Boring as hell.

Grade: F

Kushti

Indian Release Date: 14/05/10
CBFC Classification:  U
Running Length: 2 Hours 02 Minutes

Cast: Rajpal Yadav, Dalip ‘Khali’ Singh, Nargis, Sharat Saxena, Om Puri, Asrani, Mohan Joshi
Director: T K Rajeev Kumar
Screenplay: T K Rajeev Kumar
Cinematography: Madhu Neelakantan
Music: Tauseef Akhtar & Srinivas K.

The existence of certain movies is beyond explanation. Some movies are made keeping a certain audience in mind & mostly to earn money, others maybe for accolades from the critics & others to probably to massage a star’s bloated ego. But when the makers are well aware that the movie they have at hand fills none of the above categories nor does it attempt to break any new ground then why even bother making it or releasing it? ‘Kushti’ falls very much into this category of “Dead on Arrival” movies.

The story is set in a village called ‘Deewana’ where a mythological back story involving Hanuman that provides the explanation for the village’s fanatical obsession with wrestling (not the W.W.E. kinds but the old fashioned Akhada – Pehelwan types) . Two opposing camps; one headed by Avatar Singh (Sharat Saxena) & the other by Jiten Singh (Om Puri) keep on having wrestling matches on a regular basis to decide who lords over the village. Into the picture comes an unassuming new postmaster, Chander (Rajpal Yadav) who soon enough falls for Avatar Singh’s, Salman Khan crazy daughter, Laadli (Nargis). Being the dutiful angry old father Avatar Singh unleashes his fury on the postmaster. When the village takes Chander’s side Avatar Singh relents by telling them that, if Chander can defeat the wrestler put before him in the ‘Akhada’, he can marry Laadli. Jiten Singh takes the puny Chander under his wing & starts to train him as a wrestler. But does Chander stand a chance against Dalip ‘The Great Khali’ Singh?

Honestly the synopsis I’ve laid down is a highly watered down, cohesive version of the pointless sub-plot ridden story the movie has. Numerous strands of themes & plot are left dangling after being briefly mentioned. The movie wastes an inordinate time on unfunny jokes & a groan inducing romantic plot. The movie at two hours moves at a snail’s pace had me looking at my watch fifteen minutes into it.

The movie looks like something that has Priyadarshan’s stamp all over it (even though he’s not involved here). The village with the people in their starched white costumes, speaking with heavy northern accents in villages filled with coconut trees. Even the actors are all the guys with character roles in Priyadarshan movies, be it Mohan Joshi, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, Om Puri, etc.    

The less said about the songs & the acting the better. While everyone hams it up like an all-you-can-eat-buffet, Rajpal Yadav gives new meaning to the word, ‘creepy’. He’s like a hyperventilating monkey on steroids each time he’s trying to flirt with or show affection for the girl. He had me half-wondering is he was going to pull out a knife & stab her to death or knock her on the head & keep her locked up in the basement. As for Dalip Singh/ The Great Khali well, he’s like an imposing huge piece of timber that can walk & talk (they even dubbed his usually incomprehensible voice). The showdown in the end between Rajpal Yadav & Khali is such a bore, that you have to watch it to understand how not to make a ‘David Vs Goliath’ contest (actually on second thought, don’t watch it).

I’m sure the intention was to use wrestling as a metaphor & have a small town story about ‘size doesn’t matter’ & all that usual schmaltz. However none of those things come across in this poorly written acted & directed flick. The movie has literally nothing in its two hours that can even come close to me ever recommending it for even a casual browse through.  

Final Verdict: Watching paint dry would be more enjoyable than watching Kushti.

Grade: F

 

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