Kaminey: India’s Pulp Fiction
Kaminey: India's Pulp Fiction
A non-linear narrative meanders along a heady cocktail of inopportune satire and violence, noir seduces pastiche, genres go hand in glove yet celebrate their explicit irony, mafia machinations that fuel a redemption and then there is a chase for a mysterious object; either a briefcase or a guitar case. In any case, what have you here; India’s answer to Pulp Fiction. Kaminey opens with a greenish tinge caressing a speeding train while Charlie stands by the edge of the track unmoved. Only his hair brushes off with the wind but not his dogged spirit for money and power. Rail tracks, a superior metaphor for paths that life makes you choose. Kaminey opens the narrative’s harbinger; it’s not the path you take that makes the difference but the path you choose not to tread. So he follows the serpentine thousand rupee note, spotlighted in dark, alone and then suddenly with a whip, he is brought to light; power, fame and money blows up as confetti. Everybody is mean here.
Kaminey is a story of twin brothers separated by hatred towards each other. Charlie (Shahid Kapoor) wants to get rich by taking shortcuts and his delectable defect of saying the “f” letter for “s”. Guddu is the naïve stutterer who chalks out his career path from Polytechnic course to marriage in 2014. He is in love with Sweety ( Priyanka Chopra) , the gritty woman in his life. Guddu needs to save his hurried marriage with Sweety, thanks to an unplanned rubber accident. Sweety’s menacing mafia brother Bhope ( Amole Gupte) is out to get him. Charlie is on the run as he discovers a stash of cocaine in a guitar case. He is chased by a bevy of Mafioso men out to make money out of the cache. Guddu and Charlie cross paths at the joints of time and there begins a story of redemption.
Chapter 1: Paradoxes of the narrative: Guddu works for an NGO that educates the use of condoms in order to avoid AIDS. His introduction has him dancing around brothels educating the usage of condoms and his scarf impeccably resembles the AIDS red ribbon symbol. While he is shown to preach about the usage of Condom; in haste he doesn’t wear a condom and impregnates Sweety. Comic irony forms a strong hold of the film. Bhope is reading his sister’s pregnancy certificate in fitting rage while a little boy yells at him “Mala chocolate paijee” ( I want a chocolate). The stutter and the lisp are accentuated when the viewer is craving for an explanation; it should create a sense of quest but is blatantly broken by comic tones. This is a technique used by Vishal to heighten the effect of the narrative. Imagine the pregnancy scene without the kid interrupting him for a chocolate. This technique is used in Dev.D too with sudden quirky moments breaking the aggression of a powerful scene.
Chapter 2: Pastiche and postmodern referencing: A shootout in a hotel has Charlie shooting a gang while on the TV you can hear the famous R.D. Burman song “Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani”. Note that the song is echoed when the lines go: “Is zindagi ke din kitne kam hai” and in that exact instant, you see killings on the screen. Likewise there are other songs by R.D. Burman that are used as a backdrop. The film borrows from classic Bollywood clichés and then completely alters them to a taste of its own flavor: the twin brothers separated, the zero-defect hero or even the dramatic over-the-top entry of the heroine in our Bollywood films, all are completely contrasted in Kaminey; both the heroes with speech impediments, Priyanka’s de-glam entry or even the subtle self-referencing: Bhope doing a version of Pankaj Kapoor’s Abbaji act from Vishal’s Maqbool.
The director also pays homage to Quentin Tarantino. Taking from his small “Saanp bill me ghus ke Kill Bill Kill Bill kar raha tha” in The blue umbrella, Vishal goes full throttle in his exploration of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction here. Kaminey has a non-linear narrative. Some scenes make sense only when you view the subsequent scenes in detail. Pulp Fictionhas seven primarily storylines which are deliberately not shown in chronology. A viewer appreciates when the narrative challenges the intelligence like a puzzle; you find satisfaction in solving it. So it is no casual viewing. You really need to concentrate. Pulp Fiction is about the redemption (Remember Samuel.L.Jackson’s Biblical monologue?; I will strike upon thee…”)of a man entangled in a bloody mafia brawl that involves a briefcase. Here you have Charlie caught in the same maze except that, it’s a guitar case this time. The most overt reference is Sweetyholding a rifle and shooting at people, reminds you of “Honey bunny” during the classic hold-up scene in Pulp Fiction. And yes both films start and end at the same point.
There is homage to various cultures form Marathi, Lucknowi, Bengali to even Angolan cultures. Some pastiche lead impressions are prominent like the “Apna haath jagnaath” perched right above a Mallika Sherawat poster on a wash room. Fiderman fiderman and then faying alive, faying alive!
Chapter 3: Cinematography, music and the bitches: Tassaduq Hussein deserves a bear hug for his camerawork. His clouds are perfect; dark, brooding and announce the oncoming hell. I was reminded of clouds from Nuri Blige Ceylan’s films immediately. The urban war set is made with astute detail that you will mistake it for real. The camera angles are innovative: extreme close shots to long shots, hand-held imagery with hand crafted magic of deliberate out-of-focus camerawork. Crisp editing aids the film immensely. In the start of the film, you see Charlie conversing with his friend Mikhail about a loot that went kaput. In parallel, a scene is shown where Bengali mafia men are calibrating a gun’s aperture angle. Though there is a shot of the lamp through the sniper’s view, we realize that both scenes are happening in the same room only when the lampshade is blown out by the gun. Simply outstanding! Vishal creates the best score, ranging from the garrulous Dhan Te Nan to the demure piano playing ironically at a killing scene. There is music from silence too. Some part of the film has no background score. The scene where Guddu is explaining his career path to Sweety, is interspersed with sounds from kids playing in the street and there is no background score. I found the peculiar referencing to dogs quite innovative; taking the logical extension of Kaminey to kutte ( Thanks Dharam paaji). Charlie quips “life baddi kutti cheez hai” in the opening act, Guddu and Sweety are cuddling in love while a stray dog wags its tail around them, Bhau bhau is everywhere and last but not the least Tashi, the uber don says “I don’t like dogs, I like bitches”
Guddu
Chapter 4: Breathtaking Ensemble cast: Honey Tehran is spot on with her casting and Vishal has churned out outstanding performances from all the actors. Shahid’s Guddu and Charlie are pathbreaking, Priyanka’s fiesty Maharashtrian Sweety act; she is the revelation of the film, Amole’s Bhope is only seen to be believed, Tenzing Nima’s Tashi is cool as cucumber; watch him say “Business is business” in darkness, power comes back on and he immediately appends his earlier line “And power is power” . The characters Lobo, Lele, Mikhail are perfectly cast and even the little kid in his two scenes shows brilliance. Above all it’s a director’s film. Vishal Bhardwaj is without a doubt the biggest star of the film. Kaminey is India’s proud answer to Pulp Fiction
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
I don’t know why people comparing ‘Kaminey’ with ‘Pulp Fiction’ and Vishal bhardwaj with tarantino..I feel..vishal has his own style of film making..He makes different movies everytime..He is one legend in making..He is one genius who can direct as well as compose music for his film..tarantino never composed music for his film!!..
Girish, I agree with you there, I even saw it coming. In fact I wanted to put a PS there saying that I am not exactly comparing both. Somewhere the two movies have the same souls if you get what I want to say. Vishal has completely turned it around into his own style, his own flesh and blood. My intent of this post is to say that if the world knows Pulp Fiction as a cult classic then Kaminey is a perfect answer from India
I completely agree with you. I feel that Vishal’s movies have much more substance rather than mindless action. The subtle undertones are something which Tarantino can never bring and yes the music is just awesome.
“The subtle undertones are something which Tarantino can never bring”
Please Mr Tarantino Forgive him
subtle undertones?? like what..its funny when you just put words together make it look professional yet not quote an example…can you explain a subtle undertone in kaminey?..and then make a comparison with tarantino?..
Music??..the song is good but it is defly inspired by pulp fictions theme..im talking about the rhythm..and bring in chaya chaya to it..then you have dhan dhana..
Yes Girish even i feel so. i think the film is more reflective of Guy Rithie’s work than Tarantino’s
well one can only make a vague comparison to tarantino..but defly a lot of similarities with guy ritchie..how can one miss out on the fact tht kaminey is a mash up of snatch and lock stock??..vishal did not do anything original rather he introduced guy ritchie way of making movies to indian audience..and for everybody who think kaminey is a complicated movie no it is not..if u want complicated movie..go watch magnolia(english)..memento(english).. prestige(english)…virumandi(tamil)..now that is non linear narration..not kaminey
neeraj, the fluidity of the language of your post is amazing. apetite for watching kaminey is totally whetted. hvnt yet watched the film, thx to the swines in pune.
anyways, lets catch up tomorrow in person.
Thanks Satyendhra
Looking forward to meet you too. And I really hope the Swine flu scare clears off by Monday and you watch it.
the non-linearity is where the similarity ends.. kaminey isnt even close to pulp fiction.. two very simple reasons (n i m not even getting into the craft bit) 1. its loved by everybody who sees it.. n i mean everybody 2. its watchable over & over again..
not so for kaminey..the movie lets one down (n this may only b bcos the expectations were way too high) n definitely isnt vishal bhardwajs best work (at least for me).. blue umbrella was way better n so was omkara
…having said tht..it surely is a great attempt at brilliance..but my only grudge … a name like “kaminey” wasted..it deserved more!
Agreed – a very well made film, but for me not as good as Omkara, can’t say why – did not hit that sweet spot in my mind.
Anyway Neeraj, I watched this in a small town multiplex – don’t recall any non-linearity in the script, and definitely nothing even remotely close to the non-linearity in PF, can you please point it out?
The non-linear narrative was mostly in the first half. Like Sweety getting knocked up but how she ends up being knocked up is shown later. Better so, they show how Sweety and Guddu fall for each other in a song that is shown in the final credits.
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The “it was not an omkara” issue has been coming up quite often now. Here’s my take:An Omkara is an Omkara; a Maqbool is a Maqbool. Dont you want him to evolve and come up with different style. Why should one confirm to his craft. I saw the same comparisons for Love Aaaj kal and Jab we met. We should understand and appreciate an artist needs to evolve, all the time. You will not have liked it if you had seen a Maqbool sort of style, then people would accuse him of being monotonous. A film is singular being in itself.
There is one more scene in which I saw reference to Pulp Fiction.. when Lobo shoots himself by mistake reminded me of the scene when Travolta shoots the guy in car by mistake..
Phew! Great catch there!
may be even the reference to the watch that shahids father stole..cud b the watch the bruce willis went for..may be
@Tej, @Vishwas: Guys we’re building on! Wow! Tej, you could be right. It could be a reference point. In Pulp Fiction, Bruce Willis is obsessed with his watch because his father has hid this watch in his rectum for two years in order to pass on to him and dies because of dysentery. Willis is woken up thinking of this episode. While Shahid’s episode is different, the only episode that could be a reference point is the watch that is tied up as a memory of a dead father. Still, great catch man!
So far, this is the best review I’ve read of Kaminey. Outstanding observations boss. You must have quite a memory to remember all of this. Even to the detail of that street sound in that career path scene. I am a big Pulp Fiction fan myself and I sensed those connections too. Would have loved to read those Guy Ritchie connections too. Incidentally, the usage of “chapters ” is quintessential quentin. Using it in a review to talk about homages is brilliant. What a film!!! VB is defintely india’s best diro alongside Kashyap. “Noir seduced pastiche” lovely!!
I am overwhelmed by your comment. I am glad you noticed me writing chapters a la Quentin. I have a confession: My memory sucks! I search my mobile phone when it is in my hand sometimes
I actually was writing notes in the theatre when it was pitch dark. Some guys from the back even hurled pop corn at me 
When I got back I could only understand like 30% of what I wrote obviously.
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Sorry I am not much into Ritchie so wont be able to comment on that.
Neeraj’s review is great, do also check out Baradwaj Rangan if you’re thinking about ‘the best Kaminey review’.
Seriously an awesome movie……. Well written article,but put a spoiler alert warning when you write the gist of the story…… The movie is an experience and has lots of repeat value. I just watched it yesterday, and i am going to watch it again tomorrow…….
Point taken! I was feeling guilty about revealing plot points here. Hmm.. Lesson learnt. Thanks for bringing that up
Brilliant movie, agreed. But technically speaking, couple of flashbacks and dream sequences in the first half cannot amount to non-linear storytelling. I find the movie closer in spirit to Guy Ritchie’s Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
Highs: Shahid, Vishal, Tassaduq, Casting, Dialogues, Dhan Tan Ney!
Lows: bhai-bhai pyaar became filmy in the end
Like I mentioned before, I have not seen Lock Stock, Snatch or any of Guy’s films. I have seen Pulp Fiction and I felt Kaminey’s soul similar to PF. I have just expressed what I have felt here; it could be wrong, it could right or it could be incomplete but at the end they’re all relative perceptions arent they?
another hyped movie…… its no pulp fiction or wat ever u r comparing to…….. guys can u explain the ending….. the director just lost it……. the ending is a big disappointment…. its finally ends up being twins soap opera….brothers patch and live happily ever after…..u can screw up the starting half but u cannot mess up the ending…. that’s what people remember and take it home when they leave….
good photography and good dialogues doesnt make something cult….. the story is the most important thing…. and there are loop holes in the script…….
the movies which are referring to pulp fiction,resorvior dogs …are movies with great endings … logical endings….
i would have preferred a ending where they both kill each other….. that would have been something……
and also the songs were un-necessary…..not needed at all, the back ground score is in-consistent ….the editing wasn’t up to the mark….. i can go jus on with the flaws……
but the plus points were shahids performance,the cast and photography….
basically an average fare……
i prefer johnny gaddar any day…. that’s what u call CULT.
Dude, Pulp Fiction had a happy ending and that too on a biblical note. Now tell me, would you have loved the film if everyone in that restaurant in PF kill each other and die? No I am guessing. There! you have your answer.
Both very difference movies, but there are nods to QT all over, some examples have already been cited above, Other QT and Robert Rodriguez references: The guitar (Desperado, El Mariachi), the idea of the protagonists wanting to make it big with the one big opportunity ahead of them (for the sake of LOVE) and the final shoot out where all concerned parties confront was reminiscent of True Romance’s (written by QT) climax, Shahid and Priyanka run off all bloody and hurt on a motorcycle reminded of Bruce Willis and his French GF driving off on Zed’s bike after “Zed is dead baby, Zed is dead”, the scene with one of the Bengalis on a potty reminded me of Travolta taking a dump just before being shot by Bruce Willis in PF : (Again it’s a stretch of our imagination…for all we know VB might not have had these images in his mind). Neverthleff, a knock out movie.
This movie is no way comparable to Pulp Fiction. Good movie, but not at all pathbreaking. Omkara was pathbreaking. So was blue umbrella. It might seem amazing to people who haven’t watched Tarantino or Guy Ritchie films. But with the amount of hype created around this movie, I was expecting much more. Reviews wrote that the director challenges your intelligence. Not at all. The plot of the movie was very predictable.
Kaminey failed to give me the ‘jolt’ I was looking for. That is what happens when you watch ‘Pulp Fiction’. This is definitely Bharadwaj’s most commercial endeavor yet. And a good one. But definitely not his best. When people say that Kaminey wasn’t as good as Omkara, they are not really comparing the two films in detail. Its the final effect that the movie creates. Omkara stuns your mind. Kaminey has far less impact.
The story is from a kenyan guy called Cajetan Boy, check this out
http://www.timeoutbengaluru.net/film/film_details.asp?code=224&source=5
kushal- Cajetan Boy has been credited in the opening credits of Kaminey.Looks like you didnt notice it.
Mr. Sethumadhavan (the class monitor) I have a question for you. Why do u expect everyone to share your intelligence and if anybody wants to share some info which some ppl might find interesting, do u always have to put your nose and ridicule him just bcoz u have that info already ???
Mr.RD- the class “last bencher” who tries to be popular- name 5 other instances where I’ve done the same???
I only mentioned the same because I felt Kushal either didnt notice it or was trying to project that VB had copied.And btw I also kind of felt this Kushal is someone I know reasonably well ( of course not sure- hence checking out)So is my reply enough Mr.RD?
The monitor (or rather man-eater) strikes again ! Sir…have u even tried to read the article in the link provided by Kushal?
And before even confirming if u know him you are doubting his intentions by saying that he’s projecting VB as a copycat. Do you see urself as some kind of a saviour of Hindi cinema and it’s directors ? I myself am a big fan of VB and his cinema but that does’nt mean I go about ridiculing each person who has a viewpoint other than my own.
Fyi…I also noticed the credit for the story idea given to Cajetan Boy but the Time Out article shed more light on it.
fight fight
Sethu is one of the mild mannered people in here. I have never known him to be obnoxious. So stop picking on him already unless you have some score to settle.
Aarti…I have no personal score to settle with Sethumadhavan. But arent we missing the point here when you defend him just by saying he’s mild mannered. His comment definitely does not sound mild mannered. I personally feel there was no reason to reply in such a way unless it was done jokingly.
I am not enjoying this mud-slinging at all and the reason for doing this is that I don’t want this amazing PFC community to become a domain of a few people using their internal support to force opinions down people’s throats or ridicule their intentions. I have utmost respect for most of the PFC members and their creative writing and it saddens me when someone behaves as if they own this forum. My apologies if I have hurt anyone’s sentiments.
i never said he was not credited
, i searched about cejatan boy only after reading the credits. and i dont think we know each other, however here is an opportunity
Hey!Kushal thanks for taking it in the spirit.I did not mean anything negative at all.In fact even I searched for Cajetan Boy after reading the credits.And yes I realise that we dont know each other,probably this is the way to begin the process
HI..NEERAJ..HAD SEEN THIS MOVIE FIRST DAY AND YES I AM DISAPPOINTED COZ IF I NEED TO SEE THE MOVIE LIKE THIS I WILL DEF GO FOR SATYA…WHICH NEVER GO BEYOND ITS BASIC..I KNOW THERE IS NO COMPARISON BUT STILL I GO FOR THAT IF I NEED T SEE A MAFIA MOVIE..
SECOND YES ITS INDEED A DIFFRENT MOVIE BUT I AM NOT SURE IF CAMERA WAS SO SHAKY JUST FOR THE SAKE OF EXPERIMENT, BUT THATS WAS DIFFCIULT TO WATCH ON SCREEN…
THE MOST WORE THING WAS THE ENDING..I PREFER TO HAVE A DARK ENDING AND NEED NOT TO BE ENDED TO A FEEL GOOD PLACE AND SEQUENCE IN LAST WAS ALSO TOO PREDICATABLE….
I REALLY ENJOY THE FIRST HALY AND THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN PRIYANKA AND SHAID AND THE BEST PART OF THE MOIVE IS AMOL GUPTE
TNX
The thing you said about Priyanka Chopra was spot on…her entry was indeed de-glam….she really looked like the girl-next-door…also, it was quite after some time that I felt the presence of the heroine as an essential element of a gangster movie…
Can’t comment on your comparison with PF as not yet seen Kaminey. But talking about the quality of review, one word- brilliant. Now i know why AK and VB was hugging and kissing you :p
Btw, was the guitar case used just as MacGuffin like PF or the content was shown @ the end ?
It was good to meet you on that legendary night. Am still *dizzy*
Vishal is vIshal…why do we need Tarantino?
@UH: I am still recovering myself! Thanks for the encouraging comment. And dont ask any more plot points, will you. Already I am feeling so guilty to have given away so much
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@ The Crusader: Yeah that women being critical in a gangster film was a good observation. Other such recent movies, I remember are: Gulaal, Maqbool etc
Makdee to Kaminey! Pheww!
Very well written. Glad you are on such a “high”.
I haven’t seen the movie yet but I fail to understand the guys phoo-phooing this effort because it doesn’t EXACTLY match their expectations of what it should be – it reminds me of Outlook’s Vinod Mehra savaging Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Khoobsurat” (remember the times!) because it didn’t deal with poverty and starvation!
@KK
“….reminds me of Outlook’s Vinod Mehra savaging HM’s ‘Khubsurat’ because it didn’t deal with poverty and starvation”
KK you are surely jesting, right….firstly its Vinod Mehta and not Mehra. And Outlook was nowhere on the scene when HM’s Khubsoorat released….Thirdly, i very seriously doubt if someone of Vinod Mehta stature would bother with writing Film reviews…in his Debonair days maybe, even in his Sunday Observer days, but i do not recall his writing a single film review or even an article on Hindi Film Industry (hate the term Bollywood) in the last 10 odd years….just saying…
Hi,
I too found it closer to Guy Ritchie’s style than Tarantino’s. But the trippy thing is that even in a 35 crore commercial film, Vishal has experimented so much.I’d say path breaking atleast for Hindi cinema.This is the film to beat in 2009.Let’s wait & watch.
hi..
Honestly speaking..I didn’t like the idea of comparing it with PF at all..if you take a few scenes..then I guess a movie can be compared with a number of other films..
Its really disappointing to see people comparing it with Omakara or Blue Umbrella…all of these movies belong to different genres..Kaminey is meant to be a commercial movie..and movie has all the basic elements of a cinema..the ones that define a movie..what else you expect from a mainstream commercial movie..
I agree with most of the guys in the Comments section who say that Kaminey is no way close to Pulp Fiction. Its a decent movie, sure, quite a new experience for Hindi cinema viewers, yes, but not in the league of Pulp Fiction. In PF the non linearity was more organic and at the end everything came together and provided a kind of high that Kaminey doesn’t. Its a technically brilliant film that somehow lacks a soul. And the various scene for scene comparison with PF exists because those scenes were most likely included as homages to PF.But that hardly makes Kaminey India’s answer to PF. And lastly looking back, its ultimately twin brothers challening assorted bad guys and coming up triumph – an age old Hindi movie concept. The title Kaminey deserved a movie devilishly clever with a slap to the face kind of climax. This movie is hardly that.
What crap, how can you compare a creator to its emulator who doesnt even bring it a level up, tarantino n wong kar wai both were inspired by godard n scorsese, but what they created exceeded both the masters.
Sadly i wish like earlier the director should have just copied the screenplays rather than create his own twin angle to Tarantino n Guy Ritchie kinda cinema. Pulp Fiction,True Romance,Snatch n even Rock n Rolla worked because their characters had amazing depth, more so they were all so COOOOOL. This movie hardly comes close to being cool, instead its like its Character Charlie the “FOOL”. The characters change because of childhood memories (which so so remind me of a Mahesh Bhatt film called Ghulam) which are absurd(A father commiting suicide for stealing a watch( is this a retards homage to a master of the watch scene of Bruce willis n C Walken) and hallucinatory too for some art effect. Charlie n even Guddu dont seem like Kamineys but seem like Chutiyas,( hope Ishiqiya redeems this movie), The word, The title of the movie was enough to bring a lot of Kamineys Fuckers like me to watch the film but realised in just a few minutes that we are watching a Sucker.
Ya the movie has some smart stuff, the songs are good, the Rd burman homage is good n apt too, there are lot of references to Tarantino cinema but sadly it forgets that Tarantino works because of his characters not just his james hadly chase kinda plots.
The lisp n the stuttering of the lead character who has done seems to have gone under the knife for his manly look, are just irritating at times and funny sometimes, but only wish that they had more character strength then vocal misfunctioning to make us watch the movie again n again.
Even Kaminey log are not so flat, they are like Goodfellas. Full of Life.
Please make something like Maqbool again Vishal Sir, for it overtook macbeth, a rare cinematic achievement. But dont try to emulate Tarantino n Guy Ritchie, rather be your own self.You are cool that way.
Hi Friends,
I would just like to mention my point. Why all the authors here are ready to praise any movies by Vishal & AK even if they are no good or average? I agree that they try new types of movies but this shouldn’t be the only reason to approve every movie of theirs.
You all yourself proclaim to see world cinema and all intelligent movies so how can you compare Kaminey with Guy Ritche movies or Quentin? I mean its absolutely foolish, immature and ridiculous on your part to compare the movies.
Does Kaminey even qualify for being comparable with Quentin movies? Come on friends be honest and you yourself know the answer.
I love the site, enjoy the articles and also respect the views of authors but I think there should be a limit. Advocating every movies of Vishal and AK as Cult movies ones is total foolish. At times it appears that the site is full of disciples of Vishal & AK. It reflects a clear bias on every article posted in this site.
Give these talented directors more time to prove themselves and post constructive comments which will be helpful to them also (since they regularly blog on this site). Lets all make this site an unbiased platform to discuss our points.
Can anybody please tell me the procedure to post articles at Passion for Cinema? I am hungry to post my unbiased views and opinions in the site.
Go to About, Contact, aur dobara mat puchhna. :P
The problem with PFC is that although it may have been started for the best of reasons it has become very entrenched in it’s (members) views and is hugely critical of anything and anyone who does not support or subscribe to their way of thinking.
Most of the writers have a “superiority” complex, which is as bad as the opposite. They seem to think anyone who likes anything less worthier then the “dark and serious” cinema they are so fond off, lacks intellect! What do you need, a post-grauate degrees, to like Kaminey? I have one and I didn’t like it!
Lately I have even noticed a way of replying that is similar to what one sees on Rediff. They call people “preachy” when one asks them to refrain from being overly critical of cinema they don’t like. Yet they want to sledge-hammer everyone into liking whatever they do.
Guys you are losing respect. The world owes you nothing!
I definitely agree.I mean any movie by AK and VB are just Critique proofed and the stupid comparisons to Tarantino(El Classico).I mean this movie was a letdown big time.What nonlinearity are you talking about.This movie was as linear as linear could be.It would have been nonlinear had guddu turned out to be the smarter guy and kill charlie and get away with the loot and the bitch.
Instead what we end up having is a screwup of epic proportions.Granted the shaky camerawork impressed many intelligent junta in here but that doesnt nullify a crap script.And in the end Charlie gets a bullet and comes out fresh and new.Ain`t that pretty.
Again VB and AK are humans and bound to make crap but just bashing the big banners and nuthugging the bad films by these guys borders on insanity.My view….
Woa Woa Woa Agreed “KAMINEY” is no”PULP FICTION” but come on Vishal Bharadwaj is better than Guy Ritchie any day of the week & twice on a Sunday!Vishal’s fimography speaks for itself!!
@ Tejas,
I wrote a mail through “Contact US” a couple of days before but I am yet to get a reply. Thats why I became curious and asked. Anyways never mind and thanks for the help.
@ Santosh
Guy Ritchie Stands tall because he was the early bird to come up with this type of movie. Its an indisputable fact that Vishal has taken a huge inspiration from his type of movies.
If you compare Omkara with Guy Ritchie movies then I can probably agree that Vishal is a great film maker but as far as Kaminey is concerned, there cant be any comparison.
I can understand your feelings as you are deeply moved by Vishal’s movies but this shouldn’t stand as a factor when there is unbiased comparison.
If you can spare a few minutes, go through this detailed article written by me for clearer comparison.
http://www.incubation360.com/connoisseurs-clubs/movie-reviews/813-kaminey-review-an-analysis
The dialogues stands apart and this is what you call a movie.
“If the milk turns out to be sour, I ain’t kind of pussy to drink it”
“I asked you to give me a refreshing drink. I didn’t expected a fucking rain forest.”
here are the links for your reference:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120735/quotes
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208092/quotes
@ Priya…..this is the link for submitting your articles to PFC :
http://passionforcinema.com/wp-login.php?action=register
You need to first register on wordpress after which you will receive your username and password. Then you can start posting.
@ Alysha…..I totally agree to what you have said. PFC is said to be a democratic forum just for namesake. If that was really the case, why don’t we see any articles with contradictory views published about movies such as Gulaal or Kaminey (even though I am a huge fan of AK & VB, I would surely like to know the negative points about their movies )
RD, Alysha, Priya – if this place was not democratic, we wouldn’t have real time comment publishing here. Someone would have moderated all your comments before they appeared in cyberspace. If you think you have a different point of view, bring it forth.
Priya, I agree 100%. The real credit for Kaminey should go to Guy Ritchie :-)
I clearly did not like Kaminey as much as I had hoped. Contrary to everyone’s thoughts, I felt the support cast was way too much under-utilized! Amol Gupte, Tenzing, both inspectors could have been used much more. In having a tighter movie, these characters were not given enough space to breathe or evolve! And lot of the jokes fell flat without making me even chuckle!
May be a few years later, I will be mouthing dialogues from this film, but for now it was underwhelming experience at the best.
Just because a film is foreign it may not be necessary that it will be light years ahead of our films. Our films are THERE already. Pulp Fiction bagged the Palme D’or over Kieslowski’s Three colours. If you have seen The trilogy you’ll have a similar debate : Pulp Fiction was not that great, at least not three colours. So stop being in awe of these films and that they are unparalleled. Our films are reaching that point. And about the comparisons, like I said before and I stick by it: Relative perceptions. Everyone has a different take on any film. Its a form of art. What I had written is what “I” felt. I could be wrong and right. I will put a small story from of my old posts to elucidate further on the relative perception and the “to each his own” analogy:
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“It occurred on a cold night in the ghetto suburbs of New York. A thug realized he is soon going to be broke and decided to make the cut. He contemplated on a heist that was unimaginable. 20 odd floors atop was an art house that displayed diamonds from Egypt. The building was an abuse to friction, when it came to its architecture abutting its walls. There was no way anyone would dare climb it.The thug woke up at dawn and started climbing up the building using some ancient Chinese science of calisthenics while the first sun rays kissed his rugged fingers. He broke in, stole the diamonds, but then he got arrested on his descent. The next day, the law called it a “brazen heist by an insensitive thug” and the art house curator called him “the artist who climbed atop a blunt 20 floor building”.
I think VB has lost a litte ground in this film than his previous ones trying to pay homages to tarantino,guy ritche ,burman .
He obviously tried bourne like chases..but the fighting scenes were a let down.. if it had a great car chase i thing the DP could have excelled in filming it.. the bangali and marathi sequences needed subtitles like the ones for african… and the song which he used brilliantly in the climax needed to be on the cd.. also those jump edits need not have been there…
well those are my small complaints.
It feels good to see such movies in our own language done by owr own people with much less creative freedom and budget…
……..waiting for ishquia
Also there were some periods in the film where the narrative dips…people were getting a little restless…somehow the transition scenes were not that convincing…
Thanks for this review. I have some comments to make. First, there is nothing non-linear about the narrative. There are two story lines moving in parallel and getting intertwined at several points.
The backstory of Sweety’s pregnancy is a flashback.
As for the snatches of retro film songs, they aren’t postmodern referencing so much as just the way all of us are surrounded by film music all the time.
I thought it was pretty disappointing actually.
Back in school we had a lesson in our English language text books. The title of the leson/story was “Emperors New Clothes”. And it was a good lesson/story.
I am a BIG fan of Vishal Bharadwaj. I have seen all his movie and I think he is one of the very very few filmakers in india who make good, dark movies.
Having said that I see that it has become fashonable to say that Kaminey is india pulp fiction and we have our own quientin tarantini (whatevr the spelling of that name is). Macbool was brilliant. So was Omkara though a shade less. Makdee was excellent. And so was Blue Umbrella. And these movies were dark. Yes including “Blue Umbrella” which is supposed to be a movie about children. Yes I know there is diffirence between Childrens movie and a movie about children. (Now a days it has become fashionable to make that statement) But these moviews were dark and good. Kaminey is good but not as good as Macbool or Omkara. I failt to see why indi is going gaga over Kaminey and comparing it to Pulp Fiction.
But then back in school days we had a lesson/story in our English textbooks. The name of the lesson/story was “Emperor’s New Clothes”
when the song ” do lafzo ki hai” is playing, it actually is not a shoot out.. they are just hitting francis. :-)
no offence meant but dont know why everybody is putting kaminey as an answer to PF.. i mean who the hell asked the question first of all.. cant it be just an independent movie…
great article by the way. u really followed the movie.
I can’t see why people compare this to Pulp Fiction. Also not sure if I can say that “vishal has his own style of film making”
This movie is straight out of the Guy Ritchie school of Film making – more SNATCH than LOCK STOCK…
Gr8 movie anyway. Could have been 20 minutes shorter though!
look, PF is PF because of non linear narrative, that means Non Linear chronology, only after you see the whole movie and think about it – you get the sequence of events…Kaminey just has tracks running parallel, its not non linears in chronology, events are either parallel or in sequence…comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges…btw gud article, and gud movie…
RD- I did read that article in the link given by Kushal.I never said he is accusing VB of copying, rather I said probably he wants to show it or else he has not noticed the credit in the movie.Dont you think both are different?I only got agitated when you accused me of showing off my knowledge or something to that effect.So relax my friend, I’m no man-eater and dont intend to be one either.And I’m sorry if you felt I acted as if I own the forum- neither do I own it and if I did own it- I wouldnt wanna throw my weight around.
As for your point on no negative reviews of movies of AK or VB, well you are @ full liberty to write one if you sincerely feel that any particular movie of theirs didnt really come across well to you.Most of us liked Sankat City,but my fellow PFC author- Tanul Thakur wrote about why he didnt like it and we all accepted it gracefully.
disappointing fare coming from the director of Maqbool. he has yet to better that. i saw this movie at an early morning show packed with college kids. there was so much excitement before the movie began but it was a downward spiral from there on. i so badly wanted to like this movie. is this the new hindi cinema that critics were raving about. the credit for breaking new ground should go to Dev D.
there were a few brilliant scenes but as a whole it just did not work for me. never felt for any character, and there were one too many. the climax was a huge letdown.
I can watch PF again and again and never tire of it, this one comes nowhere close to it. Looking forward to vishal’s next.
Good analogy! Very well written.
nowhere close to to pulp fiction…kaminey has a class of its own..stop trying to spot similarities..hardly any…story telling..character introduction and screenplay more like guy ritche movies..
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man why am i wasting time here (darn the link that got me here)…PFC..lol..no passion just hatred against people other than few bollywood directors and some tarintion, coen brothers, guy ritche..
suckers
@ Priya, i’m making a unbiased comparison between them based on their films till now & not just Kaminey.Guy ritchie has made 2 good films lock stock,snatch(though both were similar in treatment,style & structure) 2 awful films Swept away & Revolver & 1 average film Rock N Rolla(again same structure & treatment) whereas Vishal has made 2 of the best films in recent Hindi cinema history namely Maqbool & Omkara.He is yet to make a bad film.I liked Kaminey a lot too.His filmography is varied & more versatile than Guy Ritchie’s anyday.
Bhai yeh picture nahi ek junoon hai, sar chad kar bol raha hai “dobara dekho dobara dekho”.
This one’s already the biggest hit of Vishal Bhardwaj’s career and is certainly the best film of the year according to me.
Neeraj,
u r such a kamina i tell u .. y’day i watched this movie with atmost concentration without missing a single scene, yet after reading ur post, i felt like a looser and now i wish to watch it for another time. u have a great sense of understanding. i especially like ur analysis on the very first scene where charlie was standing next to a fast moving local.
hey i also want to put one thing in ur notice, have u seen bhope bhau’s style of taking revenge – quite similar to Shivaji maharaj’s style which also goes well with marathi culture.
also just after the fighting between brothers in abandoned railway building, guddu left with the guitar (& charlie didnt fire) and for a moment the lost love started taking shape in charlie’s conscience. this was actually shown in the very next scene when two crows (one followed by another) two local trains & two labours seen going in the same direction. i may not be true but this is my interpretation over this one of the best scenes from one of the best movies
Even a statue of Shivaji can be seen on the table of Bhope.
Neeraj,
looking fwd for some more analysis on this movie .. i already have added ur page in my favorites list
Talkin about references i think VB also gave reference to his earlier masterpiece “OMKARA”.
Here Guddu comes to his wedding in a sherwani on a two wheeler.
In “OMKARA” it was Deepak Dobriyal paddling his moped.Ha ha…only this time the bride was welcoming the groom by those inhe-jhalkao-movements…:P:P
Also just see the female lead characters in the two films..Dolly n now Sweety……well maybe Pinky is next..:P
ghirish…did you say the movie starts and ends at same point?..i watched it again….i culdnt see it happening..perhaps i missed it..
I think one of the best original crime capers from bollywood would be johnny gaddar..somehow the movie went unnoticed by a lot of people..may be poor marketing..but it has its own fan following..so is stoneman murders..awesome movie..
WTF! Why India’s Pulp Fiction?? Why not be content with India’s Kaminey?? or may be just “Kaminey”. Why do people like you have to becnchmark each and every good or bad (reference to Mumbai attacks in Nov. last year labeled as India’s 9/11) thing happening in this country against others. Why are you so complexed man??