Kaminey (2009)

Boring, long, and too preachy.

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Hoo-Aah.... Ask me whether this is the best Bollywood movie ever. Hell Yeah!!! Take a bow, Vifhal Bhardwaj, Fhahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Gulfar and everyone else involved. After seeing Vifhal's masterpiece 'Omkara', i had EXTREMELY HIGH expectations for Kaminey. And it exceeded every one of them. It has songs, comedy, crackling dialogs... stuff that you'd associate with your regular masala potboilers. But Kaminey shows a whole new unchartered territory of implementing them. The jokes come from here, there, everywhere. This is one of the very very very few movies that have got both critical acclaim and commercial success. If the avg critic's rating is between 4-4.5 out of 5, then it's termed GREAT. Well, Kaminey is GREAT!!! Vishal Bhardwaj's Kaminey is to Bollywood what Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is to Hollywood. That's the most lavish praise that i can offer to this classic for the ages. Directors like Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap(Hindi) and Renjith, Amal Neerad, Lijo J.P(Malayalam) are the best things to happen to this country. Indians, who crib that India doesn't produce gr8 movies, Shut Up. You have no voice here if you cannot accept gems like Kaminey, Dev D(Hindi) and Paleri Manikyam, Big B, Thirakatha(Malayalam).

A movie that has something for everyone. This vishal bharadwaj movie scores in almost every department. Shahid kapoor have finally grown out of his chocolate boy image with his sterling portrayal as guddu & charly. Priyanka & amol gupte have also given memorable performance. Climax scenes, seems like an ode to d gangster movies of 70s nd 80s, takes the viewer to hitherto unknown levels of cinematic exaltation. Bg score and music blends to the scenes and adds up to the final show down. yes, comparisons can be made. but the director has to be credited for not compromising for commercial gains. ample use of humour, at times being satirical augers well with the plot. This film has proved again that good story backed up with credible performances and not just stars are needed to set d cash registers ringing….

A remake of Pulp Fiction? Yes and NO! Yes, because it does have the "feel" of Pulp Fiction and you can relate Kaminey to it. No, because even though it does feel like Pulp Fiction a little, it doesn't matter since the movie has way more to offer! Kaminey is a great package, in terms of performance, plot line, humor, romance and action, which was much needed by the Industry and the viewers as well. It definitely reaches the top watch of this year, after Dev.D (In case you missed this one, then you have no idea what I'm talking about). A "masala flick" which is perfectly directed, and so well, that it gives a whole new definition to "masala flicks". What I personally feel, Vishal Bharadwaj tried his best that no one could typecast this movie; he molded two to three different genres of every aspect, in it. OK, let's start from the star cast first: Shahid Kapur & Priyanka Chopra, who are out-and-out "mainstream" actors, then Amole Gupte and Shivkumar Subramaniam (I remember his movie Parahar, brilliant!), the ensemble of actors was made from different forte. Then the humor in this movie is again a mix of different kinds, from lame jokes to dark humor to strategically placed punch lines, and situational comedy. There are loads of moments in the movie where you'll really laugh-out-loud! And, same thing goes for the music (which is very good by the way)! As for performances, kudos to Vishal Bharadwaj for squeezing out the best from Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra, now both of them can proudly go around saying they are "good actors". Both of them have performed with such an amazing ease, watching them on screen makes it a delight! Amole Gupte too has done an amazing job! Speaking of actors, I just realized Kaminey has just 6 characters out of which only 4 have names. Now comes Vishal Bharadwaj, OK, I'm going to be a little biased as I'm a big fan of this guy! He has done a great job on this movie, not his best but definitely great! But the movie does have brilliant cinematography! Very well balanced movie yet the second half feels a little dragged, and the masses might find the movie "dark colored", you'll find the whole movie has been shot either in dawn, dusk or at night. One more special mention goes to the sequence when both the brothers confront each other, for a moment you'll forget there's only one Shahid Kapur in real. Even though the movie has the title which translates to Rascal in English, and it's a Vishal Bharadwaj's movie, surprisingly it doesn't have any strong swears like Omakra and Maqbool. So you can watch this one with your family without any awkward air. What I personally feel, it's because of Directors like him, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee, Indian Cinema has a meaning! That pretty much sums up the whole movie, but I still feel there's lot more to be mentioned here, but it might work as spoiler.

Screen is split in two. In frame one, Charlie (Shahid like never before, outstanding) flying high, gloating on his luck just entered his trailer to collect the fortune he stumbled upon, but greets uninvited guests, a Jai-Maharastra propaganda politician Bhope (new found talent Amol Gupte) and his minions. Bhope is looking for Guddu (Shadid, again) Charlie's twin brother who married his sister Sweety (Priyanka in such a fiery, naturalistic performance). Being an UP native, Guddu can clearly put an end to Bhope's political career. Guddu, in other frame is arrested by corrupt cops mistaken for Charlie for the high narcotics drug deal payload, the very same fortune Charlie was collecting to cash in the first frame. Circle is complete. Stakes are high. Everyone is balls deep in the game. Screen flashes "1/2" instead of "interval" card and we manage to catch some air in this breathless manic ride. Vishal Bhradwaj's Kaminey is one of those tense, rich entertainments falling in the genre Quentin Tarantino and Coen brothers bred since their emerging heydays.A departure from dark, his previous two superb back to back adaptations of Shakespeare's great tragedies (Maqbool-Macbeth, Omkara-Othello) supremely talented writer-director reinvents himself with his latest. Still you sense the same filmmaker is present behind every frame. Setup this time is entirely pulp. Characters are gloriously straight off the neo noir literature pagess. Dialogues are deliciously crisp and plot is with a pulse. Working on his own screenplay and with editor Kaminey (means scoundrels) kicks into overdrive from scene one. It tells story of night that changes the life of its twin protagonists with speech impediments. One lisps, other stammers. Plot is convoluted with drugs, money, shiny stones, race fixers, corrupt cops, double crossing agents, crime syndicates, politicians, lover walking jagged razor edges, and a little divine intervention. Teamed up with editor director tells his story with brilliant inter cuts, that loopy, elliptical way. Pop culture references subtle and are of not from west but of our own golden age of cinema (of R D Burman mostly) which adds up are cinematic pleasures, one specifically nuanced one 'Duniya me…' where shirtless Charlie plays the holy-grail guitar at perfect moment. Music by (director again) is a sensation. Dhan Ta Nan is a masterpiece.For two third of film its gritty dramatic narration just flows flawlessly. It's only last act of the movie doesn't keep high as its predecessors. The back story of twins in extended monologues almost breaks the momentum of its previous two swift acts. And finally it spins out of control for its hyper action comic Reservoir Dogs climax climax on large scale. But it doesn't take away what Kaminey has achieved and has to offer and will open doors for pulp genre in here. Word is Go. Don't miss this bewilderingly bewitching piece of pure entertainment.