Film: KALYUG
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Smiley Suri, Deepal Shaw, Atul Parchure, Amrita Singh, Ashutosh Rana, Emraan Hashmi, Farid Amiri, Bomie E. Dotiwala, Sillo Mahava, Nafeesa Shaikh, Yatin Karyekar
Directed by: Mohit Suri
Rating: ***
If reality TV is anything to go by, this movie goes one step ahead. It incorporates all the facets of a reality show through the very plot of the movie. The movie harbours around the issue of sexual pornography. The star cast comprises of people who are relatively new but talented. This mix of new actors, a terrific plot, a great setting and excellent direction sets the stage for a short yet meaningful and poignant movie. Please gather your popcorn baskets and get comfortable!
The movie begins with a rather depressing scene of the mass exodus of Kashmiri pundits, who have fled the Kashmir valley in fear of terrorism. One such father-son family settles in Mumbai and begins a life there. Kunal Khemu (name in movie is also Kunal) plays the son of a hardworking man trying his best to make both ends meet. The ideal father is killed in an accident on the train station one day, leaving his son totally devastated. The son doesn’t take things lying down and works hard in a gym. A fateful phone call from Kashmir puts him in contact with Renuka, played by Smiley Suri. Renuka is a beautiful damsel from Kashmir who changes the life of Kunal. Can you guess what follows? Marriage of course. Director Mohit Suri plays the role of an astute alchemist when he makes the audience believe that “Alls well that ends well”. Not so. The film goes on to depict a tragic reality of life. A life that is destroyed by the pornographic business and its associated evils. While on honeymoon the couple is secretly taped getting intimate. This video is then widely distributed over the internet. It attracts police attention and the couple gets arrested for no fault of theirs. The police interrogation and accompanying torture is followed by the Renuka’s suicide.
The graphic pictorisation accompanied by the stark reality strikes the viewer like a bolt out of a clear sky. After having lost the love of his life, Kunal sets on the daunting task to find and destroy the racket behind the porn industry. He finds his target in Zurich. Here he has to face the strength of Simi Roy (Amrita Singh), the owner of the porn site. The movie based on the true-life story of Anaara Gupta is indeed a “must watch” flick. So go get that ticket right now.