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Movie Review: ‘Kaabil’

With a box office clash to spice up Indian Republic Day, ‘Kaabil’ was proving to be quite a threat to Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Raees’. With Rakesh Roshan producing the project, Sanjay Gupta directing and Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam as the lead pair, ‘Kaabil’ seemed to be interesting from the first trailer. The question remained as to whether the film would do well pitted against ‘Raees’ and also whether it’d wow even more than the promos already had.

Rohan (Roshan) and Supriya (Gautam) are coerced on a date through a mutual friend and don’t expect to hit it off. Rohan manages to convince Supriya to meet him more so that they can see if they are meant for each other, despite the latter’s thinking that two blind people aren’t suited to each other. The couple eventually get married but, for some reason, Rohan seems to get on the bad side of local villain Amit and his friend. The two decide to use Supriya as their target and Rohan becomes angrier. How will be protect his wife and also make it known to the baddies that they will not get away with their behaviour?

The first thing that has to be said is that ‘Kaabil’ has Gupta’s stamp all over it. He’s known for his twisted stories and edge-of-the-seat thrillers. The two genres come together well in ‘Kaabil’ after the love story is all set. However, the unexpected is never far and the shock factor is huge. This dark and intense story is coupled with great cinematography and Gupta definitely managers to keep the audience hooked at every minute. He shows he’s the man when it comes to wowing the audiences and with ‘Kaabil’ it gets a little bit gory too.

Roshan has given career-best performances a number of times. He’s proven over and over that he’s capable of engaging the audiences with his roles. However, many will agree that ‘Kaabil’ is something different for him and a role he absolutely excels in. Although the script does have a few holes, Roshan’s performance as a blind man who is “kaabil” even without his sight is truly commendable. He manages to convince the audiences of his abilities and these prove for some entertaining, shocking and downright emotional scenes. Gautam plays his lady love for the first time and their chemistry is definitely a comfortable one. She also does well in the overall narrative and is definitely not just the eye-candy of the film. Together, they make a very good-looking couple and absolutely suit one another in performance and charisma.

The villain brothers are played by the ever-versatile Ronit and Rohit Roy. As a viewer, you do detest the two characters immensely but this is only because the duo play them so well. They don’t share too many scenes with each other but they have evil down to a tee, making you feel even more sympathy and empathy towards Roshan’s character. It’s good to see both Ronit and Rohit in negative roles as it seems it’s been a while since they have done so.

The music of ‘Kaabil’ has already been wowing the fans and the picturisation of the songs is also quite fitting with the overall treatment of the film. Mon Amour is particularly effective as a track, showing off Roshan’s dance prowess as well as how two blind people can fit into a dance routine – it’s cleverly choreographed. Aside from this, the reworked Saara Zamaana, featuring Urvashi Rautela, is quite simply not all it promises to be. There isn’t really a space for it in the film and seems to be oddly placed in between the story. It is, of course, meant to be a crowd-puller but whether it actually did do that is debatable.

To conclude, it has to be said that ‘Kaabil’ is a film that leaves a huge impact – whether you like the genres it falls in or not. However, if you need a reason apart from those to watch it for then it should be for Hrithik Roshan. He shines like never before. There are, however, definitely cracks in the visuals when it comes to showing he’s “kaabil” but whether you choose to overlook them is entirely your choice.

BizAsiaLive.com rating: 3.5/5