How did the Bhatt camp, famous (or should I say infamous) for its sleazy, no plot to speak of, badly-acted movies like “Jism”, “Zeher”, “Murder”, come up with a decent movie like “KALYUG”?!!! Never mind. Let’s not question a good deed too much!
DIRECTOR- Mohit Suri
CAST- Kunal Khemu, Amrita Singh, Deepal Shah, Emraan Hashmi
PLOT-
Displaced Kashmiri Pandit family, consisting of boy and idealistic father, come to Mumbai in the early 90’s. Boy grows up (Kunal Khemu), father dies in a freak accident and boy is orphaned. Boy meets similarly orphaned Kashmiri girl, they fall in love and get married. On their honeymoon, boy and girl are unwittingly involved in a pornographic racket, when their private moments are filmed without their knowledge. Are questioned and tortured by the police about their involvement in a porn website called “Indiapassion.com”. Girl is made to sign a statement against boy. Realises her mistake soon, kills herself. Boy is beside himself with grief. Decides to hunt down everyone involved in the porn-racket responsible for the death of his wife.
Boy single-mindedly tracks down the bad guys- from small time sleaze Johnny (Ashutosh Rana), to the big king-pin of the racket Simi Rai (Amrita Singh), living in Zurich. He also comes across other victims of the sex trade in Zurich…..young Indian girls smuggled abroad (Deepal Shaw), sold into the flesh trade or the porn market. Boy, with help of good samaritan Ali (Emraan Hashmi) and the daughter of Simi, manages to bring the bad guys to justice in the end.
MY THOUGHTS-
The movie addresses a subject that has rarely been touched by mainstream cinema…pornography and sex trade. While there has been a huge hue and cry in the media recently about big film stars being captured in the act, the issue of pornography is so much bigger than two teeny-bopper stars being caught smooching!
The fact is that there is a huge demand out there for pornography and there aren’t that many WILLING participants out there to supply that demand. End result…a lot of innocents being exploited…be it couples being filmed unaware or displaced young women sold into the flesh market by their own family. The most sickening aspect of this is child pornography. India is prime hunting ground for such a demand….a billion people, a large percentage living under the poverty line, not enough checks and balances in the system to protect the innocent….
These are some of the disturbing issues touched upon by this movie. Despite that, keeping in tradition with the Bhatt Camp, “Kalyug” is a thriller and is definitely mainstream cinema. Has its romance, has its songs, its fight sequences…yet the movie is built around a strong story.
With regards to the acting performances, Kunal Khemu is a revelation…..vulnerable looking, yet capable of being intense and tough when the situation demands it. Last saw him as a child actor, in “Zakhm” (the last GOOD Bhatt film). He showed a lot of promise even then. Seems a complete natural in front of the camera, not a trace of self consciousness. Also, has a very mobile, expressive face. Perhaps he has to work a bit on voice modulation, but I think he has made a very promising debut as an adult.
The girl who acts as his wife is good as well. Does look like a girl from a small town, attractive in a wholesome, “girl next door” kinda way. The romance between her and Kunal is very well executed. The great song, “Jiya dhadak dhadak” adds to the romance quotient to a large extent. Deepal Shaw isn’t bad either. Emraan Hashmi is mercifully not on screen long enough to over-act too much, but he does ham away in his death scene! Amrita Singh overdoes the loud, cruel act a bit. Ashutosh Rana looks creepy, as he always does.
In conclusion, Kalyug IS an interesting movie. I just wonder how it will find its audience though. The discerning audience will be put off by the fact that it is a Bhatt camp movie…the front benchers will be put off by the fact that in a film about pornography, there actually ISN’T a lot of sex! Nevertheless, if you come across this film, do watch it.