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| Bromance cannot get better than this! (Image: Wikipedia) |
But what is it that makes Abhishek Kapoor's sophomore effort Kai Po Che! a cut above from the rest is its deep rooted realism and the absence of any big Bollywood star, though ironically the actors of KPC! deserve this status from now on if their performances are any indication!
Frankly speaking, I haven't read Chetan Bhagat's The Three Mistakes of My Life, the book on which this film is based. Bhagat may be no great literary talent, but to his credit, he does portray the middle class and their travails through India's present youth very well (I have read his One Night @ the Call Center and that was my last.). Hence it's no wonder that his stories make for ideal Bollywood adaptations.
Three struggling men in their twenties aspiring to make big is something everyone of us in fact go through our own lives. It's probably the route one takes to achieve that pinnacle of success differs. And director Kapoor pulls off a stunning job when he endows his lead characters with personality traits (one is soft-spoken and has a knack for business, the second guy is cantankerous but a livewire and the third is of an impressionable mind) that makes us, the audience, vicariously experience their joys and sorrows.
The easy relatability aside, the Gujarati milieu of the early 2000's where he sets them in forms the crux of the emotional plot. The devastating earthquake, Godhra train massacre followed by the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots all become instrumental in threatening their newly started business venture and along with it their years of precious bonhomie.
It would be an understatement if I were to say that Raj Kumar Yadav, Amit Sadh and Sushant Singh Rajput have put on staggering performances. Yadav particularly shines as the stingy business-minded middle-class young man and it can be seen that he has really gotten to the skin of his character. Amrita Puri as Yadav's love interest does ample justice to her role as does the rest of the cast.
The first half is light and breezy and focuses on the camaraderie between the three and it's post intermission things begin to gather pace. Kapoor tremendously succeeds in capturing their lives alive so well on camera that it feels incredibly real and unfolding right in front of our eyes. However, he is careful enough not to dwell on the political and societal ramifications of the communal violence and even the political situation is mellowed down.
With ably supported by Anay Goswamy and Deepak Bhatia in the cinematography and editing department, Amit Trivedi's soul stirring music and Hitesh Sonik's in sync background score perfectly complement the tone of the film. What doesn't work in KPC!'s favor is its inconsistent screenplay and narrative's farfetchedness at places.
As I entered the cinema hall yesterday, I was half-expecting a manipulative tearjerker like 3 Idiots but Kai Po Che! proved me wrong and how. Don't miss this bromance saga; it will leave you happy, sad and make you cherish the true value of friendship!