KARZZZ MOVIE REVIEW

On a day when multiple previews of Karzzzz were being held across the city, Subhash Ghai, the master of the original, was talking to newspersons at the music launch of his latest, Yuvvraaj. When asked if people will accept Himesh as Monty after Rishi Kapoor, the showman answered, “Dilip Kumar has played Devdas, so has Shah Rukh, you tell me who is better?”

That in a nut shell is what this review is all about.

Original Vs Remake

Himesh Reshammiya is the new Monty. In every sense. Karzzzz belongs to him and the actor-singer-composer brings to the character his unique touch, which, for all you know, could be a craze for the people it is meant for.

There is no point discussing what the film is all about - a tale of love, betrayal and reincarnation. No point directing too much about screenplay or directorial vision (Satish kaushik) since a more than large chunk of the film is a copy of the original. But what is amply evident is that Himesh has put in tremendous effort in what, he has been saying, is his role of a lifetime.

That said, let us not ignore the fact that there are lot of things about Karzzzz that fail to live up to our expectations. The art direction is so shoddy that you wonder if it is some kind of a joke. Billionaire Ravi Verma’s (Dino Morea) palace is located in Cape Town, in the midst of a stunning vineyard. But once inside, you are treated to garish green wallpapers and green sofas, butlers in tail coats and gloves, who move around in the background like apparitions.

The choreography is way too ordinary for a musical, and the dancers either look malnourished and doped out or overfed, in sequined costumes straight out of Gemini circus. Ditto for the junior artistes, who sometimes sport hay-yellow wigs - to tell you they are firangs- or visibly bored South Africans, who even when dressed as cops, do not know how to hold a gun straight.

That’s not all. The styling of the lead characters is extremely tacky. Urmila, who plays a gorgeous seductress, wears outlandish gold pants, and oversized gold earrings at high noon and goes out for a walk in the forest with Himesh. Monty’s love interest, Tina (How we miss the glamorous Tina Munim), wears what look like ill-fitting rejects from television soaps and is obsessed with shocking pink eye shadow, even when she wears a gold and orange dress.

While the songs barely leave an impact (thanks to the dated choreography), what really rescues the film from falling flat is the fantastic background score by Ranjit Barot. Wish they had included it in the music album as well.

Back to the film. The first half is painfully sloppy and barely holds your attention till you are re-introduced to Kamini (Urmila) more than two decades later. That is largely because of Himesh’s initial awkwardness and Shweta Kumar’s ineptitude. Himesh’s chemistry with Shweta is like that between a corpse and a coffin. Even when he romances her, she looks dead and he looks bored.

But the auditorium suddenly bristles with energy when Princess Kamini walks in, in a completely OTT backless red gown, her ample bosom on display and geisha-girl inspired makeup (Urmila’s scarlet lip colour won’t be easily forgotten). There is considerable magic in the basic premise of the plot in the second half - a rock star seducing a rich widower twice his age, who also happens to be his murderer. Himesh is surprisingly impressive in some sequences, while Urmila, the seasoned actress that she is, holds your attention with her convincing villainy. Yes, her makeup is way too loud, and her pout quite comical, but what the heck, she is the only eye candy in this film.

The climax (action by the veteran Sham Kaushal) is another surprise, where Himesh flies through the air and punches the daylights out of the goons. Further on, the chase ends in a rather well-executed action sequence, with Urmila and Himesh’s face-off. The auditorium breaks out in whistles and catcalls. Performances:

As we have already said, Himesh has created his own Monty. And once you get used to his unconventional looks, weird mannerisms and complete inability to dance, or hold a guitar right, you may just warm up to this guy. He has worked hard on his role and evidently so have his backroom boys, who have worked on his hair, his paunch, his stubble and his clothes. The hard work shows Himesh Bhai.

Urmila is good, and could reinvent herself as a villainess. She shows off more skin than she has since her Ram Gopal Varma days, jumps off in a parachute and fires some killer shots from the aircraft she is flying, dressed in a nightgown. Attagirl!

Rohini Hattangady, has a white sari and black sari to wear and a few seconds of screen presence. While Gulshan Grover’s Sir Judah is a curious mix of Stephen Hawking and Feroze Khan. He has no dialogues (as in the original), but here he uses an electronic voice synthesizer strapped to his arm that produces musical notes by way of words. Bakhtiar Irani plays Monty’s friend who leaves you cold with his mock concern and buffoonery.

Dino Morea, plays Ravi Verma, who gets bumped off in the first 10 minutes and resurfaces in black and white memories. That’s that.

Raj Babbar and Himani Shivpuri play Monty’s foster parents, who are only too keen to exploit his talents and Babbar’s caricature of a Sardar is so done to death that you wish he had not been there at all.

Danny plays Tina’s foster father Kabir Chacha (played by Pran in the original), the man who seems to know it all, and is a Hindi movie buff. Alongwith Asrani he tries valiantly to provide some comic relief and help put the pieces of the puzzle together. Smita Molah is Himesh’s sister and sheds copious tears throughout the film.

But Shweta Kumar, daughter of Indra Kumar (who’s made Dil, Raja, Beta), who plays a catering college student in the film and Himesh’s lady love, could perhaps try taking some cookery lessons in real life too. We get the feeling she has a better future there.

Verdict: Karzzzz belongs to a guy who has supreme confidence in his capabilities, and for the fans who agree. For the rest, there is always something on TV.

Rating: 2.5/5