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Review - Kaminey: run at good pace but swindle on details
Kaminey
![[Poster for Kaminey]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2496/4110830297_e721c11829_m.jpg)
The grainy texture, the stylish camerawork and finesse in the editing departments, do make it a different and enriching experience. Especially, if all you see is glitter and glamour of the Hindi film world. HOWEVER, this can't make-up for the lack of detail in the story and dialogue writing areas. And that's a huge let-down. Conclusion: I felt cheated by Kaminey.
Yes, most certainly there are a few plot points which make the audience think and work its way through the cause and effect. And that's brilliant because I love being treated as an intelligent audience. There was also an underlying, witty political commentary which was both funny and insightful.
But to counter them there are other plot points that have unexplained skips and jumps that can of course be explained by what I call Bolly-matic liberty. This also means that there is no 'twist' in the tale, everything goes as expected - as it has been happening over the last few decades. That's not acceptable in an action thriller. I wasn't able to give a discount to the fact that it has been done purposefully and offers appropriate tributes to Apna Desh and The Great Gambler.
Moreover, though the climax ties the ends alright, it does so forcefully. To use a friend's words, "the writer gave birth to a character, so he had to kill it."
Similarly, there are loads of characters that seem to exist just to increase the width of the plot, and add nothing to the depth. I liked the fact that they are all relatively small-timers in the crime-world. None of them was over-powering and each one was answerable to someone more powerful. The connections between them all worked too. But, each one had just one quirk to differentiate himself – some worked and some didn't. But they were all the same shade of black. Okay, except for the three main characters. I understand that one point the film was trying to make is that people in or related to the goon industry are all the same. Yet, finer details were missing. There wasn't anything that made you appreciate the writers' creativity.
Surely, this is one of Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra's best performances. Both of them are looking and performing better by the day. I have to confess, though I found Shahid extremely attractive, taking my eyes off Priyanka was an effort whenever she was on screen. She is charming and vulnerable, strong yet completely dependent on her lover's affection and support. The other cast were a bunch of caricatures that didn't make me care for them.
Despite all the negatives, the movie is a wholesome visual pleasure. We see a lot of handheld camerawork in non-Indian films and they usually tend to make me dizzy. I find myself complaining that the camera becomes the action choreographer in action thrillers abroad. Similar camerawork is used but I felt that the interval between cuts are just that beat longer to give me an orientation of who's hitting who, where and how. The establishing shots also add to the ambience.
A lot of my complaints could be because I don't want this in a Vishal Bharadwaj product. While walking out of the theater I wondered whether I'd be more accepting of any other lesser director. But, I remembered the first 30-45 minutes of the film, I was trying hard to like the film. It just wasn't working.
It's been a while since I've seen a high-profile, much-looked-forward-to, Hindi movie 3 days after its release. Much after most of the reviews are out. Though I read none of them, that the general reaction was highly positive was difficult to miss. Not to mention, the original anticipation associated with the film. I'm guilty of not being able to go in with a clean slate. But, despite giving the film benefit of doubt for my high expectations, the film lacked the steam needed for an action-packed thriller. Most glaring is the writing department, especially the dialogue and then character development. Those are the culprits which kept Kaminey from being a wholesome experience.
- meetu, a part of the audience
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Loads and loads
- Language: A lot of colloquial language used. A couple of innuendos, talk of AIDS, pre-marital sex and abortion.
- Nudity & Sexual content: A couple of love-making scenes. Not much skin show though.
- Concept: That of the filth in the underworld. About the scoundrels that this world is filled with.
- General Look and Feel: A dark hue is maintained through the film.
Kaminey - Movie Details
- Official Sites: Website
- Banner: UTV Motion Pictures
![[Has twitter account]](/site_media/images/icons/twitter_small.png)
- Producer: Ronnie Screwwala
- Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
- Lead Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Amole Gupte
- Supporting Cast: Tenzing Nima, Rajatva Dutta, Deb Mukherjee, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Carlos Paca, Shiv Subrahamanyam, Hrishikesh Joshi
- Story: Supratik Sen, Abhishek Chaubey, Sabrina Dhawan, Vishal Bharadwaj
- Cinematography: Tassaduq Hussain
- Editor: Meghana Manchanda Sen, Sreekar Prasad
- Action Choreography: Sham Kaushal
- Choreography: Ahmed Khan, Raju Sundaram
- Music Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
- Lyrics: Gulzar
- Running time: 130 minutes
- Reviewer: meetu
- Categories: Hindi Movies
- Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller
Kaminey - Trailer
Kaminey - All reviews summary
External Reviews
39 reviewers have given Kaminey an average rating of 4.4/5.0. 32 yays, 2 nays, 5 so-so. See all external reviews »
Comments (25)
can't really agree with anything less than 4 in any department...character actors 2.5??..dialogue 2???!!!
To me it looked like Priyadarshan made something outside his domain of comedy...
But reason I like this as a entertainer, I ain't really a part of the audience who likes to see a matured love story (Luv aaj kal).. and I tell you there are tones like me (however you may classify us :P )
This is "watch on DVD" only for those who aren't bestowed with intelligence ( after watching it 5-6 times they might actually understand ), for rest it is "Must watch-on big screen".
not a regular reader of the blog,but definately wants to say something to u...please raise your standard...india has visited his best cinematographic film ever.I thing it is a "must watch-on big screen"...character artists receive only 2.5?????what a f...??????????? The movie is far better than the luv aajkal which has received 4 and 5 in every department by u....how much Imtiaz Ali paid u for that???????????????
How did the Bangla brother's find out where the rest of the cast of the film were engaged in a war?
***spoilers***
**************
They could not reach Mikhail on his cell.
They go to Charlie's house, meet Bhope Bhau's goons there with Mikhail's dead body(who do you think kill them at Charlie's house?), and find out about Mikhail's killer. Then to avenge the murder they go to Bhope Bhau's place.
**************
***spoilers***
Now I know, why did you not like the movie that much :)
Meetu is just outright stupid...she gives a film like LOVE AAJ KAL which has NO PLOT, HORRENDOUSLY SLOW SCREENPLAY and NO CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE TWO LEADS
a 'must watch' status.
Whereas KAMINEY is just A SMART KICK-ASS FILM!. Sure it is not to be understood by idiots ( & mush-loving girls like meetu). U have to read between the lines in this movie...not something girls (esp like meetu) can manage. So i can understand. Just give them love stories (even as bad as Umrao Jaan) n they applaud it.
Talk about movie reviews!!
i wonder how could a person who started with makdee, maqbool, omkara and one of my favourite blue umbrella can ever direct such a bakwas movie.
im sorry if it hurts anybody or everybody but this is not what i have expected from vishal. except few limited shots i didnt enjoy the movie.
opening was good but as it progressed things started to get poor and endng was worst.
today after anurag kashyap i only see vishal as a DIRECTOR in bollywood.....and such work from them can not be accepted.
Thank god... When the rest of India was praising lavishly... I was wondering, whether this film deserves all these hype??
Is it better than a typical priyadarshan film, apart from presentation?
Yeah, it is defenitely a better film, but not the best film, not any way near Love Aaj Kal, for a one to one match with a newer release.
Apart from the "Hollywood"isation, Shahid Kapoor, there is nothing new.
Priyanka was totally out of sync with all that was happening around her. To say its good acting is insulting her performance in Fashion and the like.
But technically, it gives a visual pleasing. You feel that you are getting geared up to take on (!!!) Hollywood.
I too feel cheated, given the hype.
@Ramen Oh come on! Dialogues were as lame as power is power! and some of the lamest possible. The supporting cast was one caricature after another, reminded me too much of the Guru in Sarkar - basically annoying. We differ in opinions. It's alright I guess.
@Annkur I absolutely agree that there are people who like plain entertainment. I want something more out of my films which might as well have been the germ for wogma. Doesn't mean it alienates anyone, if from my review you find you'll like what I didn't like, the decision is made for you. Enjoy the film! :)
@Mayur @Saurabh Knew someone would compare Love Aaj Kal ratings with this one and give me the pleasure of saying, "not comparable films, different genres, different aims."
@BA damn! I had a better interpretation of who killed Bhope's goons! Damn, this is spoilt for me, but it does explain how they reached Bhope's place given that every goon knows every other goons henchmen and addresses.
@Abhinav There you go! I didn't hate Kaminey though. It was alright. A visual pleasure.
@B.H.Harsh Finally! A comment that says exactly what reviews are all about. Its a perception. You like the perception, do what the film recommends. If you don't like it do the opposite. Simple!
@ Anoop Exactly!!
I generally read ur reviews and tend to agree with your views on most movies..not this time tho..
Vishal in a self confessed Tarantino fan and this works purely as a tribute to QT's style of filmmaking. You can literally see Vishal showing off and i find it okay since he's doing exactly what he's set out to do. He has done what i thought was pretty much impossible-take the work of a connossieur and mould it in his own way. i simply cannot digest the fact that u found the character actors caricatures, they are the best bunch of cast ive yet seen (considering that most of them are debutants). While Love Aaj Kal was definitely from a different genre, but even in the genre that it falls into i dint think it brought anything new to the tabele
third grade movie
MUST WATCH
MUST WATCH
MUST WATCH
MUST WATCH
MUST WATCH
This is a gem of a movie. Its an absolutely STUNNING , FEROCIOUSLY FAST , HIGHLY ENGAGING , BEAUTIFULLY EXECUTED N ENACTED, DARK, ADVENTUROUS Roller coaster ride !!!
[[Spoonfed audiences i.e. the general indian public shud stay away. this film is out of their ability to understand]]
Fully agree with your review. Whilst a brilliantly 'made' movie, the story lacked depth, with the relationships and events to superficial for me to be able to form a genuine relationship with. Everything is explained on the surface, and we are quickly on to the next scene/topic. There is not enough time for us to digest the real impact and feelings of each event/character. The writers need to take another look.
@Anupam oh well...to each his own.
@Ravi O-kay
@Kunal Adnani eggjhactlee!
I think it's a must watch if you like movies with style. I liked it. Will probably watch it again. It's a feel good movie. Definitely has a Quentin Tarantino touch to it.
This reminds me of Boom (2003) which I absolutely loved back then even though I was only 13 at the time and it was a flop. It's in the same genre (bollywood noir?) as Dev D, Dil dosti etc (although the latter focuses more on characters) & Kaminey all of which have been box office successes. The decade of liberalized economy, media and internet seems to be kicking in! Hopefully we'll get to see some gory movies or at least psychological thrillers in the coming years.
I guess it all boils down to taste; some of us prefer witty & cynical one liners, badass cars & guns, stylish cinematography, diamonds, cocaine, guns etc more than a socially responsible (not necessarily un-engaging) movie.
Also there's a brilliant song "Meri arzoo kaminey" which is stuck in my head. I didn't like the stammering, nor shahid kapoor. There was no need for the stammering, an obviously desperate attempt to give perceived substance to an otherwise awesome feel good movie. And Shahid Kapoor is about the worst actor I can think of for the role(s). They should have gone with Baba. If casting Shahid Kapoor in this was part of the desired Tarantino effect, it has failed. The man has no style or even ironic appeal (Casting Darsheel Safary would have achieved the latter better).
Priyanka Chopra has done a wonderful job. I expected her to just be shaking her assets on screen but was pleasantly surprised, she has actually worked & done real acting in this movie.
The Bhope character is a delight to watch & my favorite scene was the part where they negotiate with the police (60...40...25, 25) Brilliant, entertaining & realistic stuff
I would say this is a brilliant movie technically, a lot of things for people who really enjoy the movie through a "movie makers'" eyes.
brilliant movie...........
Just watched it again. Observed a couple of things. Was it a coincidence that :
• Tashi & BHope Bhau wife’s name are anagrams.
• The no. on moped on which Guddu comes for his wedding and the no. of police vehicle on which he is taken to jail are complementary numbers.
• All characters and side characters are named such that Charlie can’t pronounce their full name correctly.
• The auditorium at which Guddu is getting married is hexadecimal representation of room no. In which Charlie goes to meet Fransis, at the same time.
• Both Guddu and Charlie’s friends are shown with coke. One with the famous beverage , the other with the drug.
• The theme song “ Go Charlie” comes twice in the movie. Once there is some birthday party in background and in the other instance he bumps into a wedding procession and both times he is running for his life. Irony !!
• The word ‘matlab’ is repeated by both Guddu & Charlie at different times in the movie for exactly opposite effect.
• Pun with words like Tope ( Gun & Title ) and Bhau- Bow
• Lyrics of the song phatak use the word Safe ( saif ) and that of Kameeney uses kareene ( Kareena )
…Or all of it was meant for intelligent audience to figure out.
woah! Vishal dude...those are awesome observations. Though some of them sound far-fetched, but cool nevertheless.
Why is it that whenever Indians disagree with smeone else's point of view, they make it a point to attack that person's character -- either by saying 'stupid', 'low IQ' etc or much worse! Why can't we agree that everyone has a right to have an independent viewpoint? How hard is that?
Yeah Dash, it's a shame, but i'm not sure it's specific to Indians. I've learnt to enjoy being called names, reading comments is much more fun that way. :)
f*** off meetu....
u jus come from a low stantard idiotic background i guess so as not to understand movie of a lifetime...
it was such a cool movie....
oo...i jus feel like abusin u more n more...
y do u make such blogs if u just cant understand movies...???
a loser...totally...aargh...go to hell mann...fool sum other idiots like u...
n plzz...better give ur comments on sick tv soaps...u mite do better there...
foolish slutty idiotic ppl...
n besides....kaminey has been a hit...
big hit...so its better if ud shut up...
I agree on comment about Priyanka Chopra.....it was really hard taking eyes off her.....every dialogue of her had a punch
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