Karthik's quite an interesting watch.

Grade: B-

Karthik Calling Karthik

Indian Release Date: 26/02/10
CBFC Classification:  U/A
Running Length: 2 Hours 05 Minutes

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Ram Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Vivan Bathena, Vipin Sharma
Director: Vijay Lalwani
Screenplay: Vijay Lalwani
Cinematography: Sanu Varghese
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Short stories tend to fulfill their job best because they deal with limited situations, characters & plots. Often when they get expanded into a longer version, they lose their impact simply because the elements which made the original work tend to get diluted with padding which more than often doesn’t complement the core of the story. Though ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’ doesn’t come from any short story that I know of, it’s plot has the feel of one which grew from an idea which must have not been more than a paragraph & in adding all the extra material to that idea to place it in the Bollywood template has resulted in a movie that is pretty intriguing at one end to being very perfunctory on the other.   

Karthik Narayan (Farhan Akhtar) is a wimpy sort of guy who everybody tends to pick on at work or elsewhere, be it his always-ready-to-explode boss (Ram Kapoor), his landlord (Vipin Sharma), a slimy co-worker (Vivan Bathena) or even the office peon. His heart is set on the pretty Shonali (Deepika Padukone) who is completely oblivious to his existence in the office until the day he is fired. But that also happens to be the day while he is sitting at home contemplating suicide, that he receives a phone-call on his landline (he doesn’t keep a mobile phone since he fears the effects of cell-phone battery radiation. what’s with Bollywood and this new found disdain for cell-phones, first ‘My Name is Khan’ & now this) & the voice on the phone sounds eerily familiar & it his fears are confirmed when the voice informs him that it’s himself only on the other end.

After some initial trepidation Karthik starts listening to what the voice over the phone has to say & it gives him confidence to deal with everyone who’s been treating him like a doormat (Some thing of a sort of self-help; ‘Chicken Soup for Karthik’s Soul’ kind of thing). Soon enough he finds success in everything including with Shonali but the question remains who is the man on the other end of the phone? The rest of the movie moves along trying to solve that piece of the puzzle; while at the same time adding new challenges Karthik has to deal with due to his new found ‘fairy god-self’.

The core of the movie which is the plot about the mysterious phone calls is intriguing to say the least & even though at one point (with the far too obvious flashback sequences) I thought I had it all figured out, a clever twist left me surprised & unsure about the path of the plot; pity that the twist just gave more fodder to the tale for a silly ending.

The love-story is uneven at times due to the less than convincing chemistry between the two leads & their interactions than anything else, that’s not to say that it doesn’t have it’s moments but it coasts through amiably when Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s delightfully buoyant tunes play in the montage sequences. Better actors in the roles could have made a huge difference in couple of scenes; for example the one where Karthik tells a drunk Shonali why he can’t take advantage of her since she’s drunk while she’s insistent that he do that; now that entire scene had a ton of potential to turn into something really sweet & witty but the actors play it so ‘by-the-numbers’ that it saps all the charm out of it.

Vijay Lalwani sets up the character of Karthik well & with all the “evil” characters around him you’d feel sympathy for him pretty soon but his transformation is far too smooth, far too quick & far too cosmetic (one too many visits to Shoppers Stop) to be utterly convincing; however some of the funniest scenes in the movies come when Karthik stands up to all of those who have trampled over him in the past. The metaphor of the Rubik’s Cube though simplistic adds a nice little touch throughout.  

Farhan Akhtar’s has again shown signs of improvement but he’s best when he’s playing the more confident Karthik while when playing the more timid version he tends to overact sometimes but it’s overall a likable performance. Deepika Padukone is still stuck with two expressions & a poor diction (plus she’s far too mechanical throughout, be it lighting up a smoke or slapping her ex multiple times) but Farhan & she make a pretty pair; unfortunately without a palpable chemistry. Ram Kapoor chews up the scenery with gusto & I quite enjoyed watching him let off so much steam especially after the few times I’ve seen him on television he’s been so subdued & polite. Shefali Shah has a small but important role as Karthik’s psychiatrist.

‘Karthik Calling Karthik’ has a sporadically engrossing suspenseful premise at heart. The love story even though not anything great adds a few nice touches to it without really getting in the way of the plot. The movie is let down by a poor last half hour, some sluggish pacing throughout, poor dialogues & an overlong running length. It would have worked wonderfully as a one hour episode on something like ‘The Twilight Zone’.

Final Verdict: This one's definitely worth a call…oops, watch.

Grade: B-  
 

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