Kaminey : First Impressions

Im not a movie critic and this is not a review..I'd categorise myself as an analytical movie buff and here are my first impressions of Kaminey :

Even as Shahid Kapur hogs double the screen space playing the unforgettable twins, the real protagonists of Kaminey are the twins of scriptwriting & direction. It moves at a superfast pace, involves enough characters and sub-plots to make Valmiki jealous, and showcases some remarkably honest performances by both stars and gritty theatre actors.

Apart from using theatre actors, the style looks like a tribute to the Manmohan Desai school of filmmaking, previously attempted (and butchered) by Abbas Mustan. Vishal Bhardwaj not only matches up to the grandmaster Desai, but surpasses him in weaving a complex web of characters,situations and sub plots, all culminating into one massive orgy of a grand finale. While the script moves at breakneck speed, the edgy background score not only keeps up pace, but adds another dimension to the storytelling. It is a boon when a talented music composer like Vishal takes up moviemaking, as the end product simultaneously appeals to multiple senses. The excess of blood and gore on screen does not jar, but fits snugly into the general scheme of things, as a mini tribute to that connosieur of violence as art, Quentin Tarantino.

For Shahid Kapoor, this could be his giant leap forward from an also ran to the next big star of Bollywood. He essays starry glamour as the gangster (Charlie) and boy next door (Guddu) vulnerability at the same time, doing full justice to the screen time given to him.

Priyanka Chopra in her little screen space as Sweety packs a neat performance.She is so comfortable in her deglamourised avatar of the simple marathi mulgi that one tends to forget her star status. She's given some subtle shades of gray to play with which she does with panache.

Amol Gupte lives the role of Bhope Bhau, the gangster turned opportunistic politician out to grab ethnic votes with his Jai Maharashtra laments. He shows a characteristic twisted sense of humor, matched aptly by crazy baby bookie Mikhail (Chandan Roy Sanyal) and his frequent breaking into the spiderman theme.

Shiv Subramaniam(Inspector Lele) and Hrishikesh Joshi (Sub Inspector Lobo) as the corrupt Narcotics cops are pillars of effortless acting. Tenzing Nima as an overstylised goa based drug lord (Tashi) packs a punch.

The movie is a daring attempt at commercial art. Something simlar was attempted recently in Johnny Gaddar, which unfortunately didnt become the box office gala it should have. I hope the public does not disappoint this time and cheers this style of moviemaking.

In conclusion ; fuperb fcript, fuperb direction, fuperb finamatography..ka ka ka kutting edge finema!!