Kick

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : 25th July, 2014
Time : 146 minutes
Director, Co-writer : Sajid Nadiadwala; Writers :Rajat Aroraa, Chetan Bhagat (remake of the Telegu film of the same name); Music : Himesh Reshammiya
Starring : Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mithun Chakraborty, Saurabh Shukla, Vipin Sharma, Archana Puran Singh



Most Hindi films suffer from the curse of the second half where they begin to unravel tragically. Not this one. This spirals out of control midway through the first half itself. It has everything – a hot babe, a love triangle, good locations, action, drama, hammy tear-jerking sequences, some very loud, unnecessary songs, a Robin Hood-ish, super-heroish character whom no one can recognize thanks to a eye mask, slapstick char-anna wala humour – everything, except a story despite 4 people claiming credit for the same.

The opening premise arguably even had potential. That of an intelligent, hyperactive guy who goes through life looking for kicks. No 9-5 job can hold him down, wealth accumulation is not his concern, he just does whatever provides greater excitement. Gets his friend married off despite powerful mom-in-law’s protests. Beats hoodlums molesting girls but only after beating the passive onlookers first. Then romances Jacqueline, who is quite eye-catching in the film, especially in one 2 minute dance sequence much later. All seems to be going smoothly, but then, just for kicks, I suspect, arrives our eye-masked crusader. Arrives supercop, Randeep Hooda. And an OTT but quite riveting villain, Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Caricaturish parents (all three, Mithun, Archana, Saurabh), security guards who refuse to carry guns despite an imminent threat, cops who do carry guns but refuse to use them, a London double decker that magically arrives in what is supposed to be Warsaw for an extended chase sequence, the hero-cop-villain who, in the spirit of Bruce Willis’ Unbreakable, refuse to bleed or scratch despite severe pummelling…the list just goes on…and on…the action bits were quite average, nothing not seen before, the romance along predictable lines and the songs very, very ordinary.

I can hear the Salman Fan Club booing…going “Sallu Bhai doesn’t need a story” or “Our hero is above minor things such as logic”, and given the crores this and his previous films have raked in, I can readily accept the argument. My only thought is “What If ?”…what if you could combine his charisma with a great, super story. Tab kitna maza aata ! There is another unbelievable twist, right at the end, and it seems even Randeep is unable to hold himself back then, breaking out into very credible giggles, saying something along the lines of “Kuch Bhi !!”. My sentiments exactly !

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2 States

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 18th April, 2014
Time : 149 minutes
Director & Writer : Abhishek Varman (based on the novel by Chetan Bhagat); Music : Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Starring : Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amrita Singh, Ronit Roy, Revathi, Shivkumar Subramaniam



Someone decided to take a light, humorous, fictionalized account of cross cultural marriage and make a masala film out of it. Thus reducing its IQ level even further. Reducing most of the characters to caricatures. Adding in several songs, co-ordinated dance moves and fancy outfits. The lead pair, though, look good and are peppy. And the film has its funny moments and fair share of one liners, giving us a light, frothy, very predictable one time watch

They (Arjun & Alia) both meet in IIM-A and slowly but surely fall in love. A few songs and some steamy scenes, kisses later, its time for them to involve their parents. And that’s when the predictable North-South divide comes in. Arjun has to woo Alia’s very dour, staid folks (Revathi and Shivkumar) while she has to patao his dowry & ‘hum ladke wale hain’ obsessed, gauche mother (Amrita Singh) and also try to figure out where the land lies in his frosty, awkward relationship with his dad, Ronit. And then they have to get their respective parents to like each other…

The book is usually better than the movie and so is the case here (Disclaimer : I found the book really funny, probably Chetan’s best and had even met him a few times for the movie rights). The leads were good fun, both seemed to enjoy themselves in their roles, displayed some witty repartee and exude charm, though Alia’s South Indian roots were not really visible apart from a couple of gajra’s and one dance performance. Also, without the explanations behind the characters, the parents say things to each other which don’t seem natural, getting too petty, stereotypical too quickly. The second half drags and while the songs are fine as an album, in the movie it made most people just reach for their mobile phones.

Its not bad, enough peppiness and laughs (The Duke and Minty wedding entrance, Arjun's turn as a gawky, MCP-ish nerd in the beginning and Alia's response to that) to keep you going but if the central theme, as in the book, was to show how Indian marriages are not just about a couple getting together but also the respective families, I felt it was a job half done.

(Disclaimer 2 : Being from IIM-A and also having just been to campus a few months ago, somehow didn’t like seeing our alma mater in the shoot. Didn’t expect this reaction from self but it almost seemed like an invasion of privacy watching our hallowed grounds, awe-inspiring plaza and beautiful arches cheapened by Hindi film songs, especially with wording like Locha-E-Ulfat)

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