And that’s saying a lot coz I don’t have the first clue
about movie making...
Gandhi Jayanthi was, in a very anti-patriotic move, reserved mainly for
checking out Kidnap. Dear hubby had made up his mind about it, and I have to
admit that the promos had really got me going and I wasn’t the least bit
reluctant to catch the movie ASAP.
Due to a tiny mix-up, we were a little too early for our show. In fact, early enough
to catch Hell boy 2, but that’s the subject of another review...
As to Kidnap, I must say the promos were very misleading and I would rather my
readers would skip it in the theatres. Let me, for their benefit, take apart
the movie piece by piece ... (lol)
The plot - the movie begins on a very vague theme of a kidnapping of a multi
billionaire’s daughter, for some injustice the guy had done to the kidnapper a
decade ago. The kidnapper then requires the father to do a series of tasks to
get his daughter back. The actual details are revealed much later and seem to hardly
be able to support the entire screening period. Loosely woven, the plot could
have given some dramatic twists, but failed to do so.
The acting - I loved Imran Khan in his debut movie. But even then I had a
sneaking suspicion that the credit should, to a large extent, go to the
storyline and the treatment of the subject matter. I was right. Imran can’t
act. Not a single sentiment showed on his face throughout the movie - none of
the rage, hatred or the suffering Kabir (Imran Khan) had suffered ever came through.
All I got was a lot of teeth-clenching. Quite disappointing. Then there
was Sanjay Dutt as the beleaguered father (Vikrant Raina). I can understand why
Sanjay Gadhvi stayed stubborn to include him in the film. He was after all the
saving grace. Minisha Lamba as the hapless damsel in distress (Sonia) was
entirely stupid and insipid. Never mind what the guys may say about her ’hot
bod’, she looked old (not the 17 yr old she was portraying) and revealed
entirely too much, and which wasn’t even in keeping with the story
requirements.
And I have no clue why Vidya Malwade was included as the
mother. She is a brilliant actress but all she was required to do is look like
a very distressed mother in business suits that revealed more than was
necessary. In fact, hubby went ‘Mom!!!’ along with a lot of other guys when
this astonishing characterization was first revealed to us. And I agree, she
looked younger than Minisha.
Music – I liked ‘Hey ya’ and ‘Mit Jaye’. And that’s about
it. The less said about the music, the better it is. Sophie Choudhary in an
item song was wasted.
Cinematography – now that was nice. I have no clue where the
shooting has taken place (they mite try their level best to convince me that its Mandwa, but I am not fooled for a sec), but the beaches were lovely, and I especially liked
the waterfall in the jungle.
Action – very little. I quite loved the only chase scene in
the movie, but it tended to drag towards the end. There were some loopholes
there too, especially in the prison escape and godown scenes. I would like
someone to clear out the godown scene for me, if you please.
Dialogues – Yuck. The entire climax was watered down because
of the lame lines written for the final confrontation between Imran and Sanjay.
And oh, my particular favourite ‘bad dialogue’ was when Vikrant meets Sonia,
after 8 long years, and the director is suddenly at a loss to describe in words
the feelings. Minisha is, as usual, at her skimpiest best and when Sanjay
paused after uttering the words “ Sonia, you look so….”, rousing cries of ‘hot’,
‘sexy’, ‘babe’ etc., filled the theatre. Even I spontaneously said ‘hot’!!!
What made the experience even worse was the incessant
heckling going on throughout the movie. If the guys a couple of rows ahead weren’t
shouting ribald comments, the girls at the back too wouldn’t cease their
constant, irritating giggling, or the aunties further down our row, their
constant whispers. All in all, rather a bad idea to spend your time and money
on Kidnap in the theatres.
Kshitiz is interested in trying out Drona this weekend. I am
game. Those of you who can hold onto your horses until then, I would suggest you
wait for our reviews before you check it out yourselves.