Kai Po Che : Movie Review

The very first sequence, a poised one, hints the cinematic excellence that is about to follow in next 120 minutes. Director Abhishek Kapoor travelling through a totally different journey in this film unlike his urban Rock On ! And still, gives a movie that is going to linger in your mind for long. Be it for its actors or the music or the setup. Following the content of the book on which it is based on (with different, and much better climax), Abhishek surprises us by giving a movie that is so better than its original source ! (To be frank, I don't have any problem with Chetan Bhagat's books. I call him 'masala writer' ;) And was waiting for this book to be converted into a film, since it was based on 'my' city - Ahmedabad).

Set in older parts of Ahmedabad, Kai Po Che instantly sucks you in the world of the 3 friends. You can't help but identify each of them with actual persons you've met in real life. Govind, played by Raj Kumar Yadav has this gifted ability to slip into his character so well you can't separate the two out. As a person desperate to change his life by making his own business a successful one, Yadav impresses with his somewhat goofy yet likable act. Amit Sadh on the other hand has really an interesting part with occasional dark shades to show, and he perfects it without any glitch. His maternal uncle, Bittoo mama, played by Manav Kaul - is so effective as manipulative Hindutva party leader. But the star of the show here is Ishaan - Sushant Singh Rajput. In his very first film, he charms you, he impresses you and makes you smile with tears somewhere in the corner of the eyes. Ishaan - who sees himself in talented little cricketer Ali (Digvijay Deshmukh) and determines to make him go places that he couldn't. Moments between Ali and Ishaan are done so well, you can't help but smile. On the other hand, you just want to run and jump in the sea from above the fort with your friends while the song Meethi Boliyaan is playing. 

Making just a two hour long film that's based on a book, that is 'this' effective, is not an easy task. But thankfully, screenplay by Pubali Chaudhari, Supratik Sen, Abhishek Kapoor & Chetan Bhagat makes it possible without any useless track in the tale. My biggest worry of - how the riots will be portrayed on the screen, as there is a big chance of getting cliched. But Kapoor treats that part so subtly  it is hardly offensive to any certain community. Even the local dialect is taken care of, sample : Baka, bhailu, dafol and lot more. Technically everything is perfect. Anay Goswamy captures parts of the city so wonderfully that it hardly feels that it is not actually shot in Ahmedabad. (Yes, its shot in another town). The dark moments are so effective with the camerawork. And the sound design - When there is a temple on screen, you can feel the kirtan, when two lovers are goofing around each other during a Navratri night, you can hear Garbas being played at distant. Thanks to brilliant sound design by Baylon Fonseca. And the tension built up in sequences of Earthquake and riots - are not the usual one thanks to Hitesh Sonik's brilliant background score. And oh, the short but awesome soundtrack of Amit Trivedi ! Just can't get enough of all three songs. Picturised as brilliantly as the songs are. 

Kai Po Che - is a brilliant example of how effectively a movie can walk on path that is bordering on class as well as mass entertainment, without having any known face - big star to sell it. Cinematic excellence - perhaps, can be defined in that way. 

My Rating : 4 / 5

Tags : Kai Po Che movie review, 3 mistakes of my life, chetan bhagat, kaipoche, wadnagar shooting, amit sadh, yadav, rajkumar, sushant singh, amrita puri, manav kaul, abhishek kapoor

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous22:57

    You know for me Omi's character was the most sympathetic one. I think he wasn't dark at all. His entrance in politics was an obligation to his mama. Even when his parents died and he was handed a sword he didn't want to kill anyone it was when his mama was killed in front of his eyes he went haywire which I think is a human nature albeit not a good one. His outbreak in the last scene was the most heartbreaking scene for me in the movie

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  2. Nice review! Like you, even I was eager and excited for this film just to know how they have shown Gujarati culture and Ahmedabad. And I loved it. Agree with you on most of the points, except Screenplay which I thought was Okish. It was not bad, but it could have been better. Performances were top notch! Hope these guys continue to work in great films. And Abhishek Kapoor is THE Man. :-)

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  3. Anonymous17:05

    gud review bhailu.

    being a amdavadi i was waiting fot the movie whn it was decided to make a movie on 3 mistakes.

    movie is awsm specially shushant.
    amit speak through his eyes.
    rajkumar was gud.

    bittooo mama was not given enough chance.
    nd music.....
    amit...
    he is awsm as usual.

    nd i would like to add dat a movie cannot justify a novel.
    i wish d movie would be a bit longer whr d small things which were not included in d film would have been added.

    alpesh joshi

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  4. If you are watching the movie after reading the book it seems as a ok kind of movie, Cinematography in some scenes is splendid. Music is also pretty impressive and of course there is gujrat in every scene from food to dandiya to business and almost every scene. Goti tournament final scene and Car on trailer scene are superb. The debutants sushant and amit have performed the rules perfectly.

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