Preposterous to the point of being... Oh god... Review on Kaal

I really don’t know why is it a Hindi movie can get everything right then screw something up so badly that you end up wondering whether that movie you’ve just watch was a treat or have you just been conned big time by watching that movie. In the case of “Kaal” I must say that this time Karan Johar just might have struck the right formula, but where this movie is a winner in EVERY other sense, character development became its downfall.

Let’s examine the plus point of the movie first shall we? “Kaal” has a storyline that has yet to be thread successfully by any Hindi movie – that of a psychological horror/thriller cum murder mystery of sorts. The story is tight and well written. In fact I think, on paper, this is one of the best story to have come out of the Bollywood vaults hands down.

You have an environmental researcher Krish (John Abraham), who works for National Geographic no less, with his photographer wife Riya (Esha Deol) who goes to a forest reserve to research the case of a man eating tiger that was supposedly on the lose. They met up with a group of adventure seekers headed by Dev (Vivek Oberoi) and his girlfriend Ishika (Lara Dutta) who gave them a hand when their car broke down in the middle of the forest road.

When members of the group started dying one by one, they realised that maybe the killings and deaths had more to do than just a man-eating tiger. The gang (or what’s left of them) then meets a mysterious almost hermit like figure in the middle of the jungle who calls himself Kali (Ajay Devgan). According to Kali, bad things happen only to those who do not obey the rules of the jungle. He also promises to guide them out of the jungle to safety.

Now, when you have an interesting a story as that, you will definitely need superb cinematography to match. Again, I applaud “Kaal” for not failing in this area either. Visually you are served with stunning imagery and angles of the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal as well as close up shots of animals ranging from tigers to bats to monkeys. Very National Geographic like yes. And just to mention - seeming as to how National Geographic has been roped into the movie, not too subtle product placement happens throughout the movie at frequent intervals as well.

Then you come to the major flaw of the movie. Character development. Handled so badly that you would want to do nothing better than to bang your head against the wall. Not to say that the acting was bad, I thought the actors (actors mind you – not actresses) fulfilled their role to best they could, but in the end they failed to save the sketchy characters that were given to them.

You have an Indiana Jones wannabe who goes around chasing Boa Constrictors and is suppose to be a successful environmental researcher but failed miserably in looking after himself in the jungle. You have a photographer who doesn’t carry a camera (no dearie, five minutes at the start of the movie doesn't count). You have a hunting enthusiast who is as clumsy as a drunk chimpanzee and perhaps dumber than the chimp. And then you have the item bimbo who wears minimal clothing (cowboy boots, mini skirt and midriff baring shirt in a jungle??) and has even less talent. I still maintain Lara Dutta should just stick to walking the runway. At least you don’t have to pretend to be clever when you’re modelling.

At the end of the day, it was Ajay Devgan’s character that saved the movie. He had just enough depth and mysteriousness to him for the thriller aspect to work. This man is heads and shoulders ahead of his younger ‘all-star’ cast. Someone, please do us all a favour and shoot Esha Deol. She was a pain to watch in “Dhoom” and she’s a pain to watch in this movie as well. Calling her character Riya a wildlife photographer is a disgrace to the whole profession. Both she and Lara were just unforgivable in this movie.

Finally, a little look at the music score. I am forever grateful that the characters didn’t burst out into song in the middle of the movie or I would have burst out laughing. The feel and the mood of the movie just did not have space to fit in any song numbers. Therefore, the filmmakers did well with the sexy opening item number, Kaal Dhamaal, featuring a suddenly very hot Shah Rukh Khan. The closing item though, Tauba Tauba, pales in comparison to Kaal Dhamaal. Shit, I’d watch this movie again just for that song. But the background score, overall, worked very well with the movie – edgy and potent.

So is “Kaal” a hit or a miss? I’d say it falls a little short of the bull’s-eye, but not rendered totally un-watch-able. Hindi films are improving if you judge from the way the story was crafted and the cinematography handled, and for that I think this movie still deserves more than just two stars.