to ruin their relationship. There are a couple of hummable tunes in this flick, but that's it. Its not a chartbuster music album by any stretch of imagination. As a final word, one feels this film, which started off so well could have been much tighter, much crispier in the second hour and as said earlier, perhaps a little more sensitive. Having said that, its not unwatchable either. Watch it, but go in with minimal expectatios, you might just feel satiated!

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