Snipper: Kurbaan

Snip-In
I've almost stopped watching TV after around Diwali of 2009. Not in touch with the latest movie -promos, songs to any extent. I was almost unaware of the movie apart from so-much-being-talked backless shots of Kareena with the beau Saif. Some of the friends were planning to watch the movie for almost a week and half and finally we could make it on a Wednesday evening, after going back and forth multiple times . Fortunately no business calls scheduled over that evening :-). Well Jehad has become a tag-line not only for Bollywood and Indian movies but also for the Hollywood and world cinema. I can recall Kite Runner, Khuda Ke Liye, Firaaq, New York, Amir, Wednesday, Ramchand Pakistani, Mumbai Meri Jaan, and what not. I watched almost all, barring New York. And every movie has its own charm for sure. So what's new this time? I'd say glamour! Yes - Courtesy Karan Johar, Kareena and Saif. The story briefly happens in New Delhi and then transpires to New York.

And please bear with me as this was written in bits and pieces over several days and including the places as airports and in-flight. Hence it may not be very structured and may have become lengthy.

It's Renzil Desilva's directorial debut. He has already worked with Rakeysh Mehra as a writer. The dialogues are smashing at certain points (Anurag Kashayp). Kareena has proved her mettle for her acting skills, even if there is a some amount (or a lot !?) of skin show as well. Saif and Vivek are ok. The amazing performance was by Kirron Kher, while playing a cool-headed, has-seen-it-all- and-very-mature Afghan lady. She seems to have actually lived that role through her accent, dialogue delivery and the chilled looks at the apt scenes in the movie.

Well it was the third week of the movie in theatres and still it was decently crowded show at Rahul, Shivaji Nagar. I've been to Rahul after many years and was surprised to see a lot better version of it. Especially the chairs were really cozy, adjustable and not available in any of the multiplexes at least in Pune. So as the crowd which was a decent one and some of them are actually watching the movie for the second / third time. They were rhyming the dialogues, giggling and making comments before any scene begins. Also some of them apparently bored and making phone calls / SMSs, flashing their cell phone screens diverting my attention. A bit of a disturbance and I was not able to watch it with the same intensity as usual.

Songs is a big plus, 'Salim-Sulaiman's' best ever music till date. Has a great Sufi influence especially on 'Shukran Allah' and I guess that is the best song of the movie. 'Dua' one of the romantic number is shot at very different local, and is a visual treat. It mostly is shot in Northern regions of 'Penn' state, surrounded by snow and definitely a difficult task for Kareena to enact in sarees and similar apparels. In fact the crew has worked in temperatures ranging from -18 Deg Celcius. 'Rasiya' is the most-talked-about song a semi-classical, but can be rated as one of the 'most-classical' and sensual number of Bollywood. Karan has cashed in the off-screen chemistry of the duo on the screen and I'd say to a very successful extent. Even if it’s very intense it doesn't become vulgar at any point.

Apart from the music and songs, another superlative aspect is in the sound department. I could sense around 4 instances which otherwise apparently are not captured in Bollywood flicks. 1) Saif gets down his GMC Gimmy, the door of the SUV is still open and the door ajar is beeping. 2) Saif and Vivek are at the Airport security and the beeps coming out of the people passing by the security checks. 3) Rasiya song starts in complete silence with just ticking of a clock in the background. 4) Kirron Kher passing through the door of a mall and is caught for shop-lifting has again the beeping sound captured in that.

I also want to touch-upon other movies on Jehad / Terrorism. From the global impact perspective, 'Kite Runner' stands out. It touches upon the aspects related to lives of Muslims in the US asylums, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. A very tight effective and authentic script. Great acting by the wonderful young actors (don’t recall the names now).

'Khuda Key Liye' again a bit Global - covers situations in the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan, also has a nice romantic angle, most notable because this was my first introduction to Pakistani movie and surprisingly turned out to be a great experience.

'Ramchand Pakistani' is remembered for how a person living on the borders of India and Pakistan can go through an hell. Great acting by the kid and young Ramchand and his mother Nandita Das.

'Amir' is a pleasant surprise from directorial and acting standpoint. Rajiv Khandelwal as a lead in the debut film was outstanding.

'Wednesday' for the fact that, what a common man can do to eradicate the terrorism. At no point, it deceives you even if what Naseer does is superhuman act in the movie for the standards of the common man. 60 some Naseeruddin Shah has come a long way and is a treat to watch him playing yet another stunner role.

'Mumbai Meri Jaan' was a bit overrated but again would be remembered for the Marathi Constable played by Paresh Rawal. He is been doing the variety of roles over the years and still can bring a whole new perspective to every new character . Without making use of silly one-liners (Gulshan Glover) or doing a lot of makeovers. However the movie was impactful only in bits and pieces.

Lastly 'Firaaq', again a directorial debut of none other than Nandita Das. Very well executed story-line. A great performance by Naseer, portraying an aging non-extremist Musilm maulavi, supported by Raghuvir Yadav and Sanjay Suri as notable performers. Sanjay Suri's character in Firaaq and that of Pravin Dabas in YMI are very similar. I can still remember a very simple yet effective shot from Firaaq and which easily leads to the creative thought process of the director - Nandita Das than just the Cinematographer. It is a silhouette of Naseer and Raghuvir - And this mid-shot silhouette gives a hint about Naseer talking to someone (Raghuvir), but when the camera pans and focuses on Naseer with the normal lighting, we can see him reciting Namaz and Raghuvir is sitting at the window, and both of them are in different planes (plane as in the depth of view!).
Wow 7-8 quick reviews - Shorter version of Snipper - A Nanoer?

Snip-Out
Comign back to Kurbaan. In terms of acting Saif probably haven't acted to his potential. He seemed to be deeply involved in Kareen off-screen and that could have impacted his performance. Omkara is still the best of his work. Vivek Oberoi is also just ok, couldn’t succeed in making a mark. The least impactful is Om puri - I'd say Kirron Kher has overshadowed him , otherwise Om does leave a great impact on anything he does, be it a movie, serial or a play.

I'm not too sure why they have shown a person from subcontinent (Saif) driving a GMC Gimmy. A CRV, Pilot, Explorer, Pathfinder would have been an ideal choice. (The only reason could be Saif is the brand ambassador of Chevy! And I sense Vivek soon would be endorsing a Ford product, as he is flaunting his Ford Mondeo in the movie) And again I'm not too sure about the following Snip-Out as I couldn't focus a lot on the movie. But the GMC Gimmy which Saif blasts himself, is shown again in the movie, while Saif was taking the gang to the Subway stations. And here is a snip-out which is told to me by another avid movie watcher friend - Om Puri tells Vivek Oberoi that cell phones are not allowed within the gang and the very next sequence, Saif who's the key member of the gang, is shown using the cell phone while driving his vehicle. Another one if very weird for the Cops at any standard. Saif and the other person are driving the GMC Gimmy, to dispose the corpse of his friend's wife which has already started stinking. They are caught by the cops at the security post. Immediately after the window of the car is rolled down, the Cops should have sensed this and should have reacted. Instead the Cop gets into a conversation for 1-2 minutes with Saif and the other person in the car, which is un-thoughtful.

Well some of the intimate scenes between the duo are really bold and not required, the one in the college teacher room is absolutely uncanny and unrealistic. I still feel we as in India haven't reached that stage where the professors are romancing the in teachers room which is open for all the teachers and students :-)

Snip-O-Meter
Well I was so instigated by friends and colleagues to watch the movie and I somehow was under the impression that the movie would largely be romantic, considering again the duo and Brand 'Karan Johar '. But it really lives upto the 'Title' and the subsequent expectations of viewers from the subject. A very good script, great performance by Kareena and decent acting performances from others, ear-soothing and different genre (Sufi, Classical)music composed by only adequately leveraged instruments, no sub-plots, and unnecessary slew of characters makes it a decent enough flick to watch once. And lastly the movie must be remembered for the Duo for their first 'hit' flick.