Kaalakaandi – Risque, Ripe Humour Doesn’t Rescue Flawed Writing

Kaalakaandi

From the writer of Delhi Belly comes a film that is a trio of stories unfolding on one night across the city of Mumbai. There is Rileen, a banker, who has just been told that he has only a few months left, thanks to cancer. There is Tara, a young woman off to the States to do her PhD. And then there are two crooks from the underworld who are ferrying hafta from one place to another and decide to rob their boss.

Akshat Verma sadly fails to recreate the madness of Delhi Belly. And surprisingly, it’s his writing that’s to blame. There’s just not enough meat between the lines here, even though the characters in the forefront are well-scripted. The shock value is also not as high as it was in DB, which makes the movie feel sloppy. Despite its shortcomings, Verma’s screenplay does give the audience some excellent scenes between a transvestite prostitute and Rileen and there is some killer dialogue here, most notably an exchange between a high Rileen and a pandu.

Himman Dhamija’s cinematography has a psychedelic feel to it and the noirish tones add to the film’s visuals. The off-beat soundtrack by Samir Uddin and Shashwat Sachdev is enjoyable because it is so different from what Hindi film music usually has to offer.

Vijay Raaz and Deepak Dobriyal are a riot as the crook duo. They have a crackling chemistry and are a joy to watch. Shenaz Treasury, though not one of the protagonists, is also very good in her role as a drunk woman caught up in a drug bust with her US-bound friend, the friend’s boyfriend and her own boy-toy/sex slave. Nary Singh does a good job as the prostitute, as does Isha Talwar in her role of the wedding photographer. Akshay Oberoi’s turn as the exasperated groom and Rileen’s brother is nice, as are Sobhita Dhulipala and Kunaal Roy Kapur. Easily the best of the lot is Saif Ali Khan, who clearly seems like a carefree actor. Saif grabs the role of Rileen by the throat and plays it with such ease that you are forget he did Humshakals. He is one of the few “mainstream” actors who has the balls to step into such a space, the others being Irrfan and Kay Kay. It is not only his comic timing but also his subdued banker act that makes the movie worth it.

Kaalakaandi is an enjoyable film if you can deal with the cuss words, with the script issues but if you want to see Hindi cinema doing something new and something different, which is what Akshat Verma has done here, even if he’s not hit the bull’s eye. 6.5/10.