It’s refreshing to see that more and more rooted and true-to-life films are being made. The films are shot in real locales of the Indian hinterland and the actors give more than hundred percent while portraying convincing and realistic characters. From Kashmir to Delhi to Kerela to Kolkata to UP to Bihar to Bhopal to Rajasthan to, not to forget, the Punjab – many beautiful places of India got a place in our films and, at times, the regions were considered as one of the principle characters. Somehow, Gujarat and its vibrancy were ignored. But now, director Abhishek Kapoor attempts to bring it alive on celluloid with Kai Po Che, which is adapted from Chetan Bhagat’s terrific novel ‘The 3 Mistakes Of My Life’. There are films that rightly seem like winners from their first trailer itself. Kai Po Che fits into the category and fulfills all expectations! A must see!
The story of the movie: The year is 2000. Govind (Raj Kumar Yadav), based in Ahmedabad, persuades his good-for-nothing friends, Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Omi (Amit Sadh) to help him start a cricket shop in the nearby temple premises. At the same time, the premise is used by Ishaan to give cricket coaching and by Govind to teach maths to students. Govind also starts giving tuitions to Ishaan’s sister Vidya (Amrita Puri), who seemed attracted to her maths teacher. Ishaan, on the other hand, comes across Ali (Digvijay Deshmukh), realizes that he has the potential to be a world-class batsman and decides to nurture him. Finally, Omi begins to identify with his mama, Bittoo (Manav Kaul), and like him, seems all set to enter (communal) politics. How the three friends manage their shop, suffer losses and manage to stand united despite all odds forms the crux of the film.
Those who have The 3 Mistakes Of My Life will agree that the scale of the film is enormous and that arguably, even a three-hour long film won’t have done justice. However, director Abhishek Kapoor and his team of writers smartly manage to incorporate all the crucial elements and come up with a very fast-paced narrative. Also, they have added their own bit at several places (especially the climax) and hence, those familiar with the book will be in for a surprise as well! The light sepia tone, background music and most importantly, real-life locales help the film stand out. Several scenes are brilliantly handled and manage to easily touch your heart. The earthquake scene, however, stands out, for the way it’s presented and also because one hardly gets to see earthquake shots in movies.
On the flipside, the film is too quick! There are scenes here and that required things to slow down a bit so that impact is registered. However, the maker and writers don’t give that chance and hence, few scenes seemed rushed. Secondly, there are places where the characters are mouthing English terms. Somehow, it doesn’t look convincing to see lower-middle class boys, based in Belrampur and educated in a local government school, to be speaking in this manner.
Every actor delivers their best. Raj Kumar Yadav is incredible and makes extra effort to sound and behave like a true Gujju. Notice how he says ‘politics’ and ‘probability’! The actor has proved his worth with several films and it was a pleasure to see him playing one of the leads, after Ragini MMS. He’s expected to have delivered his best in Hansal Mehta’s Shahid. A film that’s really much awaited, and more so after Kai Po Che!
Sushant Singh Rajput is the best actor of the film, without a doubt. The actor infuses freshness and energy into his character and comes out with flying colours. One instantly realizes why this newbie has already bagged two big projects – Rajkumar Hirani’s P.K. and Yash Raj Films’ untitled next, even before his debut flick Kai Po Che hit theatres. The actor deserves all the appreciation and many more well-written films for sure! Keep it up!
Amit Sadh too proves his worth and it’s great that finally he got a full-fledged character to perform. Watch out for him in the finale. Amrita Puri is very adorable and provides able support. Digvijay Deshmukh does great. Manav Kaul was alright but brings out his best in the end. Asif Basra (Naseer Hashmi) is exceptional. The actor, who has mostly essayed inconsequential roles (he was the water bottle seller in Jab we Met, remember?), finally gets to play a meatier part. Muni Jha (Ishaan’s father) is decent while all others do good. Chetan Bhagat’s son too plays a role and is damn good!
Amit Trivedi’s music is soulful. Manjha is the best of the lot and somehow manages to linger in mind all day long! Hitesh Sonik’s background score is brilliant and enhances impact. Anay Goswami’s cinematography works big time. The locales are beautiful and vibrant and the true spirit of Gujarat is nicely captured. Sets are as convincing as it can be.
Abhishek Kapoor, Chetan Bhagat, Pubali Chaudhari and Supratik Sen’s screenplay is taut and ensures that viewers remain engrossed in the film. Same goes for Abhishek Kapoor’s direction, although as pointed out earlier, it was too fast-paced at places. But overall, it’s indeed a great effort as adapting a book of such a large scale and managing to make a well-made film out of it of just around 135 minutes duration is a feat! Moreover, the manner in which the riots and earthquake bit is presented is praiseworthy. It’s neither very violent and gory nor would lead to any problems. Gujaratis are known to be celebrating festivals lavishly and this aspect too gets prominence in the film. Especially the Dandiya sequence and the entire ‘Pari Hoon Main’ sequence…too smart and too brilliant! Hats off Mr Kapoor and hope he entertains us with such lovely films in future too!
Some of the best scenes:
Ishaan bashes up Vidya’s stalker
The songs Meethi Boliyan, Shubh Aarambh and Manja
Ishaan’s barges into Govind’s classroom to talk to Ali
Ishaan assaults Ali
The trio at Diu
The trio finalize the shop location at Navrangpura mall
The intermission point (brilliant!)
Ishaan fights at relief camp
Omi and Govind’s fight with Ishaan
Omi and Ishaan patch up
The last 20 minutes
On the whole, Kai Po Che is simply a brilliant effort in all respects. The manner in which Chetan Bhagat’s novel has been adapted and presented in just 135 minutes is a feat. Performances are extraordinary while songs and several scenes shall continue to linger in viewers’ minds for days to come! Surely, this is one of the must-watch films of the year. Needless to say, DO NOT miss this one!