Friday, November 20, 2009
Kurbaan + 1
Kurbaan
Given the state of the world today, a subject like terrorism is not to be trifled with. And whether it is the intention of the filmmaker or not, the issue becomes politically sensitive-- all the more reason to be careful and balanced. If a film points the finger of suspicion at most Muslims-- an educated, suave professor is a terrorist kingpin, the family next door is hatching a terror plot, the harmless professor sitting by a chess board in the corner is a terrorist, no matter where they live Muslims refuse to owe allegiance to the country that shelters them-- it does nothing for the cause of peace, but tarnishes a whole community.
If we overlook all that and accept Rensil D'Silva's Kurbaan as just another commercial film (It has stars, it is produced by Karan Johar), then the complete lack of logic and glaring plot holes are bothersome.
The film, in brief is about professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) who is trapped into a marriage by the charming Professor Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan), because she is an American citizen and he needs a legal way of entering the country. Once there, he gangs up with his cahoots, who are planning terror strikes in New York. Avantika stumbles on to the secret, and is imprisoned at home; she is not killed because she is pregnant. With her help, reporter, Riyaz (Vivek Oberoi) infiltrating the gang to avenge the death of his girlfriend (Dia Mirza) killed in a suicide bombing, manages to foil their plot.
Now the proboem areas: Avantika is an American citizen, yet when she comes to know of the plane bombing, she does not call 911, but leaves a message on the answering machine. When Riyaz hears the message, he does not inform the cops, but plays detective by himself. Ehsaan is a wanted terrorist with a criminal record, and in these days of biometrics, he travels in and out of India and into the US without being detected. Without even mention of a work permit, Ehsaan is allowed to teach a new course in Islamic studies, suggested by him at a New York college. Riyaz easily gets into the gang by making a facile anti-America speech-- in the age of Google, the terrorist group doesn't even do a basic background check.
Absurdities pile up-- Avantika does nothing to seek help or warn her father who is in danger. She is a professor herself, but listens wide-eyed to an older terrorist's (Om Puri) wife (Kirron Kher), who justifies the killing of innocent Americans, saying that US forces killed innocent Muslims in Afghanistan. In one scene Avantika is seen with a distended belly, but when she does a seduction number on the husband (a still from this scene is on the misleading posters of Kurbaan) her belly is flat.
If Avantika came to sympathise with the cause, in a case of the Stockholm Syndrome, the plot would have made some sense, but neither Ehsaan's feelings towards her, nor hers towards him are clear-- after she discovers the truth about him.
So, the look is slick (some thanks to DOP Hemant Chaturvedi), the pace is brisk, Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor deliver powerful performances-- Saif Ali Khan wears a baffled look at can't cope with the wishy-washy character-- that is the least that can be expected from a big-budget film. But along with production values, how about also delivering a film that also strong on plausibility and purpose?
Shaabash! You Can Do It
You may not even know that such a film has released, if you do, you are not likely to go see it. Unless, there is a good word-of-mouth, and there isn’t going to be… Shaabash! You Can Do It, directed (?) by Shankar Mondal) with a new cast, will be one of those many also-released films that had come out earlier this year during the multiplex strike. Can’t even say it is a good effort.
The film is set in a college, where rich guy Vikram (Atul Kinagi) and ordinary guy Neil ( Hitesh Agrawal) glare malevolently at each other, because Vikram got slapped by his father (Rajiv Verma) in public because he had slapped Neil…much ado about nothing.The father is a politician and wants to enhance his image of being a fair-minded man. Vikram is in love with Gracy (Vedita Pratap Singh), who is found dead at a college picnic,and Professor Siddhant (Sudesh Berry) is framed. (The professor ought to have been jailed for hamming!) Two silly cops (Vishwajeet Pradhan and sidekick) got about investigating, and there’s a bunch of overage students (one of them gay) and dumb professors tripping over one another.
Then there’s some lecturing about yoga being the cure for all ills, and something called ‘Yoga dance’ at which Vikram and Neil compete. They make it sound as if it a matter of life and death, but the banner behind the tacky dance venue declare “Rotary Club of Bombay Hanging Garden.” Not even the MNS would bother to get up to protest against this one. The best performance? Maybe the professor’s wife lying in a coma!
Given the state of the world today, a subject like terrorism is not to be trifled with. And whether it is the intention of the filmmaker or not, the issue becomes politically sensitive-- all the more reason to be careful and balanced. If a film points the finger of suspicion at most Muslims-- an educated, suave professor is a terrorist kingpin, the family next door is hatching a terror plot, the harmless professor sitting by a chess board in the corner is a terrorist, no matter where they live Muslims refuse to owe allegiance to the country that shelters them-- it does nothing for the cause of peace, but tarnishes a whole community.
If we overlook all that and accept Rensil D'Silva's Kurbaan as just another commercial film (It has stars, it is produced by Karan Johar), then the complete lack of logic and glaring plot holes are bothersome.
The film, in brief is about professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) who is trapped into a marriage by the charming Professor Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan), because she is an American citizen and he needs a legal way of entering the country. Once there, he gangs up with his cahoots, who are planning terror strikes in New York. Avantika stumbles on to the secret, and is imprisoned at home; she is not killed because she is pregnant. With her help, reporter, Riyaz (Vivek Oberoi) infiltrating the gang to avenge the death of his girlfriend (Dia Mirza) killed in a suicide bombing, manages to foil their plot.
Now the proboem areas: Avantika is an American citizen, yet when she comes to know of the plane bombing, she does not call 911, but leaves a message on the answering machine. When Riyaz hears the message, he does not inform the cops, but plays detective by himself. Ehsaan is a wanted terrorist with a criminal record, and in these days of biometrics, he travels in and out of India and into the US without being detected. Without even mention of a work permit, Ehsaan is allowed to teach a new course in Islamic studies, suggested by him at a New York college. Riyaz easily gets into the gang by making a facile anti-America speech-- in the age of Google, the terrorist group doesn't even do a basic background check.
Absurdities pile up-- Avantika does nothing to seek help or warn her father who is in danger. She is a professor herself, but listens wide-eyed to an older terrorist's (Om Puri) wife (Kirron Kher), who justifies the killing of innocent Americans, saying that US forces killed innocent Muslims in Afghanistan. In one scene Avantika is seen with a distended belly, but when she does a seduction number on the husband (a still from this scene is on the misleading posters of Kurbaan) her belly is flat.
If Avantika came to sympathise with the cause, in a case of the Stockholm Syndrome, the plot would have made some sense, but neither Ehsaan's feelings towards her, nor hers towards him are clear-- after she discovers the truth about him.
So, the look is slick (some thanks to DOP Hemant Chaturvedi), the pace is brisk, Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor deliver powerful performances-- Saif Ali Khan wears a baffled look at can't cope with the wishy-washy character-- that is the least that can be expected from a big-budget film. But along with production values, how about also delivering a film that also strong on plausibility and purpose?
Shaabash! You Can Do It
You may not even know that such a film has released, if you do, you are not likely to go see it. Unless, there is a good word-of-mouth, and there isn’t going to be… Shaabash! You Can Do It, directed (?) by Shankar Mondal) with a new cast, will be one of those many also-released films that had come out earlier this year during the multiplex strike. Can’t even say it is a good effort.
The film is set in a college, where rich guy Vikram (Atul Kinagi) and ordinary guy Neil ( Hitesh Agrawal) glare malevolently at each other, because Vikram got slapped by his father (Rajiv Verma) in public because he had slapped Neil…much ado about nothing.The father is a politician and wants to enhance his image of being a fair-minded man. Vikram is in love with Gracy (Vedita Pratap Singh), who is found dead at a college picnic,and Professor Siddhant (Sudesh Berry) is framed. (The professor ought to have been jailed for hamming!) Two silly cops (Vishwajeet Pradhan and sidekick) got about investigating, and there’s a bunch of overage students (one of them gay) and dumb professors tripping over one another.
Then there’s some lecturing about yoga being the cure for all ills, and something called ‘Yoga dance’ at which Vikram and Neil compete. They make it sound as if it a matter of life and death, but the banner behind the tacky dance venue declare “Rotary Club of Bombay Hanging Garden.” Not even the MNS would bother to get up to protest against this one. The best performance? Maybe the professor’s wife lying in a coma!
Labels: Cinemaah
Comments:
Post a Comment
