Movie Review - Kaalakaandi - Funny, Though Could Have Been Much More Whacky

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

A few years came Anurag Basu's Life In a Metro. The film chronicled the life and times of a few couples whose lives intersected with each other. Narrative of that film too was designed in multiple tracks format though the overall genre stayed on to be dramatic with a dash of romance and humor to it.

Now that Kaalakaandi has hit the screens, this film too gets into the life and times of multiple couples in different tracks. However this time around the narrative is quirky with an attempt to make it out and out humorous with no serious moments whatsoever.

Well, this could well have been truly a fun tale all the way. Unfortunately though the film works in bits and pieces. While at many junctures you even risk falling off the chair, at other points you end up wondering what is happening and why.

The biggest issue here is the fact that you miss certain coherence in the storytelling. Director Akshat Verma had a germ of an idea which he wanted to explore and while one sees flashes of that materializing at certain points in the film, overall you don't quite feel as engaged as you would have loved to in Kaalakaandi.

For starters, what truly works for the film is one man - Saif Ali Khan. He is truly a riot and how one wishes that he was the key protagonist right from start till the end of the playing time of Kaalakaandi. There are certain parts that Saif Ali Khan makes his own and the one written in Kaalakaandi is just the kind that is tailor-made for him. He has a characteristic dialogue delivery and body language that no can replicate and that works wonders in the film.

However, you also get a feeling that film as a whole isn't quite as engaging as the spark that characters in there bring with them. No wonder, whenever Vijay Raaz and Deepak Dobriyal come together, you do get a good dose of entertainment, more so because as actors they are so wonderful in their respective parts. I could well talk about the different quirks that characters played by Akshay Oberoi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Shenay Treasury and others bring in the film as well. The good thing is that most of that is quite a lot of fun. However, once the film is through, you end up wondering whether it was all worth it.

A film like this can well be supported well by music, as was the case in Akshat Verma written Delhi Belly where 'Bhaag DK Bose' was an absolute riot in the soundtrack. Unfortunately though, there is no such driving theme in Kaalakaandi which could have elevated the proceedings further.

This is one film which is funny, though it could have been much more whacky.