Kismat Konnections Movie Review
If you don’t mind cliches and are all for mush, go watch this film
Okay here’s the deal – if your girlfriend swears by cheesy romantic films, take her to Kismat Konnection this weekend.
Now, if it hasn’t been emphatic enough, here we go one more time – TAKE HER TO THIS FILM.
And just after the movie is over, look into her eyes and pop the question: “Can we watch The Dark Knight now?” Believe me, there are good chances she’ll let you.
Having said that, Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan’s latest flick Kismat Konnection works at some levels. Loosely based on Just My Luck and even more loosely based on Two Weeks’ Notice, the film is one of those ‘family movies’ that may just ‘connect’ at the box office.
The story
Raj Malhotra (Shahid Kapoor) is a bright young architect who never seems to have Lady Luck by his side. He gets so desperate that he decides to visit a mumbo-jumbo lady (Juhi Chawla who totally rocks) to change his fortunes. She predicts that a lucky charm will soon come his way and change things for good. And sure enough she does.
Priya (Vidya Balan) is a charming young lady who is fighting for the survival of a community centre to be taken over by a real estate company. Raj promises to help save the centre in return of her presence at all their meetings. He manages to clinch the deal but doesn’t reveal his real motives to her till the very end. [HOT GOSS: Kareena sneaks into Kismat screening]
Shahid Shah Rukh Kapoor
From the very beginning, Shahid Kapoor has been compared with Shah Rukh Khan. While in most of his movies he’s managed to stand his own, it is in this one that he falls prey to the comparison. His body language in many scenes seems to remind one of the younger Shah Rukh Khan.
Aziz Mirza’s association with Shah Rukh too goes a long way. And it comes across. Shots after shots you can see how much of Shah Rukh is there in the protagonist’s mannerisms. Why, is it surprising that Shahid’s character has been named after Shah Rukh’s immortal Raj Malhotra from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge?
Cast against a mature and an older heroine opposite him for the first time, Shahid Kapoor manages to strike a fairly good chemistry with Vidya Balan. Wish there wasn’t so much of Shah Rukh Khan in him though…
Vidya works, well almost
What does one say about an actress who is so immensely good-looking but doesn’t have the remotest dressing sense? Manish Malhotra tried his hand at making her look stylish and failed. This time very little has been made of her styling, though one has no idea why her hairstyle suddenly changes towards the end of the film.
Performance-wise, Vidya has delivered her goods. She can cry, she can laugh, she can do anything her director wants her to do except dance. The makers have cleverly managed to keep Vidya from dancing till the very end… when the credits start rolling.
And then there’s that thing about the weight. At a time when size zero seems to be the in-thing, seeing Vidya Balan in long shots almost makes one cringe. However, with her looks that are traditionally beautiful and the simplicity that goes with it, Vidya Balan manages to carry off her character quite well.
The supporting cast
A word about the men and women who never manage to play the protagonist in a mainstream Hindi film.
Om Puri in a recent interview confessed that if rape became inevitable you might as well enjoy it. And playing a businessman in Kismat Konnection, Om Puri shows us exactly what he means.
Himani Shivpuri, who plays Puri’s wife has a small part too but manages to stay on in our minds.
Vishal Malhotra who started his career hosting Sunday morning Disney shows has come a long way. He may not ever play the hero. But as Shahid’s bumbling, loyal friend, he strikes a chord.
Boman Irani was flown down to Canada for about one and a half scenes. Now that speaks a lot for a man who started his film career well after he was 40.
Three reasons why Kismat doesn’t Konnect
One. A film like When Harry Met Sally comes once in decades. For most part romantic film lovers have to make do with clichés. So like all the rest, Kismat Konnection is also filled with clichés. There’s no point in even beginning to list them out.
Two. If the clichés don’t get to you, the cheesiness most certainly will. Kismat Konnection is cheesier than a 20-inch pizza with extra cheese. Watch out for that scene where Vidya Balan opens her pocket mirror to sneak a peek at Shahid Kapoor standing behind her.
Three. Bollywood loves song and dance. But one has never understood the logic of shoving music numbers in the middle of a screenplay for the heck of it. Almost all the songs in Kismat Konnection are prime examples of this. Is this love even reminds you of a hit tune of Jab We Met. If the story isn’t cheesy enough, we’d say this bit surely is.
Verdict
If you don’t mind films like Notting Hill, Just My Luck or Two Weeks’ Notice go watch this film or else use it as a barter to get permission and watch The Dark Knight.
Rating
2.5/5
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