Yet another film has been flayed and flogged by the press, and delegated to the trash can, irrespective of the fact that this time around, it was none other than Kisna, made one of the biggest filmmakers this country has produced.
The press did it with Main Hoon Na last year, and arguably it turned out to be one of the biggest entertainers. Most critics have been very severe, in their opinions about Kisna. Too long, too thin a plot, performances that were sub-optimal etc. etc. Can a Subash Ghai period film, with music by A.R.Rehman and Ismail Durbar, lyrics by Javed Akthar, and starring Vivek Oberoi, be so bad, as to earn one and a half and two star ratings? You wonder.
The film is a trifle long by today?s standards, but all good stories, like we saw in the case of Veer Zaara, Swades or earlier on Kabhi Khushi Khabhi Gham, need time and space, to be well told. As Kisna unfolds on the screen, one realizes that the director has spent a lot of money and creative energy, in envisaging the film. Plenty of research has also gone into the making. Instead of harping on the so-called deficiencies of the film, the critics could have spent their creative energies, focusing on what is, rather than what is not. Is anyone perfect?
Here are a few of the positive aspects of the film, which have been missed or ignored, by most who wrote about the film. The film is visually stunning, with excellent locales and cinematography. The music of the film, composed by 2 veterans of the film industry, is among the best to hit the stands recently.
Yes, there are no naughty item numbers, no sensuous songs, but the music is soothing, enchanting and transports the listener into a world of love, romance and happiness. Some of the songs have very deep meanings, which are rooted in the teaching of great spiritual gurus. If I am Shiv, I am Vishnu, then why should I go to a temple? Asks the singer, transporting one into Vedantha and Philosophy.
The English number, which asks for only one moment of love. And ?Chilman Uteghi Nahin? is one of the best ?Quawallis? to hit the Hindi Screen, after Baiju Bawra?s Ishq Ishq. Also, there is a lot to be learnt from the film. The whole theme of the film is based on the teachings of the Bhagwad Geetha, where we are told that all of us have to do our duty, irrespective of the consequences. And as Kisna says in the end ?My Karm was to protect you, but my Dharam is to go back home to my family?. Very beautifully put.
One hopes that the audience is a little more sensitive and sensible, and recognizes what is its Karm and what is its Dharam.