Kya Dilli Kya Lahore (2014)

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Set in the era of India Pakistan division aftermath, this movie takes us on an emotional ride till the end. The poetic lines from Gulzar add to the feeling of what the characters are portraying. Brilliant acting by both the protagonists however the screenplay leaves a lot to ask for. The movie depicts how politicians for their own gain divided the ever secular and multicultural India. The conversations between the two leads makes you think how the divide of a country left bruised people on both sides. The screenplay could have been better. The first half builds the tempo of the movie however the second half has deliberately been slowed down to give the message. A good watch if you like slow paced movies with a message.

The one person who gives me goose bumps with his voice resonating in the dark ambiance of the theater other than Amitabh Bachchan is Gulzar, and this time too I did feel the same after a long time as the sound came,"Lakeerein Hain To Rehne Do …………, Kisi Ne Rooth Kar Gussey Mein Shaayad Khench Di Thi.........,"And Gulzar very thoughtfully writes these lines with a crystal clear vision, as now after more than six decades of the partition, the lines have been drawn forever and there is no possibility to delete them in any way through any kind of mutual agreement as it seems. Another truth revealed in these lines about the film and its general acceptance with the public is that it might not be able to make an instant connect with the viewers as more than two generations have changed in these 65 years. And today it actually requires a quite deep, introspective and emotional soul to feel for that torturous massacre witnessed in those cruel times by our unfortunate ancestors. Coming to the film itself, it begins well and keeps you guessing, walking on a unpredictable path right till the end. The first half remains engrossing; mainly due to the brilliant dialogues having a fine mix of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi well rendered by two most underrated actors of the present times i.e. Vijay Raaz and Manu Rishi.Interestingly the whole 100 minutes of film revolve around these two characters only, wherein one is the director (Vijay Raaz) and other is the dialogue writer (Manu Rishi) of the project, playing it superbly. And actually that should say a lot about their exceptional untapped or unrecognized talent by the Hindi Film Industry till date.So the film progresses fine till its first 50-55 minutes and has something significant to convey about the loving relationship existing between the people of India before partition. But it soon starts walking on a monotonous path, sadly losing the charm in its entertaining dialogues too, taking the magic away. Actually in its initial moments there remains a subtle mix of surprise, joy, comedy, emotion and unpredictability all together in the conversations between the Indian Army cook and the Pakistani soldier. But after the intermission, the two key characters have nothing much to say to each other and the director is only left with the emotional and uncertainty cards with him to play with. Expressing the truth, KYA DILLI KYA LAHORE is no doubt a courageous and first of its kind of Anti-War film in Hindi cinema revolving around only 2 key & 2 supporting characters in all (reminding you of Oscar Winner NO MAN'S LAND (2001) from Bosnia). But at the same time it also goes stretching to an unnecessary length after a while and thus is not able to build up the impact of its initial hour, later on. Further pointing towards its basic content, there are numerous stories penned by renowned writers such as Saadat Hassan Manto, Ismat Chugtai, Rajinder Singh Bedi, K. A. Abbas, Qurratulain Hyder and more, which are just perfect for reading or for staging plays targeting a particular section of viewers. But making a full length film on those stories might not be possible due to their 'to the point' approach of saying things in a simple, sarcastic manner as visible in KDKL.Yet what scores the maximum in this experimental project are its soulful, thought provoking lyrics by Gulzar and entertaining satirical dialogues by Manu Rishi, deserving all the praises. Worth watching performances by both Vijay Raaz and Manu Rishi add to its overall score too but its actually Manu Rishi who completely wins over the viewer with his commendable act of a confused cook, undoubtedly. Raj Zutshi, Vishwajeet Prashan are just OK as the two supporting actors whereas Art Director does his job extremely well creating the Indian-Pakistan border in Fiji. The film has an intelligent background score (played at a lower volume) and a fabulous Gulzar song "Kissey Lambe Ne Lakeeran De", well composed by Sandesh Shandilya and as usual wonderfully sung by Sukhwinder in his exceptional style. So despite its shortcomings, this daring show put together by a talented cast, deserves to be seen once to feel that explosive time period the movie is all about, i.e. just 6-7 months post the Independence when anger as well as heartfelt emotions were at their peak display for sure. However on a concluding note, I would like to mention two words which thankfully are not discussed much in the present era as they used to be, before the 80s. And those two words, which might be new to the present generations, are MUHAJIR and REFUGEE.Where MUHAJIRS is a term largely used for those people who migrated to Pakistan from India during the Partition, there REFUGEES is the word used for people shifting base from Pakistan to India in 1947. The words had a kind of humiliating feel associated with them at that time and I still remember a question, often asked when I was a small kid that, "Tussi Pichhon Kithon De Ho?" (Where are your ancestors from actually?). To which I had no answer at all, as I really didn't know and used to run to ask my father about the actual village we have come from. Later I also came to know about several colonies in our locality which were actually called Refugee Colonies earlier, before being given a new official name by the government.Anyway those forgettable times are now history and the borders are still there, consolidating our mutual existence as two neighboring countries only……………….and that's what makes a blessed poet write,"Lakeerein Hain To Rehne Do.............., Kisi Ne Rooth Kar Gussey Mein Shaayad Khench Di Thi................., Inhi Ko Ab Banao Paala Aur Aao Kabaddi Khelte Hain, Lakeerein Hain To Rehne Do..............!"

Read this review at http://moviereviewsbybinduc.blogspot.in/2014/05/kya- dilli-kya-lahore.htmlKya Dilli Kya Lahore is a great piece of work by Director Vijay Raaz, which asserts the fact that the partition of India was an ill-fated thing which affected the lives of many. Though people fled from their place of birth, changed the nationality, crossed borders, left behind many things but their hearts still cherished their lives on the other side of the border. Partition was followed by mass migration of people, communal riots, civil unrest, ethnic and religious discord. Kya Dilli Kya Lahore showcases how people across the border have similar stories to tell, similar feelings of nostalgia, their own shares of misunderstandings, their helpless victimization to the political and national animosities and hostilities, their traumatic losses etc.The movie begins with the glimpses of the partition, formation of two different nations addressed by respective Prime Ministers, followed by the mass migration of people across the borders. These visuals are followed with Gulzar's voice reciting a deep beautiful poem,which gives the theme of the whole movie that how painful the whole affair of partition was. People became a part of it even though unwillingly.And then the year 1948 at North West Frontier Province and Kashmir is shown, where a Pakistani Captain (Vishwajeet Pradhan) and another soldier Rehmat Ali (Vijay Raaz) have survived an altercation at the border. Pakistani captain asks Rehmat Ali to steal the file for Dilli- Lahore tunnel from the Indian base on the other side of the border. Rehmat Ali on reaching the Indian base gets into verbal tiff with the cook in the Indian army Samarth Pratap Shastri (Manu Rishi). Their interaction is the highlight of the movie which points out at so many matters related to partition. The dialogue delivery by both the protagonists is so natural and spontaneous. Initial verbal abuses, allegations later took a very empathetic turn. Both of them had their own versions of stories, dissimilar yet very much similar, Samarth was of Pakistani origin and Rehmat Ali was of Indian origin, both had to bear the aftermath of partition. Many of their dialogues actually moved me.What happens later, it has to be seen and felt. Raj Zutsi (Barfi Singh) and Pakistani captain have brief screen time but definitely a very good performance from them. There is a scene where Rahmat Ali says he was asked by his father to leave everything behind and cross border. He did so without questioning. Both Rahmat and Samarth have an argument over who initiated the mass massacre. The last scene of the movie brought tears to my eyes. As the official trailer showed, the very first thing that dies in a war is the truth. This movie definitely talks about just being human.I could feel the pain of the soldiers who are guarding us. They are deprived of even basic necessities viz. water at times; still they are not tired of pursuing their duties. Political power games continue, but who suffers – common men. It is so touching to see that even after serving a Nation, they are yelled at as refugees by their own countrymen. People miss the undivided India. They want to get rid of the warring scenario. People on either side lost their people, belongings. Was partition required at all? "Kya Dilli Kya Lahore" moves you, touches your heart. Really, Kya Dilli! Kya Lahore! Just remove the fences and let us be one.

When I went to watch Kya Dilli Kya Lahore, I had high expectations and was subconsciously hoping that this would turn out to be one of those films that I would be pleasantly surprised by. The partition of 1947 and the myriad of personal stories of loss and suffering have been, and can be very beautifully depicted via the medium of cinema. In this film, the director Vijay Raaz, despite a good attempt, fails to treat this subject in a more meaningful manner. Don't get me wrong. Vijay Raaz (who is also one of the main characters in the story) is a superb actor, but how long can you hold the audience attention with just two characters talking about the same things over and over again, at the same place?Set in post partition (1948), the screenplay lingers around two characters Rehmat Ali (a Pakistani Jawan) and Smarth( a cook in the Indian army). Both have been displaced from their homes in Dilli and Lahore respectively. The cook Smarth (played by Manu Rishi) is at an Indian post on the North Western Frontier and Kashmir border, and Rehmat Ali sits outside waiting to recover a file that is supposed to contain information about the tunnel that India is building from Delhi to Lahore. 90% of the film is back and forth dialogue between these two. With all due respect to the writers of the script, while although humorous on numerous occasions, the dialogue lacked substance. It just seems as if two children are hurling insults at each other. Furthermore, while Manu Rishi was excellent in his portrayal of a Punjabi, Vijay Raaz was not convincing in his part as a Pakistani. He sounded more like a hooligan from the streets of present Mumbai, than a lad from that era. That's what really killed it for me. Better insight and studying of the linguistics of those times was much required. The war of words that ensues between these two along with intermittent firing constituted a predominant part of the film. They were enemies in the beginning of the film and become friends through discovering that they share similar stories. They end up sympathizing with each other and conclude that their lives are more important than this war. Raj Zutshi was entertaining in his portrayal of Barfi Singh, who was another soldier in the Indian army.The story had potential, but the writer and director were not really able to hit the nail on the head.One time watch, if you really have some time to kill