Release date (India):
|
November 14, 2014
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Director:
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Shaad Ali
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Cast:
Language:
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Ranveer Singh,
Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra, Govinda
Hindi
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The way a child turns out is determined not by where he is born
but by where he is brought up. As Ranveer Singh’s Dev records these words for a
video being shot by his friend Tutu (Ali Zafar) in one of Kill/Dil’s earliest scenes, it becomes clear that this film is
about the eternal nature-versus-nurture debate. Minutes later, when these two amoral
professional sharpshooters first encounter the beautiful Disha (Parineeti Chopra)
at a nightclub, and we see interest igniting in Dev’s eyes, we know too that
this film will go on to be about second chances in life and about people living
beyond the margins of respectable society but straining to enter hallowed
circles.
These themes have been dealt with repeatedly by Hindi cinema,
world cinema, theatre and most other art forms, but it matters not at that
point because Kill/Dil starts off
with such promise. Besides, isn’t it natural to expect an unexpected new take
from Shaad Ali, the director who earlier gave us the memorable Saathiya (2002) starring Rani Mukerji
and Vivek Oberoi and 2005’s box-office conqueror Bunty Aur Babli with Rani, Abhishek and Amitabh Bachchan?
In the first half hour, the narrative of Kill/Dil is crisp and to the point, events unfold without a second wasted,
Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Jim Satya’s lovely background score seems designed to
seep into our bloodstreams and invade our heartbeats, the dialogues are replete
with understated humour, Ranveer’s comic timing is in full flow, the stylised storytelling in cowboy Western mode is accompanied by a deliberate theatricality that makes it appealingly
unconventional, and the interesting casting (especially the
presence of Govinda) holds out great possibilities.
Shortly thereafter though, these elements start spluttering
under the strain of a screenplay offering little that’s new in terms of story
or point of view, nothing that’s not already been said all the way from Yash
Raj Films (YRF) founder Yash Chopra’s own Deewaar
(1975) to YRF’s Gunday (2014). So
familiar is Dev and Tutu’s saga that I almost expected Arjun Kapoor to saunter
on to the screen and replace Ali Zafar at some point. Ranveer and Arjun had
starred as orphans who grow up to be best buddies and mafia dons in Gunday. In Kill/Dil, Ranveer and Ali play best buddies and career killers working
for the gangster Bhaiyyaji (Govinda) who had rescued them when they were abandoned
in a garbage dump as babies. Gunday
was unremarkable on most fronts, but it had more verve than Kill/Dil, which seems to have lost
interest in itself somewhere along the way.
It also appears as though Shaad lost interest in Ali Zafar or
Ali lost interest in the film at some point. After the initial half hour, Dev
dominates every frame he shares with Tutu, not only because he is a slightly more
important character, and not only because of Ranveer’s eternal zest for his
work, but also because he comes across as being far more invested in this
particular role than his male co-star. Even the camerawork and choreography
appear designed to somehow relegate Tutu to the margins while giving Dev and
later Dev+Disha centre stage, which is a pity because anyone who saw Ali moving
to Dhichkyaoon dhum dhum in David Dhawan’s Chashme Baddoor can tell you that the man enjoys a good dance when he is in the
mood.
On behalf of womankind, I’d also like to register a complaint
against the film’s writing team for having given Tutu so few dialogues. We can
argue over Ali’s performances in the past, but one thing is beyond debate: his
Hindi diction is enough to make any female Earthling go weak in the knees. It’s
almost a crime then to cast him in a Hindi
film and give him so little to say.
Another protest must be registered against choreographer Ganesh
Acharya, who gets to work in Kill/Dil
with one of the greatest dancers in the history of Hindi cinema – Govinda – but
fails to throw him the kind of mind-blowing challenges one would expect. That
Govinda still has the moves is evident from even the little that he gets to do
here, but the pulsating beats of Bol
beliya and the title track had potential that Acharya does not fully tap.
However, the biggest betrayal by this film is the manner in
which the screenplay under-utilises Govinda’s formidable acting talent which,
in any case, has been sadly overshadowed in his filmography all these years by
the many crappy films he has chosen to do. To reduce him to a virtual cameo after
allowing him to dominate the film’s trailers is completely inexcusable.
With Govinda and Ali on the sidelines, it is then left to the charismatic
young Ranveer and Parineeti to carry the film on their shoulders. Both stars
give it their best, but are helpless at the hands of the overall lifelessness
of the project after its initial sparkle.
In the end, what one is left with is the memory of some really
neat, fun songs by Team Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Gulzar, the thought that if
Ranveer can immerse himself so enthusiastically even in this half-baked film
then he fully deserves every iota of his current stardom, the hope that the
talented Ms Dancing Eyes Parineeti’s recent misfortunes at the box-office will
not rule her out of the reckoning in Bollywood…and regret. So much regret.
Rating (out of five): **
CBFC Rating (India):
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U/A
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Running time:
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127 minutes
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Poster courtesy: Yash Raj
Films
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