Archive for July 29th, 2008

Posted on July 29, 2008 - by Reema

Movie Review: Kismat Konnection

So many negative reviews came out about this movie the day after it released. I don’t think I saw one that gave it more than a 2. Which really disappointed me, I wanted this movie to be great. I was going to watch anyway, because it’s Shahid of course. And I was determined to like it.

You have to go in not expecting a Jab We Met. That movie was made with its dialogues. KiKo doesn’t have many great conversations in it, but that doesn’t make it a bad movie. I’m going to use the old cliche, and say it was really good timepass. When you start watching, you’re completely into the movie. Maybe because they used the best intro ever. Shahid in the shower. Can it get much better? And it’s not even a split second scene. He’s in there for a good minute, and even after, he walks around without his shirt. Can’t get much better for a Shahid fangirl.

Ok, getting past all the superficial stuff, it’s an enjoyable movie. The ’story’ unfolds, we meet Hiten (Vishal Malhotra as his joyful self), we meet Priya, we meet Priya’s boyfriend. Of course, boy loves girl, girl loves other boy, other boy does something bad, girl loves first boy, happy ever after.

Aziz could have changed the names. Raj and Priya? Please. Use some fresh names Aziz, not the exact ones you used in your last movie.

Up until the release, we heard about how the Shahid/Vidya pair wouldn’t work, Vidya looks too old for him, blah blah. Well honestly, I thought they looked pretty good together. Vidya didn’t look too old for Shahid in my opinion. Shahid’s looks have really matured, so I think they looked great.

*Spoilers ahead*

One of my favorite scenes was the one on the boat, when Priya finally decides she loves Raj. The whole “he has to be this tall” thing, and then Priya standing on the railing to check Raj out, and then the adorable little hug, awwww. It was the perfect way to play out the scene IMO.

There are a lot of unanswered questions. Where were Raj’s parents, and why was he living in such a big house if he had no job? On the same line, where were Priya’s parents? Two tiny scenes about the parents for each would have been helpful. How does everyone in Toronto know Hindi? I wish someone would take the time to look at these things, because it seems to happen in every movie. Everyone you talk to knows Hindi, like it’s become the universal language.

The dubbing seemed a bit off to me as well. Maybe it was just me, can anyone confirm? Sometimes they characters mouths were moving before the words were even said, which gets annoying.

Shahid and Vishal are great together. They seem so comfortable with each other, and this shows on screen. I think it’s the first time they are working together again after Ishq Vishq, and I hope to see them together more often.

The supporting characters really stand out, especially Himani Shivpuri as Om Puri’s wife. She was hilarious every time she was on the screen. Om Puri was barely there, but he was good. That new guy, Dev, kinda creeped me out though. Maybe it was his hair or something, but whenever he was in a scene, I looked elsewhere. He did a good job acting though, I think he comes in a TV serial.

Priya’s boyfriend was shady from the first time you see him, so you know something would happen with him. Boman’s role was short but sweet. Juhi was really cute, but at times, a bit weird. I liked seeing her again, but the role seems a bit beneath her. I guess it was a favor for a friend.

Very nice hearing SRK’s voice to the voice-over at the beginning.

One thing that really bothers me is the choreographers used for Shahid’s movies. The man can dance, and he can do it very very well. Yet every time he’s dancing, the moves are so basic or stupid. Let Shahid dance. The moves in Aai Pappi were not bad, but in Soniye Ve and Move Your Body Now, they were just horrible. Like someone was choreographing for Amitabh Bachchan. And it happens all the time. Argh.

Aai Pappi’s picturization was nice, but it really came out of nowhere. Bakhuda was a rehash of Mitwa from KANK, Soniye Ve was an excuse to show off Shahid’s arms (I’m not complaining), and Move Your Body Now was an afterthought, because of the horrible clothes and dancing. Is This Love was ok, but the random blondes coming in to dance was…weird.