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Movies: Karzzzz Hindi Movie Review
Rating: ****
Okay, so we all know what Subhash Ghai’s Karz is all about, don’t we? After all, it’s a film worth recollecting and recalling even after three decades of its first release. Ghai Indianised THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD beautifully, packing just about every ingredient that makes a complete masala film. Satish Kaushik’s interpretation of Karz remains loyal to its predecessor.
Comparisons between the old and the new are inevitable. In fact, every aspect of Karzzzz will be under a scanner, right from Rishi-Simi/Himesh-Urmila, the winning musical score by L.P./Himesh, the dramatic moments, et al. So let’s come to the point right away, to the answer you’ve been waiting for. Is Karzzzz worth the hype?
Let’s get one thing straight. And this is very, very important and one shouldn’t overlook this fact. This is a masala film; the makers never ever promised new-age cinema.
Given the fact that Karzzzz talks of punar janam, plus there’s a dash of mythology, as also everything that goes into the making of an entertainer, just don’t expect anything path-breaking from Karzzzz. Also, don’t expect Karzzzz to pander to the tastes of the multiplex junta.
Karzzzz is a hardcore masala film and if you relish the masala entertainers of yore, go ahead, you would relish Satish Kaushik’s interpretation of Karz as well.
Karzzzz has the soul of Karz, but there’s a twist in the tale. You can say that writer Shiraz Ahmed hasn’t picked up the script in entirety. He has added a new twist to the tale (the Karz loyalists might call it tampering), which may find its share of advocates and adversaries.
Another reason why Karzzzz works is the kind of energy and confidence Himesh radiates. In AAP KAA SURROOR, he played himself, Himesh Reshammiya. In Karzzzz, he’s Monty. He has to look the character, but most importantly, he has to act. And surprise, surprise, surprise, Himesh gets the demanding role right.
Himesh may not have the charisma of SRK, he may not be talented like Aamir, he may not be dashing and debonair as Salman and Akshay, but you can’t turn your eyes away from the fact that he has oodles of confidence and that makes the job easier.
Also, comparisons with Rishi Kapoor are inevitable. Well, Rishi Kapoor was matchless and Karz continues to remain a shining medal to this date, but even the harshest of critics would agree that Himesh is here to stay.
Any shortcomings? Oh yes! The twist in the second hour may not work with those who swear by the original. Besides, a few characters, like Sir Juda and the one enacted by Raj Babbar have been royally ignored.
Yet, all said and done, Karzzzz has the potential to strike gold, winning the hearts of the aam junta — its target audience. Watch it as a homage to the cinema of 1980s and there’re bright chances that you would root for the new Monty as well. Simply put, go for it!
Monty (Himesh Reshammiya) is an extremely successful Rock Star based in South Africa. During one of the many parties he attends, he meets Tina (Shweta Kumar). For Monty, it’s love at first sight.
Later, during one of his shows, Monty starts playing a tune and suddenly goes into a trance, with intense visual flashes — a mansion, a temple, a beautiful girl… Monty collapses.
On further probe, he finds out that the mansion belonged to a certain Ravi Verma (Dino Morea), who died in a tragic accident. Another flash reveals that Monty was Ravi Verma in his previous life, married to a beautiful girl called Kamini. From here starts Monty’s new journey…
Satish Kaushik is a veteran when it comes to remakes. And Satish’s expertise shows at several valid points.
The sequence between Dino and Urmila at the very start makes you tighten your seat belts. Thereafter, the love story between Himesh and Shweta charters the predictable path, but you sit up once Urmila makes a re-appearance.
Post interval, the sequences between Himesh and Urmila are worthy of note. Ditto for a few more sequences — Himesh re-uniting with his mother; it brings tears to your eyes.
Again, the penultimate 25 minutes (starting with the song ‘Ek Hasina Thi’) are excellent. Director Satish Kaushik walks on a tight rope and manages to pull it off. Shiraz Ahmed has updated the script well.
Dialogues, especially those between Himesh and Urmila, are well worded. Manoj Soni’s cinematography is striking. Also, the DOP does justice to the lush locales of South Africa and Kenya.
It’s a Himesh show all the way. His music caters to the popular tastes. In fact, the songs are already a rage and the tracks are a visual treat as well. As an actor, Himesh strives to look the part and succeeds.
He has lost weight, his styling (Roopa Chadha) is perfect and as an actor, he takes giant strides. Urmila is top notch. In two scenes mainly. One, at the very outset. Two, towards the end, when she confronts Himesh.
Shweta Kumar is a pretty face, but there’s not much meat in her character since the story primarily revolves around Monty and Kaamini. Dino Morea leaves a mark. Danny Denzongpa is ideal for the part.
Gulshan Grover is wasted. Ditto for Raj Babbar. Rohini Hattangadi and the actress enacting the role of the sister are good. Bakthiyaar Irani acts well. Asrani provides some light moments. Himani Shivpuri is alright.
On the whole, Karzzzz is rich in entertainment. Himesh’s tremendous popularity amongst masses, its chartbusting musical score and the fact that it’s a remake of a much-loved film will only lure masses in hordes.
Besides, it’s an open ground for Karzzzz at the ticket window, what with the euphoria of all past releases having dried up. At the box-office, the film should fetch a thunderous start and in due course, should be amongst the biggest achievers of the year in terms of business.
Reincarnation themes have a super-successful track record, right from Karz to KARAN ARJUN to OM SHANTI OM. Now add Karzzzz to this list. Damn the pseudo critics who even rubbished Karz three decades ago. Go by your instinct and have a blast!
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Movies: Shoot On Sight Hindi Movie Review
Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Greta Scacchi, Mikaal Zulfikar
Directed by Jag Mundhra
Rating: ***
In this season of prolonged terrorism both on and off -screen here comes this bit of cold yet compelling candour on film.
Shoot On Sight is a work that works as a wake-up call for those slumbering in their bourgeois belief that terrorism is as far away from home as Osama Bin Laden is from America.
It’s a frightening piece of fiction laced with a fair amount of warmth and affection that lulls us into a false sense of wellbeing.
In essence the plot takes us back to the domesticated terrorism of Alan Pakula’s The Devil’s Own, or more recently Subhash Ghai’s Black And White where a young wide-eyed seemingly- unspoilt guest in the house turns out to be a closet-terrorism.
Where Shoot On Sight scores is in laying out the blueprint for global terrorism throught characters who appear real in words, body language and political ideology.
Jagmohan Mundhra has earlier balanced a social cause with a message in Provoked. Here the ‘thrill’ element emanates far more effortlessly from the characters and their predicament, partly because the theme of terrorism renders itself far dramatically to a cinematic treatment than domestic violence.
London is shot by cinematographer Madhu Ambat with all its inherent buzz and blemishes without fuss or rush. The flow of adrenaline as the British cops zero- in on their distinguished Pakistani colleague’s nephew as a terrorist is rather reined-in than rushed.
This isn’t a film that’s in a hurry to get there. But it knows how to value the audiences’ time.
And this is where Shoot On Sight scores the optimum impact. Mundhra revels in generous levels of understatement most of the time.
Whether showing the fanaticism in the mosque(Om Puri, aptly extravagant) or the dilemma of the cop’s Pakistan-British daughter whose boyfriend wants to go ‘all the way’ (and come fast)….Mundhra packs it all into the simmering cultural cauldron with dexterity and dignity.
While on the whole the characters in the cop- protagonist Tariq Ali’s home and workplace come to life with vigorous fluency, some portions of the storytelling fall flat.
Naseer’s assistant played by Laila Rouass (is there a stifled sexual attraction here?) comes to a soggy end in a river with the suddenness of a video-game with its socket pulled out.
The hastily -executed climax in a shoppingmall where Tariq Ali’s nephew is shot down with a sweeping-under-the-carpet haste, is a screaming shame.
What happened?!
Mostly, Mundhra uses economy of expression to great effect. Sometimes just one or two scenes are enough to establish the camaraderie between characters creating a crisscross of inter-relations with disconcerting deftness.
There’s just one intimate interlude (in the kitchen at the start) between the Pakistani cop Naseer and his British wife played Greta Scacchi. It’s enough to show the enduring empathy between the couple.
The rift that seeps into their marriage because of the closet-terrorist nephew’s presence in their house is again represented in a flash of anger and indignation where Naseer accuses Scacchi of discrimination.
A culturally-defining moment that stays with you after the last bang-bang.
A major part of the film’s success goes to the the actors. Every player gora or brown gets into the skin of the character.
Om Puri as a radical mullah, Gulshan Grover as Naseer’s butcher-friend, and the British actors who play Naserr’s colleagues at the precinct …they all add a wealth of credibility to Mundhra’s tale of malevolence in a city that’s outwardly a haven for healing.
Debutant Mikaal Zulfikar as the Pakistani nephew in uncle Naseer’s domain, gives a comfortably- defined performance. Mikaal gets the point early in the narrative when on arrival from Pakistan in London, driving from the airport he gets to know his English Chachi has not converted to Islam.
Watch the young actor’s subtle shift of expression from easy grace to disgust and disapproval…it’s frightening to see because it reflects the reality about how young people all over the world are converted to extremist causes.
What finally gives Shoot On Sight a compelling edge beyond the expected, making it more than just a pantomime of post-terrorism mores, is Naseeruddin Shah.
What an actor ! What a ‘non-performance’. As always Naseer merges into the character pitching the emotions at a level where they appear to be thought of on the-the-spot and certainly not for the sake of a camera.
Domestic scenes and details served up in delicious vignettes provide a back projection to Naseer’s complex character. Naseer glides effortlessly with his character as it goes from cultural comfort to fudemantalist isolation. The actor and the character become one.
Would Shoot On Sight have worked without Naseeruddin Shah?
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