Elegant and sensitive. Review on Kyon Ki

After watching Kyunki earlier this afternoon, I found myself wondering if all of the so-called “trade analyst Taran Adarsh” and “reviewers” in the industry have any taste at all. After all, some irresponsibly gave Kyon Ki mostly negative reviews while praising Priyadarshan’s other misadventure Garam Masala to the hilt. Well, after watching the film, I conclude that Kyon ki, while not a perfect film, is definitely worth a look .

Pleasant, Graceful and Mature. This is how one can describe ''Kyon ki''. Within a few minutes into this movie, you envisage a world drama filled with lovable characters, some good emotions and distinguished performances. There is nothing flashy or glossy about this script or movie, just simple and yet very classy. Though the movie does have its share of flaws, the subject is tackled in a different way that reminds a lot of Rajesh Khanna's Khamosh''.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing in common between the two movies, Priyadarshan´s treatment of the subject reminds me of ''Khamosh''. ''Kyun ki'' as the title signifies is the film about reason and hurdle that come in a love story.

The movie takes off in a mental asylum, owned by Dr. Khurana (Om Puri).

His daughter Dr. Tanvi (Kareena Kapoor) is trying to cope with the distress of healing a mental patient (No. 36) who does not recognize or acknowledge her caring and nurturing. Traumatised with the attitude, she goes on leave, and returns to find a new patient by the same number — Anand (Salman Khan).

Anand believes that he’s responsible for the death of the woman he loved Maya (Rimii Sen). Tanvi takes an instant dislike for him.

Dr. Sunil (Jackie Shroff) helps her to identify Anand’s problems and understand him better. Tanvi then begins to treat Anand with Sunil’s help and with time, he recovers and expectedly, they fall in love, much to the chagrin of papa Khurana. What follows is acute drama coupled with tragedy — and that’s the crux of the movie.

The look and feel of the film is elegant and the film is well paced and well directed. Director Priyadarshan redeems himself after the horrendous Hulchul and shows us that he has it in him to direct a mature and sensitive film, a film that will surely give its competition, horrible Garam Masala, a run for it’s money.

One could say that after a very good first half, the pace of the flick does slow down in the second half. But Priyadarshan tries to give the characters some more depth and tries to show their intricate relationship.The treatment is the usual commercial kind and doesn´t possess the heavy melodrama or loud histrionics.

The script is the combined work of Priyadarshan and Neeraj Vora and it does take a definite inspiration from One Flew over Cuckoo's nest. Having cast two big actors, Priyadarshan has come up with terrific love story. The chemistry between Salman and Kareena is splendid and their common scenes are the highlight of the movie.

The movie and the script for itself aren´t without flaws. During the second half a lot of unnecessary sub-plots start evolving. The angle of Manoj Joshi is clearly unnecessary and hinders the pace. Some of the scenes between Salman and Kareena get predictable .Editing is also not up to the mark. Even though the pace of the movie can be slow, there has to be some linearity in the proceedings.

Technically the movie is definitely polished and Cameraman has worked hard on giving the movie and the characters a different look. Art Direction is splendid. Music by Himesh Reshammiya is definitely above average on screen, but 1-2 romantic tracks could be omitted to make the film move faster. “Dil Keh Raha” is the best song in the movie .

The performances are terrific. Salman Khan livens up the screen with his portrayal of mentally devasted persona. He simply dominates the screen when he is around. His portrayal of a man who has seen it all in life and yet being positive is superb. The pain, the anguish and the tolerance of his character is brilliantly done . The scene at his death is undeniably moving.

Kareena Kapoor infuses life into the character of Doctor. The way she underplays her character is just superb.

Rimi shows tremendous promise and comes up with a very mature performance.She excels in the emotional scenes and delivers a performance that will take her places.Sadly her role is too small . Though she does have some scenes in the second half, as an audience you want more of her.Rimi is here to stay with films like Dewaane Huye Paagal ,Golmaal under her kitty.Om Puri impresses in his negative role and Jackie Shroff is quite good in many scenes especially the second half.

In spite of a few flaws in the script, the movie does have some very good defining moments and will be one of the better movies this year. Some might like it for the subject and some might reject it, saying it is too slow and not up to my taste. But, Priyadarshan manages to make a clean and a classy product that can be enjoyed with the entire family. The movie may not make a big impact at the box office as it clearly driven more for the classes than the masses, but the lively performances by Kareena, Salman and Jackie make the movie very enjoyable. Worth a watch!