Saturday, November 21, 2009

Kurbaan


Rating : 3/10
Release Date : 13th Nov, 2009
Time : 160 minutes
Director : Rensil D’Silva; Writer : Karan Johar & Rensil D’Silva; Music : Salim Sulaiman
Starring : Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Vivek Oberoi, Kirron Kher


Pure drivel and tommyrot in the garb of a slick and serious film. An extremely patchy script, pathetic ending – and I mean not just the end but the whole sequence, and weak acting leads to a film which makes you wonder, after its over, what was the message, what was the point it was trying to make ?


A very clichéd and hurried romance in Delhi leads to a Hindu professor, Kareena getting married to a co-professor, Saif, a Muslim, and then jetting off to NY as Kareena has an offer to teach there. Saif proposes to teach a course on Islam, which is accepted by the same univ. They also make friends with some neighbours, also Muslims, and soon Kareena realises there is something wrong going on. And then she realises Saif is involved. And Vivek Oberoi is the person who has to make things ok.

The plot is filled, I mean really packed, with implausibilities…the FBI, for example, has a photo of a terrorist but is struggling to locate him even though he has a Social Security registration, is likely to have a driving licence and is registered to teach as a prof in a univ ? Vivek Oberoi knows who are the terrorists, its clear that they’ve killed a person and bombed a flight but chooses to try and handle them himself vs calling the FBI / cops ? There are so many silly scenes – a shootout with cops that’s lame / implausible (cops cant use the registration # to locate the terrorists ? And burning corpses erases dental records ?). And don’t even get me started on the whole ending sequence…its lame, downright silly, filmi, and even from a relationship point of view, didn’t make any sense at all.

Saif looks stony and old. His romance with Kareena lacks the warmth & mischief which he normally brings to such portions. Vivek Oberoi was a huge casting mistake as his character needed to be able to emote, not just look like a scared scarecrow, which was pretty much his expression throughout most of the second half.

Om Puri and Kirron act well. Kareena is probably the only one who looked good and acted well. For her, respect !

The film made me squirm uneasily throughout its length. The directors point of view regarding Islamic fundamentalism was also unclear. Which side was he on ? What was the message he was trying to convey ? There is a sequence in Saif’s class on Islam that leaves you confused – is he actually supporting what the fundamentalists are doing ? ? And just because the Americans are doing it – in Iraq and Afghanistan – does that justify terror strikes against innocent people ?


Senseless, the film is even potentially dangerous in terms of its lack of message. The only target audience I can envisage enjoying this currently live in caves in Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan…

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:25 PM

    Thanks Appu

    Bacha liye aisee film dekhne se - lagta to tha promos se ki kuch gadbad hai

    Keep it up mate !

    Sexy

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  2. one of your lowest ratings ever.

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  3. I usually find your views in sync with my views about movies. But here we seem to be differing widely. Maybe you are being a little too harsh with the movie - even with its plot holes, does it really deserve a 3 when you gave that unmitigated disaster Blue a 5 ??

    And as far as acting is concerned, I disagree with you about Vivek Oberoi and Om Puri's performance. Even though his character might not be the most intelligent, I thought Vivek's acting was pretty decent. A better object of ridicule would be, say, Bobby Deol in Dostana

    And again, Om Puri's acting was very repetitive and unconvincing. He didnt look like he believed in what he was saying. Not to mention the pot belly was ruining every visual of his.

    Other than that, I agree with your views about the performance of the lead pair - Kareena was really great and Saif just disconnected.

    My own view of the movie is more positive - I am inclined to give it more credit for the crisp first half and overlook some of the holes in the story - basically grace marks for being a Bollywood effort. Do read my review and tell me what you think

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  4. hi ! Pradosh
    maybe its to do with the expectation i went with - i expected a serious film abt Islam. instead i got something with no meaningful debate, various plot loopholes and very wooden characters

    in dostana or a bond film (and to an extent even , Blue)- i dont care so much for the plot loopholes or character depth - but more the fun element...

    vivek oberoi - lets just agree to disagree but on others, om puri etc, i see your point

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  5. QUESTION - why didnt vivek oberio call the cops when he got to know abt the plot of the bombings ?? wat was his motive ??? i mean are we still filmy heroes ??

    also if mr.johar did want to go with the whole "i will kill the terrorists myself" as a journalist .. he could have done a nice twist - for the sake of an exclusive news channel coverage the reporter goes as insider .. and unravels the deadly plan..
    this way he would have also brought out the extend to which media sometimes over does it..

    dunno .. seemed juvenile to me..

    so 3/10 is generous !

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  6. Anonymous7:47 PM

    vivek oberoi ne aachi acting ki hai.main uske acting se khush hoon.

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  7. hello

    first time on your blog and i loved it!

    I agree Kurbaan was completely non sensical and Saif looks not only stony and old but confused in his intentions and plans as well. kareena is as usual glam doll with zero fig and over all i feel this movie deserved a rating of -3/10! hahaah!

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  8. Anonymous9:41 AM

    great blog If you are the type to update your blog regulary, then you have gained one daily reader in me today. keep up the super work.

    ReplyDelete