Saturday, February 27, 2010

Film Review: Karthik Calling Karthik


The psychological thriller genre has long been a Hollywood mainstay, and it finally arrives in Bollywood with Vijay Lalwani's Karthik Calling Karthik.

The first few scenes of this film set up a fascinating character study -- anyone who's an introvert of this specific kind (or knows one fairly well) will find it easy to identify with Karthik's suffocating loneliness and lack of social confidence, and Farhan Akhtar seems to be really tapping into this character's inner turmoil in this early stage of the film (he does very well in the rest of the film too). This is a great premise for complex human exploration, but the screenplay chooses to cut the tension with the film's central conceit far too soon: a phone call that Karthik receives from an unknown entity that claims to be (and sounds exactly like) him.

As you may have already seen in the trailers (or read in news articles), Karthik's alter-ego inspires him to undergo a sea change, giving him confidence to stand up against a tyrant boss and helping him in getting the girl of his dreams (Deepike Padukone, acting believably for once). Herein lies the film's biggest flaw, because this transformation never really happens on screen -- there is no connective tissue to explain how this character undergoes such a drastic transition and the film suffers for it. It would've been far more believable if the screenplay would've allowed this change to play out gradually over a few conversations. (Lalwani structures the second half far more believably, where you get to see what could be described as the reverse-transformation of this character).

It's difficult to describe the rest of the plot without giving away spoilers so I'll refrain from revealing any further details. Anyone who's seen enough Hollywood films, though, will be able to stay a couple of steps ahead of the screenplay; and that's part of what ruined the experience for me. Early on in the film, there's a flashback to Karthik's childhood and if, like me, you've seen a fair number of psychological thrillers, you'll easily guess one of the film's central mysteries. (The big reveal comes at the end when it doesn't seem like a reveal at all, destroying any expectations of a crackling climax, which this film needed). 

The second half of this film is much stronger than the first -- the screenplay and editing post-interval are very tight. In contrast, the pacing of the first half can be described as wobbly at best. Cinematographer Sanu John Varughese mixes a number of styles to shoot this film, though the flashbacks have been shot in the same tones (and include the same unnecessary voice-overs) that a lot of Bollywood films seem to be using these days. The scenes switch to black and white at pivotal moments, even as you see a bright red light flickering behind the window.

In the end, Karthik is a film defined by its disappointments almost as much as it is defined by its strengths -- at every stage, the screenplay sets up an interesting character arc and then doesn't seem willing to pursue it for fear of losing audience love. The film succeeds as an exercise in style, and is engaging for most of its runtime, but a number of elements in the story could've been used far more effectively. It refuses to fully embrace its dark side, wimping out of an ending that could've added much more to this story. 

In the closing shot, we're left with an image of the Rubik's cube Karthik has been working on, lying on the table, completely solved (a metaphor for his life you see!). I have a feeling this would've ended differently in Hollywood. Grade: B-

12 comments:

  1. awesome review sid...however this movie is jus not intriguing me enough to have me hit the movie halls

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  2. The cinematography, as far as the flashback scenes are concerned, was dull and left me slightly disappointed. But overall KCK scores simply owing to its style and Farhan.

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  3. fab review boss, i heard this movie is far better than Ishqiya - u giving it B- means its sure to be worth watching - will let u know my feed back after tomorrows judgement day

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  4. @ Partha: I do agree that the style helps this film a lot. It's certainly a good effort.

    @ RV: Do let me know what you thought of the film!

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  5. What mostly impressed me in this movie is the idea of phone bhoot, so i would it is totally a fresh concept so one should definitely watch this.

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  6. Totally agree that the "makeover" of Karthik's character is way too fast. I wish they had added a few more scenes to show us how he comes to terms with these new ideas about himself. As is, it's almost a 180 and therefore less interesting and compelling.

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  7. nice review. The plot's nicely explored. U mention sharp contrasts from a Hollywood flick. What movies are we talking abt here?

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  8. Watched KCK last weekend..Loved the movie and the director's courage to make a movie like this...couple of things though..Karthik's transition from an introvert to a confident person was very quick if not unbelievable..and the editing could have been better..

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  9. @DruiD: I was specifically referring to the end, which I believe would not have been so nicely wrapped-up if this was Hollywood (though mainstream Hollywood might've gone the same way -- Indie Hollywood would've gone for something bleaker).

    Not the exact plot, but I was thinking more on the lines of other "psychological" films: Memento, The Machinist, Darren Aronosfky's Pi, etc.

    @Mangesh: Agree with the editing being a weak point. Could've been much tighter.

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  10. Divya: Siddy I agree with you word to word. I kind of figured it out in the beginning narration and I will prolly talk to you about it. BTW the solved rubik's cube was also shown when he transforms from introvert to successful in every aspect through the help of phonecalls. Then it is shown at various time scrambled when he gets screwed again. Did you notice that?

    BTW I'm super excited for Sunday!!!

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  11. @Divya: Yeah I noticed! There was even one scene where I believe you could see two layers completed and one still unsolved -- they used the metaphor rather well, I must say.

    And yeah, Sunday will be fun -- will try to put up predictions this weekend!

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  12. Hey Sid great review.Yes i agree with you that psychological thrillers in India will take some time to pick up.But anyways a great effort by the director.Also following the release Karthik Calling Karthik is running a contest with Bausch & Lomb where B&L is giving you the chance to get a mini-makeover and still photo shoot by Sushmendra Dubey,a leading photographer. Join the official Bausch and Lomb KCK fan page on Facebook "bauschandlombindia"

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