Kismat Afterthoughts

Afterthoughts

It has been a while since I've seen a Bollywood film of this caliber. You may take that any way you wish. I was a little astounded at some of the developments here, particularly that Sapna would marry Tony. Let's look at all he has done for her:

Helped clear a crowd at one of her video shoots.
He gave her a plane ticket home when she had to get home quickly. (Not sure this one even counts, since the reason she had to leave was because of something Tony did.)

Every other impact he has had on her life has been negative. As a direct result of his actions:

Her mother killed herself.
Her father went to prison for three years.
Her engagement to a childhood friend was called off.
Several people were killed in her home.
She was beaten up by Patil.

I'm not sure of many women that would then go on to marry this guy. Ah well, it's only a movie, right? I was also a bit turned off that Tony would grab the judge's grandson and threaten him with a knife. There are other ways to make that point, and I don't think anyone needs to see that.

On one very satisfied note - I was so pleased to see that Tony and Gosai were not completely let off the hook. Yes, it was Mallya's plan all along, but Tony did commit some of the crimes, and despite being the victim, Gosai did commit fraud and they were all punished. I was expecting to see them walk away scott-free, but was pleasantly surprised to see otherwise.

Bobby Deol (Tony) is one movie away from typecasting himself for me. If I see one more "quick to anger and beat the hell out of everyone" role for him, I'm pretty much ready to watch someone else. It's too bad this is how he's often used, since as an actor, he's fine. He has a very good "mad face." When it comes to the action scenes though, he would be better off not fighting. In every single fight scene in this movie it's crystal clear that he's not even coming close to hitting the guys. If he's got bad depth perception, then shoot the scenes from behind either of the combatants. It looks fine then. The side shots are to be avoided at all costs.

Priyanka Chopra (Sapna) once again does a fine job. She's a good actress, but she keeps showing up in bad movies. I've seen three of her films now, and only one of them was good all around. Usually the problems with the films are not her fault, but the script's. She did have problems with lip synch in one of the songs in this film, but other than that she does just fine.

The character that stood out the most for me was Goli. If anyone can tell me who played him, I'd appreciate it. I'm having problems tracking his name down. As far as "comic relief" characters go, Goli has been the one that was the most often genuinely funny. He wasn't constantly mugging for the camera or making funny faces or voices. He was subtle, witty, and just generally amusing. Well played, sir.

Negatives:

The fight staging. We all know that people fighting in movies aren't really hitting each other, but we don't need to see two feet of air between the fist and the face. Not to mention the terrible wire-work as men were "thrown" through the air.
Once again (and again, and again) there is a ton of violence in public in front of dozens, sometimes hundreds of witnesses with no suggestion of the police intervening.
Sapna's mom killed herself. After the funeral, this is never mentioned again. Not once. Seemed like a pretty big plot point to me, but I guess I'm not a screenwriter.
One of the songs literally came out of nowhere. Sometimes the transitions can be abrupt, but this one even caught me off guard. The most serious and meaningful conversations in the movie was completely interrupted by this, and it seemed very jarring.

Positives:

Despite my criticisms, there were some good performances here. Aside from the previously mentioned lip synch problem, Ms. Chopra was great. She's a very good dancer, and is very easy on the eyes. Goli also gives us a praiseworthy performance.
Fun music! All of the songs were enjoyable, with "Mahi Mahi" being the standout this time.
A somewhat more complete ending this time. Usually when we have a more complex plot, several of the loose ends are forgotten. The only character we don't know much about after the events of this tale is Goli, which is a shame. However we do get some semblance of a wrap-up, which was nice.
For all its flaws, this was a fun movie to watch. I mentioned in the preview that I was excited to write about this one as it evoked some of the same moments of disbelief I had when I was watching Jaani Dushman, which is saying a lot.

For this film I'm going with "Smilin' Aftab," seen in the crowd as Dr. Gosai is being led through the riot outside his arraignment. This guy stood out, as one doesn't often see big smiles during riots.

Kismat (2004)

Quality:						(Out of 5)
Entertainment Value:						(Out of 5)

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