Ok I am reviewing a film by a debut director where the other producer is not ghost directing the movie, so I will be a little relaxed about it.
First of all, I dont think Kaal is a brilliant piece of cinema like say My Brother Nikhil is. But its not trash like say Black is. Why it is not former is because of a loose screenplay which does not really do any kind of cohesive justice, how I wish Karan had looked at the screenplay himself along with Soham. That would have tied things nicely, for instance the superstition aspect of Lara Dutta is just for the first scene. John doesnt look like a Jungle freak beyond first few reels and the character sketches of only the two sidekicks are any coherent through out. With all this you would think the movie just went to the bonkers. Well not really. Thats because in recent past I dont think other than MBN any movie had even half a decent screenplay. Veer Zaara was even worse but directorial touches made it watchable. Same is with Kaal, despite screenplay not being what sould I say competently developed, the movie is good timepass flick and can make for more than one viewing easily. Thats assuming you dont hate Karan Johar, Shah Rukh or others involved in the film like they have robbed you of your prized possession (:p, I had to write this lolz). KAAL would probably suffer from the Veer Zaara syndrome. Thats what a wrong publicity design can do. The movie is publicized as a tiger film, which it is not thematically or graphically. So those going to see tigers will be dissappointed. Its really a Gen-X fantasy thriller and works well that way.
So story and probably even the suspense is known to you and unlike some high IQ persons here and there, I could not guess it. So I was suitably chilled about it. And there are atleast 5 expertly shot scenes. One of the Ajay Devgan entry, another of John Abraham entry, the killing of Esha, Lara’s nightmare and the killing of one of their friends. The opening song and sequence following it is worth the price of ticket in itself. In an age when people go to watch items (songs and scenes) in a film rather than a closely knit sensible film, this is a perfect pot boiler. The camera work is slick and I think its better than any of the RGV films combined together, thats probably because the budget of the movie is 5 times the budget of one RGV film. The background score is eerie and different. Instead of screams we have jungle noises. How I wish some more animals espeically tigers were shown, but then that could have opened another Pandoras box. Editing is pretty lax and the film can be tightened still by about 15 minutes at the very least. Vivek’s introductory scene although well shot and edited, can be just thrown out of the window. Same really with Esha’s introduction. Now thats what is a poor screenplay. I can think of 5 minute narrative being more effective. That said and done overall the movie is a joy to watch and I am planning some more rendezvous with the movie later ....
NOW on to the acting which really does not define a movie of this nature anyways since its camera work, editing and background score which is more important or should I say infinitely more important. As long as you dont cast cartoons everyone is acceptable really ....
AJAY As I saw him act and proceed in his role, I saw a certain detachness with role. And all I could think was Irfan Khan. I dont know why but he was not very good.
VIVEK He is the hero of the film and by and large with couple of grace marks makes passable performance. He has a star quality about him when he is not acting like a star. But like all others his character just looses steam midway. I think intead of him we needed (thinking of star not actor) Salman or Abhishek.
JOHN Anyone who has ever studied or knows just A of acting will testify that John is a pure talent. That however hasnt been used well in the film since like everyone else his character sketch is hazy and all he has to do is look like a half tiger half man in his long hair look. Hardly any dialogues. He was better in Dhoom, Jism, Paap etc.
LARA I actually think hers was the best performance in the movie. She was always the delicate part of the movie and remained like that. She was also more humane and terrified. 8/10 to her on a commercial scale.
ESHA Why do I even bother writing. No acting, no looks and no figure. Duh! Its a pity that it took it so long for them to kill her. Could they not get Mallika’s date for this role or what. Now that would have been exciting. A woman the ghost and the tiger cant resist. Ok ok sidetrack.
SIDE KICKS They are actually very good. Better than star cast sometimes ok make that most the times.
Now that said and done I would have written the script different. It would have tigers or other animals as an integral part with changes in behavioral pattern based on human-jungle interactions. And how tribes or some persons go bezerk in preventing this. But then such a film in Indian context is just not possible. So for that Kaal is a good start for Indian films and also Dharma Production. Hope to see more refined films from Soham. He needs to learn how to write better and also do a crash course how to make actors emote well. He is not a Hirani or Onir but he is better than some other debut directors.
A Gen-X thriller which is miles ahead of any RGV production in scale and ambition. Soham has thought big, perhaps too big for his shoes and Karan/SRK have had guts to let him do so. Thats reason enough for watching it and the thrills, locales and feeling would mean its at the least 4/5 on a commercial scale again.