By Nikhat Kazmi
Film: Kurbaan (Drama)
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Viveik Oberoi, Om Puri
Direction: Renzil D'Silva
Duration: 2 hours 40 minutes
Critic's Rating: 3 1/2 stars
First things first. Kudos to Karan Johar for shifting gears completely and entering into serious territory. Of course, we do love him for his K-class cinema: all his crunchy popcorn films beginning with K, ever since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai redefined mainstream romance. But Kurbaan doesn't need the popcorn at all. It keeps the screen on overboil for most of its screen time with its hard-hitting storyline that dares to venture into undefined territory.
Like Khuda Kay Liye, Kurbaan too looks at the other side of Islamic fundamentalism and puts the post 9/11 tumult in perspective. Who are these guys who carry anger in their hearts, revenge in their heads and bombs in their pockets? Why are they hell bent on blasting the world, irrespective of the anguish it spells to all and sundry? Can there be a purpose behind their madness? Is one man's terrorist actually another man's activist? Kurbaan, written by Karan Johar, raises these pertinent - and extremely topical - questions, without glossing over the one undeniable truth: a suicide bomber can never solve the inequities of the world, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, notwithstanding.
So we have Ehsan Khan (Saif Ali Khan), the Pakistani who lost his wife and kid to American excesses, seething with a desire to avenge his loss. He isn't the archetypal, skull-capped, bearded fundoo, mouthing soliloquies on jihad and intifada (uprising). On the contrary, he's suave, sophisticated and a charmer, tutoring the world on the misconceptions of Islam in the modern world. Small wonder then he manages to win the heart of college professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) and follows her to New York on her stint with NYU. But the domestic idyll is short-lived as Avantika soon discovers it isn't her neighbours (the Afghani extended family, headed by Om Puri) alone who have suspicious antecedents. Husband Ehsan too is an integral part of the plot to bomb America for its excesses against Muslims, the world over.
In a classroom sequence, the film tries to put Islamic fundamentalism in perspective by linking the rise of the Muslim terrorist to America's oil-grabbing foreign policy and its questionable attempts at destabilising oil rich countries in order to remain a superpower. Almost every member of the sleeper cell that comprises the Afghan family has a sad story of loss and horror that drove them into becoming fidayeens (suicide bombers). And before you begin to question the filmmakers for going too lenient on terrorism, you find Avantika who remains a non-convert till the very end. Articulating the voice of reason - and non-violence - she questions her husband and oscillates between love and hate for the man who has fathered her child. A prisoner in her own house, her only hope is Riyaaz (Viveik Oberoi), the undercover journalist who has his story of personal loss that pitches him on the other side in this war. He is determined to fight the terrorists and derail their plot of bombing America.
Like Khuda Kay Liye, Kurbaan too looks at the other side of Islamic fundamentalism and puts the post 9/11 tumult in perspective. Who are these guys who carry anger in their hearts, revenge in their heads and bombs in their pockets? Why are they hell bent on blasting the world, irrespective of the anguish it spells to all and sundry? Can there be a purpose behind their madness? Is one man's terrorist actually another man's activist? Kurbaan, written by Karan Johar, raises these pertinent - and extremely topical - questions, without glossing over the one undeniable truth: a suicide bomber can never solve the inequities of the world, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, notwithstanding.
So we have Ehsan Khan (Saif Ali Khan), the Pakistani who lost his wife and kid to American excesses, seething with a desire to avenge his loss. He isn't the archetypal, skull-capped, bearded fundoo, mouthing soliloquies on jihad and intifada (uprising). On the contrary, he's suave, sophisticated and a charmer, tutoring the world on the misconceptions of Islam in the modern world. Small wonder then he manages to win the heart of college professor Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) and follows her to New York on her stint with NYU. But the domestic idyll is short-lived as Avantika soon discovers it isn't her neighbours (the Afghani extended family, headed by Om Puri) alone who have suspicious antecedents. Husband Ehsan too is an integral part of the plot to bomb America for its excesses against Muslims, the world over.
In a classroom sequence, the film tries to put Islamic fundamentalism in perspective by linking the rise of the Muslim terrorist to America's oil-grabbing foreign policy and its questionable attempts at destabilising oil rich countries in order to remain a superpower. Almost every member of the sleeper cell that comprises the Afghan family has a sad story of loss and horror that drove them into becoming fidayeens (suicide bombers). And before you begin to question the filmmakers for going too lenient on terrorism, you find Avantika who remains a non-convert till the very end. Articulating the voice of reason - and non-violence - she questions her husband and oscillates between love and hate for the man who has fathered her child. A prisoner in her own house, her only hope is Riyaaz (Viveik Oberoi), the undercover journalist who has his story of personal loss that pitches him on the other side in this war. He is determined to fight the terrorists and derail their plot of bombing America.
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8 comments:
Cool. Though I don't rate Nikhat Kazmi highly as a reviewer(she even gave Jail 3.5/5 which was bashed by almost every critic), I am happy that the film got a good review. :). After the very disappointing trailer, I didn't have much hope, but it's good to see it get a good review.
I am hoping this is a decent film. After a long time I see Kareena in a normal avatar, which means she may have got a chance to ACT!
blue - 4 stars is a benchmark for nikhaat :D
Many more Mirchi. I remember he gave 5 stars to Dev.D and I think some percent of the credit for why Dev.D became a hit should be given to Nikhat Kazmi. She writes in the leading newspaper of New Delhi and I heard people saying that they just came to see what actually is there in the film worth 5 stars in the multiplex.
pardesi -
If I had to choose the actress of the decade in Bollywood, it will be Kareena Kapoor. While the first half of this decade belonged to Rani Mukherjee, and second half belongs to Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor was the most consistent actress throughout this decade. Dev, Omkara, Yuva, Chameli, Jab we Met. Lets hope she stops doing KI, MAMK, Tashan. She is just wasting her talent that ways. What will be the difference between Akki and Kareena Kapoor if she too handles her stardom in a similar way Akki did. So lets hope she comes back with Kurbaan, Agent Vinod, etc. :)
I do not know about anyone, but I really liked the promo, its album is probably one of the best of the year.
it looked so much better than NY, and Saif and Kareena are good actors as well, that is when they wan tto act.
I am so hoping this is a good film. Will watch this weekend!
Taran Adarsh Review's Kurbaan
Post 9/11, there's anger, distrust, suspicion, uneasiness all around. Not a day passes when you don't hear of terrorists killing civilians in the name of religion.
Many storytellers have, in the past, narrated stories about terrorists and their nefarious and despicable plans. But let me state one thing categorically. You haven't watched a more profound, a more thought-provoking, a more dramatic story on this subject before KURBAAN. It's not just the most powerful film to come out of Dharma Productions, it's the most powerful film to come out of the Hindi film industry this year, thus far.
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On the whole, KURBAAN is the most powerful film to come out of the Hindi film industry in 2009, so far. The film has a captivating plot, gripping screenplay, super performances and a climax that shakes you up completely. Watching this movie should be on top of your agenda this week.
Rajeev Masand's review - 3/5
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