Predictable & boring as hell.

Grade: C-

Kismat Konnection

Indian Release Date: 18/07/08
CBFC Classification:  U/A
Running Length: 2 Hours 30 Minutes

Cast: Shahid Kapur, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Vishal Malhotra, Om Puri, Juhi Chawla
Director: Aziz Mirza
Writer: Sanjay Chhel
Cinematography: Binod Pradhan
Original Music: Sanjoy Chowdhury

Before writing this review I would like to give a disclaimer, I did not actually want to watch this movie… okay that's not true, while the promos were out I wanted to watch it, I thought it looked quite interesting. Two young, attractive and quite talented stars, a couple of good songs and a storyline that could be fun if done well.  It was after friends who had seen it told me how terrible it was that I started losing all desire to see the movie… but my duties to Moviesum beckoned… and I know my responsibilities well.
 
Our movie begins with a narration by Shahrukh Khan, commenting on how our hero Raj Malhotra (played by Shahid Kapoor, and can we please have some more original character names in future?) was one of the brightest in his college, but has been having some terrible luck of late. Raj's shower stops working, his car won't start, his ATM can't won't work and he misses his bus. He works as an architect along with his friend Hiten Patel (Vishal Malhotra, who I quite like) and they're desperate to finally bag a contract but something or the other always goes wrong. Meanwhile, Raj keeps clashing with Priya (Vidya Balan) they can't stand each other, fighting every time they meet and yet whenever Raj sees her, something lucky happens.
 
Seeing an advertisement on television, Raj goes to meet Haseena Bano Jaan (Juhi Chawla in quite a good cameo), a quirky psychic who tells him that Priya is his lucky charm. From there, Raj tries to ensure that Priya is always with him when he needs luck, the complications arising when the mall he wants the contract to design is due to class with Priya's beloved community centre. He lies to her that he's submitted a design incorporating the community centre into the mall to gain her cooperation and then begins to fall in love with her.
 
So let's start with the basics. The only original thing about Kismat Konnection is the idea of somebody being your lucky charm, and even that isn't terribly original. There are so many filmy clichés in this that I can't even begin counting them. The girl with a heart of gold who also happens to be an orphan, who battles to save her beloved community centre and the old people within it who are like her family. Her slimy fiancé who is conveniently having an affair with another girl so that our hero can step in to open her eyes. An ambitious hero who lies to the girl to win her over and then ultimately has to choose between his career and his love. The climax is typically filmy and melodramatic, I saw the twist that makes it all right in the end coming from a mile away. In short, you could probably never have heard anything about this movie, watch the first half hour and exactly predict how the rest of it is going to pan out.
 
The humour in the film is incredibly obvious and over the top with an equally obvious and over the top background soundtrack to match. From somebody who can pick accents, the Canadians sound like they've been dubbed by Australians instead. I also found it quite funny that in the middle of Canada to protest the closure of the community centre, Priya chooses to scream slogans in hindi in the middle of the street. Honestly…
 
Shahid is his normal earnest, boyishly exuberant self. He does well with what he's got and is in his element but it's not one of his best. Vidya also does quite well with the material she's given and looks gorgeous, but she really needs to fire her stylist. Really. I don't think a single one of the outfits she wore in the film actually suited her. Even her sangeet ceremony which would've been a good opportunity to get her into something traditional has been wasted; I wouldn't be caught dead in such an outfit, especially not at my own sangeet.
 
So who would actually enjoy watching Kismat Konnection? Young girls who wish to giggle over Shahid. Guys who want to see Vidya in western outfits. Couples who honestly don't wish to pay attention to the movie or think too hard but want something to watch on a date.
 
It's difficult to say. It's not that it was a bad movie, and I've seen much worse in my time. It's just that there was absolutely nothing new about it, no unique selling points and if you see if then you'll get a feeling of déjà vu as if you've seen it all a hundred times before.
 
Final Verdict: Unless you're in the mood to be utterly bored, give it a miss.

Grade: C-

 

| More...