Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged shifaali shah
Movie Review: KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK by FENIL SETA
Feb 27th
The successful jodi of Farhan Akhtar-Ritesh Sidhwani is back. Their banner have consistently come up with fine qualitative films like Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Don, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, ‘Rock On!!’ and Luck By Chance. Hence, the expectations from their next, Karthik Calling Karthik were naturally high. However, the mixed and negative reviews that appeared in the last 24 hours did upset me a bit. However, all my disappointment went out of the window after watching the film. Karthik Calling Karthik is a wonderful, innovative flick which is stylishly presented and most importantly, has a completely unpredictable suspense!
The story of the movie: Karthik (Farhan Akhtar) lives in Mumbai alone. Although he’s a topper as a student, he is damn shy, introvert and not-so-confident which never allowed him to rise higher professionally. His boss (Ram Kapoor) ill-treats him every day. He’s in love with Shonali (Deepika Padukone) who works in office since years but he never got the courage to go and say even ‘Hi’ to her. His life was thus miserable. One fine early morning, he receives a call from, believe it or not, none other than himself! The caller, who also claimed to be Karthik, became his guide, mentor and his friend. He gave him the push to stand and face the world bravely. Slowly, thanks to the caller, Karthik’s life takes a bright turn. He also finds Shonali getting drawn towards him. Everything was going perfect. But at this point, problem arises in Karthik’s life.
Karthik Calling Karthik hooks you even before the first scene with the innovative presentation of titles. And as soon the scenes start rolling, we immediately get drawn to ‘loser life’ of Karthik. Director Vijay Lalwani allots adequate screen time to show Karthik and his ‘loser’ attitude. Obviously, things brighten up when Karthik gets the mysterious call for the first time. Things get even better when Karthik turns confident and shows everyone around his worth. Watch out here for the scene when he gets back to his boss-it was brilliant and easily the best part in the 1st half! The Farhan-Deepika love story was sweet and the goings-on, their conversations and Deepika’s past bad experiences seemed very real.
The post-interval portions were a little dry and one begins to wonder whether the film is going off-track. But it’s at this juncture that the whole mystery gets unveiled and it comes like a bolt from the blue. I guarantee that no one would be able to guess the suspense fully! And it’s because of this unpredictability factor that Karthik Calling Karthik works big big time! The climax came sudden but seemed totally justified!
This is a complete Farhan Akhtar film. He carries most of the film on his shoulders and comes out with flying colours. He amazes by the way he plays the role of a shy guy and later of a confident youth so effortlessly. First Rock On followed by Luck By Chance and now Karthik Calling Karthik-in each film he has scored! Great going FA!
Deepika Padukone like everytime looks charming and gives a confident and natural performance. Nice to see that she’ll be seen in 4 more films in the next 12 months! Ram Kapoor is simply amazing! He should shift base to films rather than anchoring Swayamvar seasons! Vipin Sharma as the landlord was funny. Vivaan Bhatena as Ashish was perfect in his supporting role. Shifaali Shah (why the hell has Shefali Shah changed her name’s spelling?) was awesome as the psychiatrist. Others did a good job too.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is breezy. Uff Teri Ada is already a sensation and is a treat to watch in the film too. Hey Ya is nicely placed and the title song that comes during the opening credits was brilliant! Midivial Punditz and Karsh Kale’s background score was lilting. Sanu Varghese’s cinematography was eye-catching especially in the Kerela scenes. Babylon Fonseca’s background score was effective. Aarti Bajaj’s editing was slick.
Finally, debutant Vijay Lalwani scores full marks as the dialogue/story/screenplay writer and as a director! Dialogues were sharp and very witty at times. Story was unusual and very original (although you might be reminded of similar films in this genre at some point). Screenplay and direction was amazing. Vijay knew his job well and hence was able to deliver a class product! Most importantly, he wins because of the unpredictability of the film. At several points, you feel you know what shall happen next but the unexpected occurs! Great work Lalwani and looking forward to your next film!
Some of the best scenes of the film:
1. All scenes of Karthik and his boss
2. Karthik getting the first call from Karthik!
3. Karthik teaches his landlord a lesson
4. Karthik and Shonali’s first date
5. All songs (very well picturised)
6. The intermission point
7. Psychiatrist at Karthik’s house at 5 am (awesome scene!)
8. Shonali at Karthik’s house at 5 am (even better one!)
9. Karthik’s strange journey
10. The last 15 minutes
11. The last scene
On the whole, Karthik Calling Karthik is a fabulous thriller that’s cleverly made and wonderfully performed! Watch it for some hatke experience!
My rating-**** out of 5!
Movie Review: KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK by TARAN ADARSH
Feb 26th
By Taran Adarsh, February 26, 2010 – 10:19 IST
Have you ever received a call from yourself? Is it possible in the first place? There are several theories doing the rounds about the two Karthiks in this movie. So what is it? Is Karthik hallucinating? Does he have a double role? Or a split personality? For most parts of the film, you actually buy the explanation that Karthik does receive calls from, well, Karthik.
Let’s accept the fact that a concept like this instinctively generates curiosity in the film. But the real test is to make the story work in those 2 hours. Also – this is vital – the identity of the caller should come as a jolt when the film concludes.
| BY BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM |
KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK works in parts, but during the penultimate part, when the story shifts from Mumbai to Kerala, the sand castle, so beautifully built by debutante director Vijay Lalwani, gets washed away.
One doesn’t want to challenge the behavioural patterns of a person with a certain disorder, but when it comes to the big screen, when you are narrating a story on celluloid, you need to do a lot of spoon-feeding and make it look convincing. In this case, unfortunately, the finale is just not convincing and therefore, acts as a spoilsport.
Meet Karthik [Farhan Akhtar], an introvert by nature and shy by choice. Karthik suffers with huge confidence issues and is miserable at his average job that yields less than average results. His boss [Ram Kapoor] treats him like dirt. Shonali [Deepika Padukone], his colleague, who he secretly loves, doesn’t even know that he exists. Karthik is a loser. He knows it. He accepts it.
Suddenly, one night, the phone rings. And Karthik speaks to someone he never thought he would. He speaks to a man who also claims to be Karthik. The man on the phone says he’s here to change Karthik’s life. Karthik accepts the phone in his life and soon it becomes his guide, his mentor, his friend, his guardian.
KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK is a love story as also a suspense fare that teases your mind. Any love story works if the chemistry and also the moments between the on-screen lovers looks real and the chemistry between Farhan and Deepika works well.
Correspondingly, a suspense film works if the viewer keeps guessing what the culmination to the story would be. The mystery only deepens when not only Karthik, but also his girlfriend and psychiatrist are engulfed in this storm. All hell breaks loose when Karthik’s life goes upside down and Karthik is back to square one. But from this point onwards, the graph of the film only goes downwards.
Debutante director Vijay Lalwani knows his job well, but he’s letdown by his own writing. The second hour not only looks stretched [two songs flow one after the other, with the story coming to a grinding halt], but the pace also gets excruciatingly slow at this juncture. The climax, as mentioned earlier, is a complete downer.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s musical score is an asset. The film has some lilting tunes. Cinematography [Sanu John Varughese] is perfect. Dialogues are simple mostly and at times, very witty.
This is Farhan Akhtar’s third film as an actor and it must be said that he takes giant strides when it comes to acting. The story throws several challenges at him and fortunately, he emerges trumps in the most difficult moments. This is, by far, his best work.
Deepika Padukone looks bewitching and acts natural throughout. Ram Kapoor is fantastic. Why don’t we see him so frequently on the big screen? Shifaali Shah is excellent. Vivan Bhatena is good. Tarana, Vipin Sharma and Yatin Karyekar are serviceable.
On the whole, KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK is a decent product with an unconvincing conclusion. Watch it for the wonderful performances of Farhan and Deepika, if you have to. Caters to the youth in metros mainly.
