Kaminey (2009) Movie Review

After numerous failed attempts, some of which I’d regard as (close to) divine interventions.I finally managed to see, the much touted ‘Kaminey’, last week.

It is a flawless, fun- action caper. The intensity, which Vishal has tried to put in the movie, is visible from the first shots. The storyline is sharp, fast paced and simple. It revolves around the lives of two estranged brothers, and how their life collides under tumultuous circumstances. We all have seen our share of Ram-shyam, Seeta-Geeta in Hindi cinema, but this one packs a punch and makes some sense, at least.

One of them is F’ahid…oops…(just the hangover)..Charlie I meant .Who  is a  ruffian, and a crony of a bunch of Bengalis. Who have a penchant for betting and fixing horse races .Like any other ravaged youngster Charlie dreams of making it big one day, and  anyhow fulfill this obsession.

Both have speech impediments, none of which will curb your enjoyment. Rather whenever the things get out of hand & serious, they, their tongue fumbles, and it’s a treat for you (the way Shahid does it is awesome).

Guddu is the forever struggling kindaa guy, or at-least he thinks so. He is always involved in botched circumstances. The most rib-tickling scene is, where Guddu searches for condoms, & Sweety his gal, persists there is no harm for them to make out because….because.. “Main home science Kee topper hoon”...where did Vishal dig this out from!!


There is another one where, Guddu sings “Woh hai harimee, kutta, kameena,” to share misgivings about his brother.

In one sequence the Marathi politician lands up in the hide out of Charlie & engages in banter with his friend .You feel (from the very beginning), that something is going to happen. But, you know Vishal’s tinkering habit. He keeps flirting with the whole sequence. He has a habit to put hindrances in a scene which are at odds with the situation, masterfully .This is something visible in all Vishal movies, very subtle instances where in he plays with your emotions with the help of his characters .There is a series of repartee, boom!! , then there is surprise. These are the scenes which give his movies a chill factor.

Mumbai locales have been used to great effect. It helps put in perspective the struggles of a daily city life. Which eventually, play on the minds of all ‘Kaminaas’. There is an absorbing sequence, where the brothers are waiting to be exchanged between different criminals .On one side ,one of them is lost in relentless intimate conversations with his partner & on the other, one is pleading for his life.

Another intense scene, is a  fight between the brothers, at the end of which one of them (stronger one) is completely changed, by the animosity of events.

Shahid Kapoor sets a new standard in the scene, where he is races with the horses. I’d regard it as one of the hottest shots of a Male lead in the recent past. The frames are shot well and not to forget, Shahid gets a chance to flaunt his worked out body, in all its glory. This shot comes very frequently shown in film so you can’t possibly miss it.

I love Vishal for not forgetting UP walas in his movies .Here too he takes a rapturous dig at the Mumbai- UP divide, he rubs it in with great tact & wit. Like, he mentions the common contention, of the names Bombay and Mumbai.

I sure have to come to the much debatable title ‘Kaminey’. There is certainly no need lampoon it. It fits perfectly, there is no denying in real lives kaminapan has become so entrenched. Everywhere we go, almost each person we come across, there is always hint of a ‘kaminapan’. The movie, emphasizes this truth, so why brood!! .The last sequence personifies the ‘kaminapan’ all of us are so familiar with. Here everyone is out to extract their pound of flesh, dupe the other one. Here you find all the stimulating gun fights and the burning. (During all this F'ahid's words ring in your head “F’ala badee kaminee cheez hoote hain yeh paif’a”.)

All characters used by Vishal right from Shahid, to Priyanka & Tenzing Nima, not only fit well, but are surprise packages, especially the latter two. Also that no one could envision Shahid in a negative role that too such a raw one.  BTW Taashi (Tenzing) the drug kingpin, is actually a kind hearted tour operator in Mussoorie. Whose only relation to bollywood is his buddy Vishal. Priyanka who is usually seen with all the make-up possible, is seen here without it, in her charming 8 minutes. And her acting skills are laudable, yet again.

The gangsters have some freshness to their character as well, and they certainly don’t vex you. The gangster dialogue of the movie, which is albeit slightly cheap, (so all the more, I have to mention it) is “Tashee sahab yeh aapsey kenhna chahta hain keh aaj sey yeh aapka dogge hain.(Tashii) But I like bitches, kuttey toh bohat hain mere paas, Shoo away”.

As the end approaches in such a film you are left wondering will nobility win – or will the kameenas prevail. You get a slight shocker from Vishal (that last Vishal touch) in the penultimate scene. When the baddie brother ‘Charlie’ ponders to choose the righteous path, with the noble words of his brother ringing in his head and gets shot down.

Probably Vishal simply wants to convey, if you choose the not so Kamina life you should be prepared to get hit and strong enough to rise.

Writer director lyricist Vishal, the Indian ‘Quentin Tarantino’ scripts another original stunner. He has successfully managed to add a whiff of freshness to the genre of the action thriller movies, in Bollywood with 'Kaminey'.