Aug 1, 2009

Kambakht Ishq: Must watch!!!

Kambakht Ishq (KI) is a truly landmark movie in Bollywood. One which raises the bar on portrayal of women empowerment in Hindi Cinema. Truth be told, I am surprised that the Ram Sene didn’t object to its screening and our parliamentarians didn’t want to ban it outright.

There are very few movies which make me want to write about them. Going against my policy of not doing movie reviews. Kidnap was one. KI is even better.

For starters, there is the leading lady. Whose characterization on the script would have been just two words: “hates men.” But why would she wear skimpy outfits and come dolled up like a tart, you may be tempted to ask. And that, dear perverted MCP viewer, is the first sign of empowerment. Unlike the male of the species which hits the gym to develop six packs in the name of fitness, when the true reason is to attract chicks, the female of the species dresses up because she likes to look good. And feel good. Not for you to ogle at and grope. Unfortunately, Bollywood has so far upheld the male-centric ‘sajna hai mujhe sajna ke liye' view. And dear Bebo shatters that myth with a six inch heel.

Second, the lady is a doctor. And a surgeon at that. (mind you, not plastic!!!). And she moonlights as a model to pay for medical school. Doesn’t go, “papa/bhaiya/mamaji, mujhe paise chahiye”. In one shot, she destroys the myth that women cannot be financially independent. And proves that you no longer have to be the vamp in the movie to earn money by your looks. Another yay for the sisterhood!

Although they don’t mention that she is also an MBA, I think she is. When she makes an operational mistake, she rectifies it with a strategic plan. She doesn’t go begging for forgiveness. Instead, she tricks the hero into falling in love with her. Even if she has to shimmy down a boat wearing a black one-piece. (I was about to say tight black one-piece but remembered that nothing looks tight on a size zero). She has no qualms bedding him to achieve her goal. And the hero makes a weepy speech about love for a change.

And just when you thought this movie have reached the stratosphere of super sisterhood, they end it with a bang (not that bang, you perverts!). The lady smooches the hero to shut him up. Just like he did to shut her up at the start of the movie. (On that note, imagine if the ticket checker in Jab We Met had done it to achieve the same result!). While snooty reviewers (who probably sat in the first bench all their school life) may deride this as ‘pandering to the front benchers', it is another wow moment for the sisterhood. A gal can give it back twice as good as she gets. She can bastard you every time you bitch her. She can kiss you twice for the one you gave.

If only she had kicked the baddies' asses also. But then, why would you want to snatch away poor Sly Stallone’s retirement benefit fund?

Not since Madame Mallika walked up to the medical shop and asked for a condom in Khwaish, not since Rani sold her soul in LCMD, not since Preity had a live-in pregnancy in Salaam Namaste has a movie been so vocal about women and their innate power.

So, gals, what are you waiting for? Drag your boyfriend / husband to the nearest movie theatre and show him what stern stuff you are made of.

All in all, an eye-opening experience.

*****************************************************************

PS1: Ladies, please don’t read this. Guys, it has chicks in bikinis and minis, long kisses, Denise Richards climbing out of a pool (remember Wild Things?)... a must watch with a beer pack, a pirated DVD (to pause at the right scenes) and a bunch of guys who can hoot and whistle at every pause. All in all, a fly-opening experience.


PS2: The movie made me introspect too... When Bebo goes, "Who would want to marry a sick bastard like you?", I felt she was talking to me and not Akshay!


PS3: For the tams who are probably gloating “ha, one more indhi padam remake”, remember KI is as different from PKS as I am from the real Shahrukh Khan. After all, what could be more different than veteran actor Kamal playing a hanuman-bhakt than veteran non-actor Akshay playing a kambakht?

14 comments:

  1. " She can bastard you every time you bitch her" - How on earth did you come up with a line like that ?! Am impressed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think the producers should have hired you to write the ads! I wanna watch it now!

    When mass-market Hindi films focus on "modern" concepts like live-ins, f-buddies, surrogacy , extra-martial affairs etc, it makes for excellent unintentional comedy. Interestingly, I can name Preity in a movie on at least 3 of those subjects!

    ReplyDelete
  3. @ spidey:
    well, godawwsum movie... where every dialogue between hero and heroine is punctuated with these words...

    @ Idling:
    Watch it! Don't pay for it though! I won't refund your expense.

    and to give some credit, this movie does not pretend to focus on the said "modern" concepts... it claims to be a mindless comedy and fulfills one half of the promise...

    Mebbe I should put a 'spoiler alert': "May contain descriptions that the makers never intended!"

    ReplyDelete
  4. ROFL!
    Somehow I just couldn't enjoy the movie..too daft for me.
    :D
    MBA? I thought she had one in law too?
    :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. first, how come they chose a remake of PKS.??? i felt the tamil version itself sucked!

    second, model + doctor... AWESOME! :)

    third, the reason the movie ended with a bang might be beacause.. the makers would have themselves wanted to end the shooting somehow.. if the movie dragged like this, imagine the making! :)

    well written man! kudos on the bastard-bitch thing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love it when Bollywood tries to act too big for its shoes. Laughs guaranteed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. @ Vivek:
    I liked it precisely bcoz it was daft... which means it provides fodder for a blog post :)

    @ Chiju:
    1. the tamil version was somewhat saved by Kamal... plus I have a soft corner for Simran
    2. I guess they didn't realize tht the heroine is a doctor when they copied the story... and then they realized "OMG, we have size zero kareena, we don't pay her crores to cover herself in a white coat"... so the model...
    3. I am sure the makers wouldn't mind dragging it on... it is earning them big bucks!

    @ Anjana:
    mebbe the post is a bit confusing... this movie, unlike say U, me aur Hum, doesn't pretend to be serious... so I won't accuse them of being too big for their shoes...

    what I did try was to find hidden meaning in the drivel...

    ReplyDelete
  8. so what? to the girls you say "eye opener" and to the guys you say "fly opener"? Some how I'm more likely to take the post scripts more seriously than the well scripted post itself.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7:09 AM

    I planned to not watch the movie, I did not.
    I planned to not read the post (well-written)seeing the title, but I did.

    And I will surely not watch this one..even on a pirated-DVD!

    --SS

    ReplyDelete
  10. @SRK
    mebbe my comment wasn't clear. im saying i disagree with the post. without actually saying it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. @ RR:
    If you had taken the PS with even an iota of seriousness, you would have stopped at "Ladies, please don't read this"

    but yeah, really sexist sexy movie...

    @ Anon SS:
    Watching crappy movies can be fun... you should try it sometime

    @ Anjana:
    I am just saying I don't understand your comment. While actually saying so.

    ReplyDelete
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