When the Chocolate Boy is playing kidnapper, well, that is something to see. That was the line that was used to lure me to the movie hall.
‘Kidnap‘ attempts a whole lot. It does have some interesting twists and turns in the plot. The only problem that i have here, that regulars here are now aware of, is the fact that Hindi movies try too much. Too hard. Stretching the story beyond what is necessary. Even extending it to the point where it tears apart and hurts !
Kidnap is no exception. It has a racy start. [And God ( & only he ) knows why there has to be ‘bikini beach song’ to open the movie & such other ‘generous’ scenes ! Is the average movie goer so much of a starved character that he (or she) is going to get pulled into the movie because of such sequences. It puts me off & perhaps shows an impoverished mind of those at the helm of making such movies].
Coming back to the movie, the dour faced Imran Khan tries his best to look tough by consistently maintaining a dour face. Sanjay Dutt plays the role of a billionaire worth $ 52.7 ( billions of course) & more importantly, father to Minisha Lamba & divorced husband of Vidya Malvade.
The plot is about Imran Khan extracting his revenge for an affront that resulted in a jail sentence, scars on the body etc etc, at the behest of the billionaire gent many years back. And that revenge extraction is through the kidnapping of the billionaire’s daughter and making some ‘demands’.
The demands include, traveling from somewhere in Mumbai to Panvel in about 40 minutes ( i think) & saying ‘sorry’ to a nun on the train, organising a jail http://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/migraine/ break, breaking into a Mutka don’s home, committing a murder etc. I quite liked the underlying this message : travelling from anywhere to anywhere in Mumbai in 40 mins, is as tough as orchestrating a jail break or such other tasks. That is one heck of a social message, to me !!!
Well, Sanjay Dutt, manages to do all of these. Of course. And the flawless execution & remarkable ease of these executions, makes me wonder why my corporate life seems so tough ! Duh !
Ultimately, it has an alls-well-ends-well ending. And as the film meandered to a close, for a moment, i had sweaty palms and a strange fright that the movie would end with Imran Khan and Minisha Lamba ‘falling in love’ ! Thankfully, that pain didnt ensue !
I think one chase sequence involving Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan was quite absorbing. Although, Sanjay Dutt’s flab shows all the way through ! Other than that, the basic plot of the movie was rather sturdy. And Imran Khan almost manages to carry the film on his shoulders. Those are what go well for the movie.
On the other hand, Minisha Lamba’s screen prescence, minimal chemistry between Imran & Minisha, Sanjay Dutt and Vidya Malvade, gloriously inept dialogues, inappropriate costume design, remarkable overloading / stretching of the story & such else gets you to twist and turn in your seat !
(Minisha Lamba appears to have packed for the kidnapping. Thats the kind of costumes she wears while remaining a captive. Not that what she wore a lot….but you get the idea dont you…!?)
Bolder editing, tauter dialogues, lesser of grind routines, better casting, and absorbing performances would have provided with a much more wholesome experience. I guess thats like all parts of movie making ! Almost !
And when Imran Khan, says, ‘hell is right here’ you may want to think that he is talking about the audience and the movie hall. To be fair, the movie isn’t completely bad. It held promise for a brief while. The angst that resides in me is this : that promise, however brief it was for, did not sustain!
Wish it had.
forget about the movie, how was Imran in -ve role ?
i could not agree more on the ‘extra-fittings’ in Indian movies…….sometimes it is enjoyable when it comes to comedy….but when it comes to bikini dances and belly dances….yes…..it is unbearable….
but hey…..the producer has to make his money…..there are a lot of fans for such ‘extra-fittings’….
Praveen
I can’t follow Hindi therefore prefer to watch the movies in DVD with subtitles. Recently I saw ‘A Wednesday’ and ‘Aamir’. Liked them both, but thought ‘Wednesday’ was the better of the two.
As for your comment on Mumbai traffic – very true! The traffic there is perplexing. I have been to Mumbai three times on official visit. On one occasion we got stuck on the way to airport and had to panic and make frantic calls to cancel the ticket and rebook in another flight! And after all this is executed then what happens ? The traffic clears out of the blue and we are on time for the earlier flight! 😐
I haven’t seen the movie, but this from you:
“And when Imran Khan, says, ‘hell is right here’ you may want to think that he is talking about the audience and the movie hall.”
~ had me laughing out loud! I don’t think I’ll see the movie now.
After your intense review, have you ever considered being a movie critic? Very well organized and thorough!
Dinu ; He almost pulled it off by himself. Almost. He still has some distance to go.
praveen : Unbearable, is not the word praveen. I am searching for something more far reaching !!
hari : Both movies that you quote are good ones ! I enjoyed them !
And the traffic situation here..well, dont get me started on it 🙂
Aleta : ..thank you !
Well, i havent considered that. But i guess i am a critic enough, and get to watch a few movies. So, i guess i will make that grade somehow ! LOl !!
Hi there,
I don’t know how to put this point of view across politically correctly, but then I agree with one of the comments above which says that any film maker, and financier actually puts in a lot of money into any and every movie he makes. Albeit misplaced, his faith in the B-Grade Centers and the mass of crowds that come in there for the skin show are pretty much his bread and butter.
Case in point, Nagesh Kukanoor of Hyderabad Blues fame, he’s made movies like Rockford, Teen Dewarein, Dor, etc, but how many of these movies have even been heard of the average movie-goer (other than the multiplex crowd). So in India, if you are a film producer, the simplest way of getting crowds into the theatres is one item number, one bikini scene, one rain song, and mind-blowing publicity. Script and story and casting and dialogs can come later, they don’t rake in the moolah anyways.
In fact, I think you ve given me enough fodder for a nice post on this issue. Let me see how soon (or how late) I can come up with a post on this.
Cheers……Jam