Kurbaan Movie Review : Kuch kuch terrorism hai?
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Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri
Direction: Rensil D’Silva
Rating: One and a half stars
I desisted from writing an instant-noodle review of Kurbaan. I said I wouldn’t, there’s no point etc. Because it raised my hackles to the extent that I wondered whether I was responding to this travesty of a film as a critic or as a Muslim.
I saw the film again, reflected on its content as well as style, and so yes, though I had promised myself that I would ignore the film, here I am for whatever it’s worth giving my take on the widely publicised film (Some love stories have blood on them, went the poster catchline, whatever that means). Because silence at times from a critic should not mean approval or even acceptance.
The most shallow film of 2009, Kurbaan directed by Rensil D’Silva and produced by Karan Johar,borrows its skeletaql plot premise about urban terrorism from Hollywood’s Arlington Road (1999), a film which Johar wanted to adapt and direct some half a decade ago. Presumably he didn’t because he couldn’t put together a script to his personal satisfaction.
The scripting task, in Johar’s mind, has been achieved by D’Silva who had co-written the superior but flawed Rang de Basanti. In its very concept, Kurbaan plays on dangerous ground. With several inevitable subtractions and additions, it morphs the original’s story about American terrorists operating from the deceptively calm suburbia. Only in this case, the terrorists are Muslims, endowed with rough stubbles, red hot eyes and the biggest cliché of them all, Om Puri as chief exterminator. If this is not irresponsible cinema, what is? Karan Johar credits himself with the story. Wonderful! If he ever adapts Red Riding Hood, he’s likely to take credit for that too.
Saif Ali Khan, as Ehsaan Khan, and all the terrorist baddies are Muslims. Still do note, Kareena Kapoor with those dead eyes and twitch-twitch mouth is Avantika — meaning a non-Muslim is about to expose a sleeper terrorist cell. Applause for the Avantikas of the world! Perhaps a Salma or Shehnaz ,as the deceived wife of Ehsaan, would not have washed with the majority community audience. D’Silva-Johar mistakenly believe that they know the formula. So what if every twist and turn in the dramaturgy is replete with contrived coincidences and are laughably illogical as well. The easy-as-pie manner,in which Ehsaan Khan is okayed by an American Unversity to take classes on the Muslim identity, is a ribtickler.
Now, cut back to the heroic heroine Avantika. She is aided by a sidey-effect, Vivek Oberoi portraying a Muslim, but he’s more of an add-on than organic to the plot. As awkwardly Dia Mirza, as Reporter Rehana,goes up in smoke in an airplane blast. The sequence is so tackily picturised that you squirm in your seat. Indeed, you fret throughout the two-hour-40-minute film, a brazenly glossy, superficial and blinkered view of post-9/11 terrorism.
No effort is made to investigate the root causes (except for some wonky allusion to global oil prices..and groan, personal vendetta). No effort is made to touch upon the complexities, or the after-effects of the beastly, misguided madness. No effort is made to do anything but be hopelessy irrational. Take the terrorists murdering one of their own jehadi’s wife. Did they wake up one morning to conclude that her kheer and biryani were not up to the mark? Or did they have issues with her smiling beatifically? And what about Big Bad Mamma Jehadi (Kirron Kher doing an Irene Papas-like number) looking more venomous than Cruella Da Vil? More: And what about that giggle-inducing close-up of cyanide capsules? In case of trouble, terrorists are instructed to swallow immediately. Some of them don’t and so have to be pumped with bullets in sleazoid bars. Or at a smashed car’s steering wheel.What a hoot!
Strictly by comparison Jagmohan Mundra’s Shoot at Sight (with a near-similar plot) was good, Kabir Khan’s New York was much better, and with or without comparison, Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liye was outstanding.
From the first frame to the last, Kurbaan is a lesson in how not to write a script and worse, how to direct it. The romance between the two dandily-garbed professors on a Delhi campus is embarrassing. By the way, a bookish professor sprouts up like a mushroom to display his terrorist fangs.So much bookwas really.
Saif, as Ehsaan on the FBI’s most wanted radar, coolly zips in and out of U S airports (he’s trimmed his beard, and maybe even has a fake massa somewhere). And Avantika turns out to be one ditzy damsel, staying on with Ehsaan even after she dhan ta na, she has learnt of his secret identity. Hello hello! Pregnant with his child, our Avantikaji beds him to show off that poster-sized bare back. He’s shown bare -backed too, but in terms of screen sex appeal, both need some elementary lessons pronto. Chill!
The FBI agents come off as nerds, the terrorists strike you as puppets on the director’s loose strings, and the action like a car crash, are sloppy. Hemant Chaturvedi’s camerawork in a bid to be coolly stylish is much too obtrusive; as for the transition shots of homes and buildings, they become so excessive that for a moment you feel you’re watching a digest of architecture.
Vis-à-vis the Islamic elements, the kalima is much too randomly used (someone even stops saying it midway through) and precious words are bandied about, like Alhamdolillah, which must be used with care and pure faith. Did anyone care to re-re-authenticate the dialogue and lyrics? Evidently not.
The tortoise-paced editing makes Kurbaan heavy on both the mind and the heart. And like it or not, the performances are nothing to write home, or anywhere, about. Saif Ali Khan either looks super-smug or goes smirk-smirk. Kareena Kapoor is irritatingly cosmetic, wearing lip gloss even when she’s zzzzupposed to be in bed, asleep. Vivek Oberoi should stop tearing his eyes to convey shock. And Om Puri should reject such terrorist boss roles, please, please, please – pretty please?
In effect, then, Kurbaan is the sort of film that doesn’t have a clue about the complex subject it is dealing with. It set my teeth on edge. And ha ha , not only because it is revealed at the end that the real name of Saif Ali Khan’s terrorist happens to be Khalid. Thanks Karan, Rensil..I’d just like to see how you guys would respond if your names were used for heinous criminals on screen. Or even in graffiti. Try it.
Clearly the motive for such movies is sheer profit. Who cares about responsible cinema? Certainly not Johar who plays with faith and terrorism as if they were toys, absolutely designer.
Tags: Kareena Kapoor, Kurbaan, Kurbaan Movie Review, Movie Review, Om Puri, Rensil D’Silva, Saif Ali Khan
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Rahul Dholakia
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Varma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Sachin Kundalkar
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Seems, its straight out of your heart Khalid !!. But wonder why all other reviews are establishing it as the best work of 09. But I loved reading your reviews.
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it’s being bashed in the public guerrilla reviews here http://passionforcinema.com/kurbaan/
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public guerilla reviews…
jio jio oz….
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I totally agree with your review Khalid… This one has got to be the most plodding, uninformed and screwy example of “meaningful cinema” ever. Who are these people in the film? Why are they so darn stupid? Why are they so bloody dense? Why can’t they think straight? Which brings me to: Why do the writer/s, director/s, editor etc of this film think we ought to care about the nincompoops running around in this film? I totally understand what you mean when you say it set your teeth on edge. There seems to be no rigour applied anywhere in this film, starting from the writing. And it’s downhill from there on, so god help the poor audience. With so much in hand – the resources, the stars, the dough, this is what they came up with? Taking a serious subject and trivialising it all to hell? Too bad, honestly.
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Yaatri, don’t think so, AFAIK, NDTV, DNA have trashed it. And yet to see Rajeev Masand’s take on it.
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Rediff gave it 3.5 stars but all others I have seen so far are scathing. A few colleagues watched the preview yesterday – general impression is that it is ‘theek thak’.
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buzz18 has rated it highly…so has Adarsh (which was obvious)…
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Adarsh @#$&*# !
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& also Kazmi…
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yes, i think adarsh and kazmi are out of there minds!!!!
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the movie sucks!
the screenplay, dialogues, characters…everything was horrible…what a waste of money!
may be songs were good…
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Surprisingly good and honest review from KM. Keep up the good work! BTW, has Khalid become the official reviewer of PFC? He watches the film first day first show, writes a review before going to bed and immediately, it is up on PFC. Most of the comments that people want to make, are made on this review. Later few people bother to write another review and few people bother to comment there. Is it a good thing?
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BTW, why do you think , Name Khalid is directed to you . I mean, its a pretty common muslim name. I dont get it ?
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Yaatri!
I haven’t seen the movie yet but from what appears it is just a generic reference to a generic name, Khalid . I wonder what the response was when it was not so generic and very in-your-face in one of RGV’s productions? (Was it Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega? I am not quite sure!)
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It sounds more like a personal angst than a review!! Need a more detached write-up
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exactly my thots. y KM has to be so pissed abt that.
It seems everyone on pfc have liked this review. But I dont think its like his ususal “smart , witty humorous” review. Its more like a “im *seriously %#@ing pissed” review
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I haven’t seen the movie yet. There’s just one point I want to make to the makers of Kurbaan. If the movie is supposedly about a serious topic like terrorism, why is it being sold through posters with several square feet of skin show????? For me personally, this straight away made me doubt whether this movie had any depth to it or was just an attempt to cash in on a “hot & happening” couple, with terrorism as a convenient flavour. Anyway, I’ll know after I watch it.
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nice one….now if we see a semi- nude poster we know for sure its a Terrorrism movie….
Thanks KJO for this warped movie
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of course its an attempt to cash in on that. But what wrong in that
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Pretty good review there KM, and i don’t understand why movie makers trivialize serious topics like Terrorism.
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KM, Awesome Review man. Straight to the point and heartfelt. As i read on someone elses blog – “Bas karo yeh meaningful cinema, just shut up and give us more Kuch Kuch hota hai”
I am still gonna watch it though, its evoking extreme reactions
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I am all confused, not that it is a difficult task to accomplish that. I am still trying to figure this reviw out. This movie totally sucks because…
1. This showed all the terrorists in the film as muslims and the good person as a Hindu – Hmmm..would the reversal of the religious identities of the characters made this a better film?
2. Film does not explore any reasons behind terrorists and their actions in any genuine fashion. Hmmm.. last time when some one attempted this, I remeber seeing a Miss Universe dancing in the desert accompanied by hoards of dancers. May be this is it.
3. The film is not meaningful like Khuda Ke Liye and just aims to make money – What a Sin! I would personally request KJo and team to own up to this heinous act of crime and do pro bono films for the rest of their lives.
4. The real identity of the terrorist is Khalid – Thank god, it was not Siva! I along with millions of others would have taken this so personally. God, I am so important, how could some body who shares the name with me be portrayed so bad
Sorry, couldn’t resist. I didn’t watch this movie, but as person who does get influenced by the reviews, this is so diametrically opposite to other reviews, I don’t see any objectivity in this one at all. Not a single word of appreciation for any aspects of the film which is getting glowing reviews for its plot, twists, screenplay, attention to details etc.. Khalid seemed to have taken an aversion to the subject matter of the film and it was all a bumpy downhill ride after that.
May be I will buy a ticket and see if I have bite my tongue/words or not.
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haha, good one. there is much deep rooted causes behind why issues like terrorism are trivialized in mainstream cinema. our films are more of a circus rather than cinema , which have songs, item numbers, a comic relief, a plot and a populist convincing end. we watch and make films for whole some entertainment rather than driving home some viewpoint.
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Hi Siva, Do you really believe someone like KJo would have done justice to a topic like terrorism?
I feel this trend of dealing with terrorism in mainstream cinema is started by Mani Ratnam Sir with Roja / Dil Se. Even Mani Sir faltered. There is no point in having outstanding music / performances when the movie lacks soul.
Only Gulzar saab did justice to this subject with Maachis and Black Friday too was honest. Although it was one sided but it was honest one sided view.
I am no fan of Khalid Saab but I think the point he is trying to make is no point in taking some serious topic when you can’t deal with it or give due importance to it.
There is no reason to be upset to show every terrorist is muslim but while doing so if it is done with sincerity and really points at the flawed thinking of fundamentalists then it will do a great service to muslims in identifying their own flaws.
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pre concieved notion isn’t healthy either way dude.. we can always blast what “someone like Kjo..” has done till now, (haven’t seen Kurbaan yet, though) but the moment it takes the shape “Oh he’s he..so he can’t do this”..it loses the meaning. Just my opinion
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totally agree on this…
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Damn good one Siva! Thats exactly how each one of us felt. You put it down succintly.
…
Its ironical that the review is still fabulous, but receives scathing responses because of the stuff that you stated.
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Siva is absolutely right. Further, the review and comments appears to be more about KJo and his sensibilities and not about the Movie.
BTW, why can’t we have a love story on the plot of terrorism, what is wrong in that? Nobody squirms when International terrorism is dealt coolly in Bond movies or Israel-Palestine issue in a slapstick comedy ‘You don’t mess with Zohan’.
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Dr Ankur, your statement is fair, but the difference between the bond movies, zohan vs. Kurban is the pretence factor.. sure have a love story with terrorism backdrop, but then dont the promotions shouldn’t go around stating this is a movie on terrorism, and we are identifying the terrorist’s psyche and kinds…. both Bond and Zohan, never make any bones about real life issues, they are upfront that the story is being carved within the international issues, but they dont try to say we are trying to making a movie to understand the international terrorism or Israel Palestine issues…. the pretence or the hype when created in a wrong direction can be very harmful….
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@Siva…wonder how you can talk on points 1,2,3 without seeing the film and judging for yourself?
and suddenly point 4 you become pro-film, again without seeing the film and judging for yourself.
Only the last line makes sense.
you should buy a ticket and see if you have to bite you your tongue/words or not.
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Looks like its another ‘you’ll love it or hate it’ movie…..
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masand’s tweet says “edge of the seat thriller with solid performances”. some sites claim that its the best of 2009 and some websites trashed it.LOL.what the hell is the common viewer supposed to do, take the gamble? May be we should ask the thackerays?
wish we had something like rottentomatoes for all the varied reviews and had a tomatometer reading !!!
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Dil ki baat Suno. Well as far as i know, the site which claimed it was best of 2009, was Trash Uncle’s IndiaFM. Also Masand is not a Gospel on Cinema, many times have seen him way off mark.
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@ ratnakar,
haan yaar. thats what i do, jo dekhna ka man kiya woich dekhtoo…. I stopped paying heed to these reviews long time ago. i was just commenting on how ridiculously diametrically opposite reviews come out every friday, on all these so called “popular” websites and “reputed” critics. its become a joke !!!
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Best bet would be Bharadwaj Rangan, except couple of times, most of the other times, found his views matching mine.
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No one is a best or worst bet. Rangan of all the critics liked Drona. Does that make him any less of a good critic? No. I don’t have anything against him or Drona, but just goes to show how movie watching is so personal a thing you can only trust your own instincts.
Khalidjee, why get so worked up for the use of name Khalid as terrorist? Is this an inside joke? Inside tussle? I agree with Siva here. Should I thank ZZTop for naming their album Tejas a few years before I was born? Kya maamla hai, yeh?
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@ratnakar : btw, can you point me to Bharadwaj Rangan’s site.
thx.
bipin
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http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/
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movie dekho yaar, you can walk out any time if you have better things to do.
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You’re kidding me? Jagmohan Mundhra’s Shoot on Sight was good? It was singlehandedly the biggest pile of ***** to infect British cinema in the last decade.
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The problem is really simple — conventional commercial Indian cinema is genteically incapable of dealing with serious subjects like terrorism and religious extremism because the form demands stupidity, cliche, melodrama, crudity, and stereotype. What did anyone expect from mainstream Bollywood?
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The “why name him Khalid?” part at the end spoils it for me. I mean, come on, he has to have some name, doesn’t he? It smacks of taking yourself too seriously and also throws up a question mark over your objectivity – atleast in my mind. Of course, I may stlll not like the movie but this could have been done without.
Also, I hope the name is not a spoiler (given that you mention it is revealed only at the end).
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But honestly, you have a movie on terrorism, but you go around promoting it based on Ms.Kapoor’s bare back, and the Saifeena romance, it really does not give an indication you are serious about the topic. I mean imagine Munich being promoted on the basis of the Love making scene, between Avner and his wife in the end.
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Ah! Good example
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Spot on buddy…
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Ratnakar,
Let us agree on the basis of the content and the storytelling or disagree which is wholly your prerogative. But let us not bring down for their choice of poster. If they were to play to the theme in a very obvious manner, we’d have called it “oh! so cliched. When will bollywood come out of this obvious and cliche zone?” I am sure you’ll agree there was nothing wrong in R’Silva or Dharma deciding on this design. This in no way trivializes the movie; Iske baad if the movie disappoints you, I am all with you. Now if the lead actors, who anyway would have been expected to promote the movie aggressively,are a real life item, who is to be blamed for that? This movie apparently deals with terrorism, so what would you have expected on the posters? They cannot risk going very avant-garde because too much subtlety is too risky at least in India, yet they cannot have the obvious terrorism-related stuff on the posters. Mind you, I am not glorifying the poster or the posterior
(sorry couldn’t help that) but that should be the of least concern “if” the content is praiseworthy or otherwise.
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@ Ratnakar —
Apples and oranges Ratnakar; apples and oranges — Rensil De Silva/Karan Johar and Steven Spielberg??? Huh?
I mean, did you expect KJo to take an ‘upside’ turn on his production house philosophy and produce a hard-hitting movie? Mr. Spielberg had the guts to make a black/white SCHINDLER’S LIST in the last decade when he had access to the LATEST cinematography gadgets/methods — one of the reasons being the HOLOCAUST is one of the darkest episodes of human civilization.
So I feel there is nothing wrong with the bare-back – since the film’s central theme is Saifeena and ‘BARE-BACK’; terrorism is the ‘BACK’-DROP.
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Havent seen the movie yet, but finally it looks like Khalid sir you have started to identify your readers in PFC… I always maintained that what is being written out should be of the relevance to readers, so I grudgingly even accepted when you said K3G was a 5 star movie, because agreed that a whole family reading the reviews can watch the movie with all following dependents irrespective of they like it or not they wont mind it, while again in newspapers when general public has to take a view about what movies to invest in to show it to family then a lot of good movies take a beating…. finally with review it does look like you have identified the readers here and able to map upto what they see and present your review to their relevance… nice work sir…
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u sound like Mark Antony talking to Ceaser….
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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: … maybe… but that was a quick observation… nice one
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sorry! yeh kya tha?
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this is more to say that a reviewers job is not an easy one as well… every target reader is different… and one a national level newspaper or your audience is vast, your ratings and kinds keep that in mind… when your audience target is much more within specific demographics, then even your language and the way a review is presented needs to be different…. its the same difference between say 2 doctors of different levels talking using the medical language, and when a doctor talks to a casual patient…. going by KM’s writings, from his first review in PFC to this one, there is difference… for sure… from being the panned one, to taking time before they are panned, its not only that the readers are more or less getting patient but its also true that his writings are getting better, keepin in line with the readers here… is that intentional or is that something that happens along the way is totally different subject, but it happens and the observation was put forward … but its completely open for discussion again …. helps? nahi toh its open for your views …
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“Because silence at times from a critic should not mean approval or even acceptance.”
Don’t ever accept or approve Khalid Saab, specially for movies which want to gulp you down old, stinking wine in the new bottle.
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I agree with the review and I too agree with KIC… really spoiled the fun of readin it.. looks to me as a personal take on his movie for the sake of giving it back your piece of mind..
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well khalid, dont you play with religion in your own reviews? you had issues with the janitor in munnabhai when it was a harmless thing. you had problems with emraan hashmi’s name changing in tum mile last week. your own reviews are littered with needless religious references every now and then. so what’s your problem? pot calling kettle black?
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Mr Khalid, you ARE writing as a Muslim here, not as a critic of popular cinema. Shame !
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That is completely baseless. Don’t even go there, specially on PFC. Such comments will be removed immediately and the commenters banned. Debate the movie & review in the comments civilly , not anything else
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Its KM who wondered it aloud – Because it raised my hackles to the extent that I wondered whether I was responding to this travesty of a film as a critic or as a Muslim. – You should have not allowed this sentence in the first place. Its like a chingari.. aag to bhadkegi hi.
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Nope the bloggers have the absolute complete freedom. If one has the balls to stand on a platform alone then blog your post on here. Else if you are in the crowd, in the comments section you have to follow the discipline of commenting laid down here.
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Bloggers have freedom, and those who comments do not?? ha ha….
Going by your thinking, film-makers too have absolute freedom, and if one has balls to stand on a platform then make a movie with your own prejudice. If you are in crowd, in blogs, you should follow bloggers’ ethics.
Please make the same rules for everyone, from mighty bloggers to insignificant readers/commentators.
BTW, I am not defending Sanjeev’s comments.
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Your quote: “Bloggers have freedom, and those who comments do not??”. Lets see the idioticity of the situation. Two strangers, one called “oz” and one called “AT” are debating over the comment policy on the internet without knowing and trying to interpret what the other just mentioned.
I haven’t and don’t think if my strength persists, ever shall say what I’ve quoted you as interpreting me, above.
Firstly you have every right to climb on the platform alone and blog anything and everything in whatever tone or manner you wish to as long as it is legal and related to cinema.
But in the comments, PFC’s policy and that carved out over the study of last three years of observing our comments sections. The objective of comments tool on PFC is to engage, debate and discuss the view or share a different view. But it is all lost if a discipline is not maintained and line not toed.
For example even in this post, other than agreeing or slapping people around, there have been only a couple of serious comments who’ve been able to engage a discussion.
If this is allowed, then there remains no difference between the comments section here and the pissing contest on major sites and boards.
But the idiocity in all this is, the main subject was a review, and look at what we have ended discussing over the last 3-4 comments, which should have been handled by email or contacting the editors… or it could have been resolved by simply reading PFC’s comment policy under the “About” section.
If one doesn’t like the policy, fine you can carry your mode and tone of engagement elsewhere.
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Unfair. Let Khalid write with the perspective of his faith and also allow anyone to post a comment criticising that!
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Sanjeev,
Please find your place in rediff message board not here.
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Well well well Sanjeev …. your comment is still posted here only to possibly show it as an example that this should not be followed ahead…. warna I am not too sure if your comment would also been published….
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Wha…? What is that supposed to mean?!
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Be it Taran Adarsh , Rajeev Masand or Raja Sen – these guys can never trash a Karan Johar film – they simply don’t have the balls to stand up.
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well, neither did Khalid. This is for the first time he has thrashed a KJ/YC film I guess.
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raja sen’s review of KANK raped the film
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/11kank.htm
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Listen guys, knew the khalid reference would raise questions…its just to point out that karan, the producer, would not have passed a miyan name that alludes to any of his other miyan acquaintance, but with khalid it’s okay…because what can he do? Icant except to point it out and just say that if i have a reprehensible character called karan in a short story, novel, documentary or film, he is not going to take it kindly…ram gopal varma was criticised for this..so why make an exception with karan?
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This means that you are not reviewing the movie and are trying to point out karans hypocrisy . do you call this unbiased review?
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geezzz …if this isnt a juvenile agruement what is???
I need a Tylenol/ibuprofen
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Maybe it was in reference to Khalid Sheikh Mohamed, the Al Qaida terrorist. Just giving the benefit of doubt to the writers.
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IMHO,
That is very unfair objection on using Saif’s name as Khalid.
That means Gregory David Roberts was also biased when he kept biggest criminal’s name as Khaled Bhai in his book Shantaram.
Would you have protested if such a name was given to a terrorist in Khuda Ke Liye? or would anybody have protested if any film, where all the characters are muslims, had given whatever muslim name to any bad character?
There should be many films where villain was given a name Karan.
Why so much fuss on using very common names in films?
With your logic Reza Murad should have protested on Fiza.
why you gave Manoj Bajpai, a terrorist in Fiza, the name Murad? Murad was the name of his father and who was a reputed character actor of his time.
There is no end to such objections as some very religious person may object on using “Mohammed” in your full name as it is an auspicious name of “Prophet” and religious person may object that a filmi person should not use such an auspicious name as in his eyes films may not be a good area.
Sorry to go little personal in comment but your pointing this issue out has given a wrong direction to the discussion which could have been focussed on the cinematic merits of the film or if there are serious issues with Islam and terrorism then a healthy debate could have been generated.
But controversy over name is not fair in this case. It is quite possible that writers of the film did not even think the similarity between Saif’s on screen name and your name.
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Having said that, if you feel name was kept to target you specifically then you have rights to protest in a democracy but better way (IMO) can be to write a separate post maybe in the form of an open letter addressing Karan Johar, Rensil D’Silva, Saif, UTV and writers of the film etc, rather than to make this objection the part of the Review which could be a professional piece of writing. Then perhaps issue could have got a proper attention. Now it is looking like an attempt to drag the film down because of personal equations. It is reducing the over all impact of the review. It is making a professional review very personal in essence. Just my personal opinion.
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Khalid sir – may I suggest you read the review of Godzilla by Roger Ebert, where he talks about the use of villain name as Ebert in the movie. He took it in his stride and made fun of it too
We, as Indians get pissed off too soon. Though, I completely agree with you regarding the lack of merits in the movie, its hard for me to digest the disgust you are feeling at your name being used.
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Oh please! Love ke liye kuch bhi karega, had two lead heroes take on pseudo names of Sultan Ahmed and Khaled Mohd. You just refused to give any stars to the movie. “Are you kidding” was all it said. Not one star, one.5 star, nothing. You taking on people in your reviews because of spite, is known. Since it became known, you have not reviewed Aladin yet, but London Dreams review came promptly. You gave Kuch kuch hota hai 5 stars. THen reprimanded RGV in his Company review for caricaturing Karan Johar. Now yall seem to have fallen out or something. So pat comes “Who cares about responsible cinema. Certainly not Karan Johar”
…
Regarding the review itself, its fabulous, really fabulous. Can you please leave out spiting people because of them not acting in your films or falling out with you. It certainly does come out. And its the only sore point in your otherwise wonderful reviews.
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ah, didnt read your post
. we both seem to remember the LKLKBK rating well 
.
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aah I remember that too. that was just too bad.
LKLKBK was really a very nice comedy ( one of the few movies where I really like Johnny lever)
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would you agree then that for the reason alone, you gave a lousy review to love ke liye kuch bi karega? how petty can that be? LKLKBK was one of the best comedies from Bollywood and i remember you giving it 0*s.
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I see Khalid’s point here. Karan would’nt dare name this character Sharukh, would he?
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Watched the movie just now. I seriously feel that the mainstream Bollywood production, who think that they know the pulse of people, should never attempt these kind of movies.
I am still wondering what did they want to show through this movie. :banginghead: Was it Love or was it the impact to terrorism. They failed in their mission big time.
I would like to meet the guy who wrote the script and decided the fund it. He lives in a world which is too far apart from reality.
I would say that I agree with the Khalid on this movie. Good review.
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Chill mere bhai Akhil
and dont be surprised if you listen slogans like ” Biggest opening” of all time.
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NOT seen the movie yet … but when the promotion of a movie supposed to dealing with complex questions(terrorism,minority,9/11 etc) revolves around BARE BACK OF MS KAREENA AND saifina love equations .. you can always judge its sincerity
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I guess Khalid saab has took it personally.
@OZ. I seriously feel that movie reviews should be very general, and informative. We should not review a movie based on our taste, beliefs, and opinions. I am not a cine expert, so I could be wrong.
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yeah .. u rightly said .. u r not a cine expert n u cud b wrong.
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try not revealing the plot of the movie next time..whoever this reviewer is
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This movie doesn’t even deserve a review. What a waste of time and money for me.
I dont blame Karan Johar, I blame myself. He along with the star cast had been mentioning consistently that its a Karan Johar kind of movie. Perhaps, I expected something else from him. Dont worry Mr Johar, this was the first time when I went out to watch a Dharma production on big screen and its gonna be my last too.
Waise I loved the line – “Did they wake up one morning to conclude that her kheer and biryani were not up to the mark?”
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Why cant we get good and honest hindi movie reviewers .Most of the reviewers have the condescending tone in their writings where they just mock the actors(remember nostril hair…),directors or producers without justifying. They should follow the guidelines like how academic papers are reviewed(Respect the author of the paper). Respect the persons who make the movie and just review the film. You can point out the good points of the movie, tell why they were good according to you;point out bad points about the movie; defend them by telling why they were bad according to you… and then give the summary of the performances, stars etc. ,instead of being caustic and personal. Just my 2 cents…..
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Just watched the movie….totally agree with khalid sir’s review except as someone mentioned above, not a single positive thing is written, so i feel according to me it will be good production values, i think it was better than newyork at least in this department(i mean, here at least we can see some foreign actors).
and especially liked the comment about vivek’s acting, i mean what this talented actor is making of himself.
and after reading all the comments i really cant understand what’s this fuss about name ‘Khalid’ i mean, khalid sir must have included that sentence on a lighter note, so why to make such a big issue about such a trivial thing, instead of focusing on discussing the movie.
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Saw the movie…movie was okay types…not bad for sure….
But Dharma productions tried too hard to make a realistic movie..and fall way too short…
but for those who are intersted in comparisons…its better than New York…for sure…acting wise, music, dialogues…
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i guess life is tough being a critic… u can never enjoy a movie as whenever u see it u will just be looking out for flaws in the movie… come on mr. khalid its cinema not ur news channel… sit back and relax pls and have some appreciation for someone of ur own fraterniy’s efforts
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lol lol and a big lol .. watched the movie( got free ticket
)… nothing much to say except that u will treat new York as masterpiece after watching this movie 
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Looks like another one goes down the drain….
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Oh this one won’t go drown the drain for sure. By Monday it will be adjudged Super Hit. Karan Johar will appear on NDTV all smiling and thanking the audience for giving it a big Thumbs up. Taran Adarsh will write a follow up post on how game changing this movie is ( and how this movie being impressively intelligent has been lapped up the masses ). Vivek Oberoi on IBN will proclaim that his movie has revived his career. There will be scores of blogs which will claim the revival of meaningful cinema and how Dharma Products has done a U turn from fluff to substance.
You get the drift?
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AND for anyone who gets the drift that Ayan is suggesting, should apply the same drift to the “paa” blog by A Singh….
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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Hahahahahaa….
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arre yaar jyo, I was serious… the note that ayaz had picked was the tone A Singh had… bechare ko wahaan bahut kuch jhelna padha .. :notsure:
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I know- I was thinking that the poor guy had to go thru some 200+ comments to justify his post and here we are starting the thing again- so I still think ur comment is reeeeaaallly funny even though true
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Agreed …
…. BTW just noticed my own vocab …. Ayaz ka Note is A Singh ka Tone… wah wah, mai bhi Shaayar… :bow: :witsend:
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and yes TYPO.. AYAN AYAN AYAN not AYAZ…. sorry dude!
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I am as infuriated as K.M himself. I am disgruntled and hurt. I am etc. etc. How could you misspell my name and cause general doom and gloom? I demand my money back
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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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Hmmm interesting review… i also saw few comments regarding the other reviewers. Didn’t understand why Tarun adarsh wow-ed it for obvious reasons as few of you stated. Care to explain pls? (i dont follow mr.tarun’s reviews hence the question)
Rajeev Masand’s reviews-my opinion is to not count on them for Karan Johar or SRK movies. I mean the guy just praises to the sky if either of them is associated to the movie. It probably is because of the face time they give to promote on his channel. I remember him saying scene in KANK where both Rani and Preeti are walking towards SRK near the traffic post is something only a brilliant director like KJO can acheive. So is the scene in the opera where one loser couple walks into another loser couple.. I was like oh really Mr.Masand, really?????
KJO claiming Kurbaan story as his own is also ridiculous but not surprising coming from a comic book director… What? comic book? c’mon guyz didnt he direct Archie comics as Kuch Kuch Hota hain and take the credit for originality of the story!!! Gurrrr from guys in Riverdale :banginghead:
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I apologise to pfc if my comment above violated their policy. The intention was not to drag the debate along the rediff path. But please fot God’s sake, see the difference in the very nature reviews by Masand, Anupama, Taran etc and the one by Mr KM here. The question is when a film deals with a specific religion which touches the lives of so many people so deeply, can it be reviewed neutrally by a follower? Apparently it cannot. And I mentioned what I did because Mr KM alluded to it himself in his review.
The solution could be, avoid reviewing films that arouse strong negetive/partial feelings inside you for extra-cinematic reasons.
Somewhat like Mrs Chopra who remains silent on Munnabhai and Eklavya and lets Mayank Shekhar do the honours!
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This comment makes no sense- so you are saying that a muslim should have no say (at least in public) about issues that concern muslims directly- they cannot present their views or something??? This is absolutely ridiculous- if there is any sort of specific example where you see a bias that is unjustified, you may point that out- but it seems ridiculous to insinuate that people outside the religion can make comments and judgements on islam, but no muslim can talk about it since he is the one most deeply affected by it. Your comment appears more biased than anything else I’ve read so far.
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Further to my comment above, if I was a rediff kind of guy, I wouldn’t be here.
And I am hurt too because no major film to date has named any character of significance as Sanjeev.
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And I am disappointed to see the name Sanjeev over here
….
anyways, let me take the assumption that maybe the words you put across came put strong, the intention was different… and moving completely away from this post… my q, not in any accusation but more or less a serious looking out for views maybe starting from you, is, when something half of India was furious about Slumdog Millionaire … showcasing India as poor blah blah… any idea why no comments like this – ‘you are commenting on the movie as an Indian, not as movie viewer/reviewer’ … maybe on AB’s blog itself… so if there is concern and an angst that the muslim characters depicted did not show the true showcase, why the question now?? and the same would apply to any other religion or subject?? For that matter there are questions over why maybe a South Indian is depicted in a particular fashion or a bangali or a punjabi or a sindhi parsi etc… Is it okay to blindly shout out about the country but not a personal practice? How different are they in terms of concepts anywhich ways? We never had a control or choice over either of them ?? So even in case KM’s review or anybody else’s does touch upon may be such issues, what wrong or different?? and this is not just pertaining to islam depiction… but on every general note???
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PS- First of all congratulations on your ability to draw parallels- most people conveniently lack that ability so they can easily make inconsistent statements in favour of their favourite parties…
True what you said abt Slumdog and wierd regional portrayals vs this post. I think the objections in this post are more valid than the objections to slumdog and here’s why:
The main objection to Slumdog was “Ok we know we have all these problems, but let’s not talk abt in to the world- it just makes us look bad” while here what’s being said is “Yes we do have a problem, and let’s talk about it- but just don’t make a sensitive issue so trivial and innacurate” Haven’t seen this movie yet, but from the reviews it doesn’t exactly seem like a true picture of terrorism at all. I think the inconsistency in reactions that you have mentioned only arises due to the fact that people do not have the ability to draw parallels and choose to react differently each time depending on where their interest lies.
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Thanks Jyoti, it has been a general practice, from all sides that what ever might be a part of our own lives we tend to support it without any second thoughts, however when somebody might be doing it, is seen as extremely sensitive… even if the difference in situations as you have elaborated about the reasons for objections in case of SM vs this post, even if thats taken off, a critisism needs to be similar in nature… what is the difference between rage over the Indian Flag being shown upside down, or a hindu goddess be shown in meat advertisement, or the usage of sacred words in islam …. all of this rage might be justified, but they need to be seen in the same light… till they are addressed in the spirit, right cause and in the appropriate manner…. before we jab fingers at someone making any claim …
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But i dont get it. Most of the negative reviews of Slumdog Millionaire in India were due to the fact that those Indians felt insulted by the movie – as you mention. Nobody probably said it in so many words, but that was like obvious knowledge those days. And because of this very reason, most of those -ve reviews were not taken seriously.
That is the case even here. It’s not like a Muslim should not/cannot review this movie, but when KM himself fears that he probably cannot be impartial in his analysis of the movie then his opinions on cinematic qualities of the movie no longer remain trustworthy. Most of the views expressed in this review therefore seem to be coming from his political leanings.
If at all, you can probably compare it with a judicial magistrate. If the judge is somehow related with the accused, it is morally required of him to not preside over the proceedings. However, he is free to have an opinion, help the accused in fighting the case etc. etc.
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Who says that serious, dedicated aantank-vaadis’ desperate housewives can’t bare their well toned backs? Arey, film mein plot nahi hai-toh kapde kyon ho? :wacko: :wacko: :wacko:
Think about it> Wouldn’t the passionate filmgoer feel More cheated if there was no story + No skin display?
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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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awsummm :rofl:
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It should be made mandatory. If there is no story in film, there should be scantly dressed females , an erotic love making scene , one sensuous item song and loot of cleavages and ass-cracks
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kya yaar, where is my weekly dose of humor?!!:-(
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In the comments
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I saw the film today and I must say.. every single alphabet, word you have used to describe this film is true. I am shocked how can people be so irresponsible, don’t they realize the social impact of films!! they treat camera as a toy, make money and live better…. When Johar used word Bombay he went all the way to Raj house to say sorry, now he … Read Moredon’t posses any guilt, I wish I could be in India to protest against Karan Johar and Darma production. I am seriously hurt… I can’t believe it is 2009 and they are making films like “Jahils” Shame on you Karan… shame on you Dharma productions!
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Believe me,i stopped appreciating khalid saab’s reviews after he gave 5 star for “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”.Later his reviews became piece of entertainment..i actually read his reviews for entertainment.So,you don’t have to take his reviews seriously..just enjoy..
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ise bhi dekh-padh len…
http://chavannichap.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post_21.html
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bahut badhiye sawaal uthaye hain saahib…. aapke sawaalon ne khalid saahib ki chintao ko aur unse bhi kaafi behtar saleeke se pesh kiya hai… aur yeh sare sawaal bahut hi jaayaz hai…. ek aur baat yeh bhi hai, ki aapne kaafi kam shabdon mei apni prasang de di hai, jisse na cinema ki poori kahaani varnit nahi ho rahi hai phir bhi picture kaa saar mil hi jaata hai…. badhiya….
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shukriya.kurbaan ke bahane bahas honi chahiye.terrorism jaise mudde par bachkani koshish band ho.
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maine abhi tak cinema toh dekhi nahi hai, lekin agar yeh saab ki pratikriya yahi hai, toh kam se kam aise prachaar hi na kare ki yeh ek terrorism pe picture hai…. saare masaaledaar drshya rakhte hue bas prachar yahi karo ki yeh ek prem kahaani hai, jismei thodi bahut terrorism ki chaap bhi hai, toh kam se kam itna dimaag na lagaaye ki kahin koi research bhi hua hai iss film ke peeche… bas ek aur prem kahaani banaa ke becho, aur TV mei aake chillana bandhkaroki yehfilm terrorism pe hai!
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With SRk in lead in My Name is Khan, I have serious doubts, what woud be KJ’s take on Austims. Hope they dont show people with Autism STAMMMER… kkkkkkiraaan…: :banginghead: :witsend:
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Very honest review of a soul less film. Kurbaan is full of flaws…for instamce, how the hell Saif, Vivek and Ompuri could enter Newyork subway carrying guns…hhmmm…it seems that our Delhi Metro is much safer then Newyork Subway. There are many such childish scenes in the film, I dont want to name them, as many of you have not seen the film…
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Ye batao dost, highly promote love making scene mein kuch dam hai kya ? download karke dekha jaaye kya ?
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thanks for the review Khalidji. I was shocked seeing the film, and it made me very angry at the negative portrayal of muslims. in today’s over sensitive times, ppeople should not `use’ terrorism for profits. at least that much we should expext from money hungry movie people. i am dismayed at the movie. any respect i had for rensil d silva for rang de basanti is gone. he too has sold his soul.
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Truly not the masterpiece that Masand and Taran Adarsh are making out of it! I was very disappointed because I expected to see what Taran Adarsh was calling the best film of this year so far! My foot! The film has fantastic performances and that’s the reason why I don’t feel completely cheated of my 200 bucks! Every actor has risen above this lame script! Even Nauheed Cyrusi breaks the myth that she can’t act and does well in her minuscule role. The two KK ladies (Kareena Kapoor and Kirron Kher), Saif, Vivek and Om Puri have also delivered fantastic performances … And yes Salim-Suleiman impress with some great background music and hummable tunes … but the film is a big, huge disappointment! I am angry and convinced that Taran Adarsh is paid by producers! How else can u explain him glorifying this film? And Rajeev Masand (the one critic I thought was brutally honest), has shocked me with his take on this film! 3 stars? Were you one of the script writer’s along with Taran Adarsh, Mr. Masand?
It’s better than Fanaa, surely. But that’s not a compliment! And yes, New York was way better!
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I am angry and convinced that Taran Adarsh is paid by producers! How else can u explain him glorifying this film?
WELCOME TO OUR CLUB :yahoo:
And Rajeev Masand (the one critic I thought was brutally honest), has shocked me with his take on this film! 3 stars? Were you one of the script writer’s along with Taran Adarsh, Mr. Masand?
hmmmm WAS not expecting thi from Masand .. but then sab bikta hai
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Khalid Sir… How does this movie compare to the other excellent movie on terrorism called ‘FIZA’…Man that movie was brilliant.
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Khalid,
For each post and specifically a review, you will get at least 10% genuine comments that ask you reasonable questions, like the one by Siva above. There will be a few that are not as eloquent as Siva’s but have the same concern.
Stand up and respond. You are writing for a blogzine for fuck’s sake. This is not TOI or Hindustan Times where there are no dialogues between the writer and the reader possible. Here you justify your post by responding to genuine questions, or you lose respect immediately.
One request to PFC editors – please make sure that the environment of debate is maintained on PFC. Not only between the commentors, but also between the authors and the commentors. I see this a glowing trend in some of the exclusives that the people come and write, without bothering to ever respond. This place has been a terrific example of user generated content and healthy debates, and please maintain it that way.
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Yeah sure. I’m driving a Hybrid fuel cell Ferrari with the hat down delivering a symbian to every commenter, author and contributor.
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So oz, when do you expect to reach bangalore, I am waiting…
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Hi Tejas, I think its the author’s preoragative itself. Some comments are compliments or jabs or whatever. Its upto the author to respond or let things be. Cannot force the author to respond to each and every comment.
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IRRESPONSIBLE FILMMAKING…those were the exact words I uttered when I was asked how i felt about the movie.
You either make movies to entertain or to enlighten. This did neither.
The reasons were established with some silly amateur statments but nothing ever hit the core. It was , yes like you say…Karan Johar’s designer terrorists with not even a single one of them living on as strong characters once the lights come back on.
Unfortunate that Rensil kicked it all off on a wrong note like this.
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PS, Jyoti and others, this one is for you. I was reading the post on my phone but after reading your comments, couldn’t help but go online and react.
about this one. How many times, our film makes have made mockery of the topic by now – Fanaa, New york. Even the reviewer himself made one of the ugliest such farces called “Fizaa” or ‘Fiza’, i don’t remember. I still remember Hrithik Roshan’s dance routine, for no reason and the song mehboob mere, what a torture. The fact is, our film makers, including KM in his film maker avatar, have used terrorists just like they used to use Chambal dakus in 70s and 80s. The themes are still the same, plots are still very uncooked, but now the ‘Vomit curry’, as Padmaja pointed out in her review (which i loved by the way), is served in designer dresses and sunglasses. Even better, the hero doesn’t even have to look unkempt as he had to in a daku role, he can be cool and suave, what an innovation in the plot. Call me cynic, but I am disgusted and that’s why owe it to PFC and reviews like this one for saving at least some of us from wasting our money and feeling cheated as we come out of theater. I agree, people like me or even PFC readers don’t make a film hit and the film be declared a super hit on Monday( as Ayan pointed out) and there will be parties and ‘Making of the Bare back scene’ kind of stuff on channels next week.
First, on the this review and few others. This review, in a way balanced it for me, saved me Rs 200, as someone pointed out because Taran Adarsh, and then someone on Rediff went gaga over the film, calling it ’smart’, ‘most powerful fil of 2009′ and what not. I was beyond apprehensive (see i am typically very apprehensive
I do agree with Siva and few other comments about Khalid bringing his religion and name into it. That spoiled it for me as well. I am sure Khalid was a reference to some of the popular terrorist names such as Khalid Sheikh Muhammed (as Oz pointed out) and not to KM. KM is attaching a bit too much importance to his name. There was more direct reference in Love Ke Liye ( one of my favorite films), where the faka names for Aftab and Fardeen were Khalid Mohammed and Sultan Ahmed (anothe film producer, if i remember correctly)or even Jane bhi do yaro where the characters were called Vinod Chopra and Sudhir Mishra. But it was in a fun way.
Another problem I have is KM writing or objecting to film as a muslim. Can we please keep that out of it? I am a Hindu, Khalid sir, please trust me when I say it, the film would be an equally big insult my sensibilities. You may have felt worse as Muslim, but then, were you also a Muslim when you made a mockery of the theme in Fizaa?
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And while at it, I would also like to comment about ‘reviewers revealing the plot’ even though this may be the wrong forum for it. What plot are we talking about? Dear objectors, when you watch Kurbaan, can you please come back and point out which exact plot points blew your mind or which ones were spoiled for you because you read the review on PFC. And, i am not saying the reviewers are not revealing plots, heck even Taran Adarsh, in his jest to praise the film and Karan Johar, explained the whole story ( and he almost always does), but my objection is more basic, where’s the plot in first place?
I think, our problem is we have vested interests criss-crossed and linked in every sphere of the field. These mediums cannot stand on their own, they have no credibility in their own space, they survive on interviews, tidbits, ad space given by the very people whose films they critique. How do you expect them to be honest? How can you or how long can you criticize the hand that feed you? Prem Panicker, one of my favorite writers and a journalist himself write about how even news stories are sold and bought –
“One common low-end package: Your profile and “four news items of your choice” to be carried for between Rs.4 lakh or more depending on which page you seek. There is something chilling about those words “news items of your choice.” Here is news on order. Paid for. (Throw in a little extra and a writer from the paper will help you draft your material.) :
Here is the link to the full post on his blog
http://prempanicker.wordpress.com/page/5/
So folk,s cherish PFC while it’a around, until it gets bought by someone from within the media and the film industry. Until then, you at least have one place where people can speak without vested interests. Those who complain about PFC being biased for AK, why don’t you get up a write a blog about, this much i promise you, nobody will stop your blog from being published and you’ll find equal support and detractors.
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I think the outrage here is because for once some of us thought ( even if unconsciously ) with Rensil at the helm the movie would be atleast a little different from the usual KJo fare. The marketing was , to say the least, awesome. Did we discuss .. say Kaal ..with equal intensity? Besides the assortment of actors, each one of them can be quite powerful in their own right , even the lead pair. And the outcry is probably more because somewhere down the line the movie Probably ( i am saying probably because whoever can write RDB , yes potentially flawed, but bold and rebellious , should be given the benefit of the doubt) lost Rensils vision and was babysnatched by KJo, so the misplaced sense of getting cheated accentuates the disappointment by several notches.
Interestingly, I thought the dialouges were quite average and in a way feel wee bit disappointed that AK was involved in this debacle.
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Thanks for this link
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Editor Note: Comment violates PFC’s comment policy
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Now, this is a comment that crosses the line. PFC admins, please take notice and remove this comment immediately.
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The movie is nothing but a rehash of Fanaa,Shoot at Sight & especially New York.Wondering whats prompting such a big debate, this movie certainly doesn’t deserve it IMO.
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Avantika, the heroine of Kurbaan finds the truth of her neighbour, including her husband’s evil terror designs by the most facile manner. She is under lock and key supervised by highly motivated terrorist’s who forget to search her. She in fact has a phone on her!
Still interested? Avantika who knows that a plane carrying a special delegation to Iraq is about to be BOMBED does NOT call the cops – inspite of having a phone!! She calls up a journalist who is traveling on the said plane – who like most travelers switches off her phone before take-off.
Vivek Oberoi’s journalist character (with horrible accents that change like calamitous weather) again discovers that there is a terrorist cell in operation about to carry a HUGE operation. What does he do? He decides to investigate on his own – without informing the FBI. And better still – he goes and informs his editor that he has LEADS but is not going to inform the FBI! You would assume that the editor would pick up the phone and call the FBI. But no sir, he doesn’t. All this after 9/11.
There is more. Even after knowing that the terrorist cell is targeting the Metro Lines and even after the 1st bombing – people in America go about their daily lives. The authorities continue to operate the Metro instead of closing it down and sanitizing it so that our plot reaches it logical ending.
The clothes of course are good. And the locations. Couple of scenes work well. But does it justify the lack of careful attention to screenplay-detail? Seems like that. We are cagey in our criticism until and unless there is an ulterior motive. A taut flawless script is no guarantee of a film’s success. I like Rang De Basanti (at least I did when I last saw it). My friends laugh and mock me, but I still enjoy it inspite of the inconsistencies and flights of fancy. RDB has a sincere charm – the emotions of those characters are infectious and accessible. You are ready to gloss over because you believe in the film emotionally if not intellectually.
That is not possible with Kurbaan’s because its politics exist in a no man’s land. A Pakistani posing as a professor, charms off an Indian psychology professor teaching in the US so that he can take revenge on the white man and his politics of oil. The story of his idyll being destroyed by America is told by Kiron Kher’s character. Similarly Kiron Kher and family’s rage has a backstory set in Afghanistan.
The complex web of the Jihad – Wahabism, invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets, the Mujahideen, the Saudi funding of Madrasas, the CIA financing of the Mujahideen, the ISI agenda of funding terror for strategic depth in Afghanistan, the radicalization of Pakistan under Zia, the strangle-hold of the military in Pakistan, the emergence of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda – nothing is even remotely touched upon. Kurbaa’s reductionism lays the blame on the door of the US of A. Is it that simple?
Do we see any evidence of what Bhaijaan (Om Puri) constantly asserts – that Ehsaan (Saif) is falling for Avantika (Kareena). NO. It is just a bogey so that when Ehsaan actually does have a change of heart without any reason whatsoever (no it’s nothing to do with the kid that Avantika is carrying) you have to gloss over the obvious lack of motivation. Again Ehsaas, the numero – uno terrorist is surprised by the rigging of Avantika’s bag. Is he a fool or a motivated fanatic?
Is Kurbaan a vivisection of the increasing clash of cultures between Islam and Christianity? NO. Is it a study of radicalization of the world per se. NO. Does India play any role in it? Nothing other than the fact that the film starts in India and the heroine has Indian roots.
Kurbaa’s characters lie in a no-man’s land. Are we supposed to like the film because it features 2 of India’s good-looking, talked-about people who are in a relationship? Good ploy but it fails.
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Very aptly put!
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Read this review before i watched the film. while reading the review itself , did get the feeling that it was a knee jerk reaction to the film. And actually went into the theatre confident that Kurbaan would be a decent movie. As i walked out , i realised that the movie is pathetic … in fact in the theatre itself had gotten that feeling. But i still do not agree with KM’s review. the movie is not bad because it shows muslims in a certain manner … the movie is pathetic because the story is weak … the story has holes beyond belief … And then i read Ms Padmaja s review which had it spot on. She too has ripped apart the movie but with the right kind of logic … she has critiqued the movie rather than the religious affiliations of the characters as KM has done. With all due respect to OZ and the comment policy , is there a code of conduct for the bloggers ? or can KM write anything and get away with it. This review is as rabid as some of the comments it has got. And to say that Khuda kay liye was an achievement in film making is to insult the viewers. KKL had outstanding music , very very promising story , unbelievably bad acting , technically worse than nfdc films of the 70s. and to top it all KM has a filmography which starts with Fiza which i liked as a film but also has cinematic liberties of the extreme kind.
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As per the BO verdict, the movie is turning out to be a flop. KJO needs to understand u can’t keep making fools out of the audiences every time.
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I haven’t watched this film but I did read this about Mr. Khalid in the paper today (surprise!): http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=30&contentid=2009112420091124042619484b4c0e41d
Is this why the poor rating?
Also terrorism has no “reason”. Have the Tbetans resorted to terrorism in spite of all the troubles and humiliation they have faced?
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Your Quote: Is this why the poor rating?
My bad. I take the blame. Khalid had decided not to write a review after the incident lest someone raise a finger, as you have. I pushed him to write the review, because I thought it would be silly for someone to do that (raise the finger). Only after much cajoling did Khalid saab write the review, else this was not meant to be published. I was wrong. Some do think silly.
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also, it says the guy walked out midway through the movie and he says he missed the other screening for police. how then can he write a review based on seeing one half of the movie?
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Man, we trust those press wallah more than we trust our own intelligence and logical thinking. Here we have Mr Khalid talking about his experience about the movie and we think that he is lying, even though there is no reason to believe in it. But we trust those press wallahs, who publish gossip and talk about others. At least give the benefit of doubt to Mr Khalid, when he is talking about himself.
Only if you have seen the movie till the end, will you come to know that the terrorist is named Khalid. And if Mr Khalid is talking here about that scene, then logical thinking leads to the conclusion that he has seen the movie. You might argue that he might have heard about the ending from someone else. But then what makes you believe that comment in press. Should you not question their credibility too.
Off late, I have witnessed this mentality in most of the Indians. Mr Bachchan had been a victim of this for a very long time. Take for example the SM controversy. He had very clearly written on his blog that he is yet to see the movie but nobody believed it. Everybody believed those page 3 reports that Big B slammed SM. An unknown reporter has more credibility than anyone who has achieved something.
I am not saying that you should completely discard such reports. But why blidly endorse those too. The benefit of doubt should go to the person who is talking about himself and please try to think before believing anything
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dude, why are you making such a big issue out of nothing? article just says KM left the movie halfway and KM himself admits he left the movie halfway with a friend.
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Yaar tune phir se dimag nahi lagaya. Mr Khalid, by means of this review, is saying over here that he has seen the movie. On the contrary the link you have sent is the version of an unknown gossip monger. And whose version are you trusting?- The gossip monger. You have formed such a strong opinion without even giving a thought.
Seems like the legendary Naipaul was right about his observations on us. esp when he says “Indians dont think for more than 4-5 times a year”.
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excellent!!!!!!
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Khalid,
A good and apt review is marred by your juvenile complaint about the protagonists name being Khalid.(seriously? are you kidding?)
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Hi Khalid u r the only one who has actually reviewed this over-hyped product…all others (mostly) have sugar-coated their comments…keep up the good work…really liked ur no-nonsense approach.
These Karan Johars can never address a real issue,they just try to fool the audience everytime with hyped n self-proclaimed solo heroes and stars. :banginghead:
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Taran Adarsh is a true visionary. This is what he wrote:
“KURBAAN tries to penetrate into the psyche of not just the terrorist, but also someone who has been a helpless spectator all this while. This film is sure to spark off discussions and debates”
So many discussions and debates on the movie!
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Conspiracy Theory No. 1 : KM rubbished the movie so badly because the dialogues are co written by Anurag Kashyap and hence KM believes that the naming of terrorist is a brainchild of AK.
I am surprised that noone came up with this one on PFC. Am disappointed.
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“Thanks Karan, Rensil..I’d just like to see how you guys would respond if your names were used for heinous criminals on screen. Or even in graffiti. Try it.”
I never get this guys reviews. I mean, WHAT is this line above???? Sad to see such stuff on PFC.
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The only honest review of Kurbaan. Thank God, you wrote it Khalid. Someone had to.
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Interesting review, I agree the film was full of stereotypes but they were only Muslim stereotypes. Somehow the Hindu father agrees to give his daughter away to a Muslim after a brief conversation, that wasn’t a stereotype at all!!! Quite the opposite in fact, that would probably never happen in reality.
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Just got around to watching the movie… wasn’t exactly expecting a classic, but this is beyond garbage! Utter nonsense!
Thanks Khalid Saab for the review… it was perfect. If anything, it wasn’t harsh enough!
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I have been a great fan of Khalid Mohammed reviews and the caricatures that he does in his reviews (remember “Ram Aur Shyam Teri Ganga Maili” for Kishen Kanhaiya’s review?) On the other hand I am not at all a big fan of K-Jo and YRF. I believe they are simply over-hyped and have absolute zero creativity. My personal belief.
However, for the first time here, I felt that this review is personal. I have watched Kurbaan, and I did like it in parts.
So why is Khalid M so against the film. I have two guesses based on his review remarks, first because the film portrays a typical terrorist mindset. That Muslims are shown as hard-core terrorists seems to have touched a vein. But hey, just as all pigs are animals does not mean that all animals are pigs. In the same sense, all terrorists are Muslims does not mean that all Muslims are terorists. Khalid must accept this fact. And the second thing that seems to have hurt Khalid Mohammed is the fact that the terrorist’s name was Khalid.
If a film critic is going to shoot down a film because the bad guy’s name is the same as his own then there is something rotten about the review.
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{Editor Note: Comment is partially deleted. No personal attack on PFC authors and readers}
This movie is far superior than Khuda Ke Liye. It is far more sleek and well made. Khuda Ke Liye is like a Pakistani TV drama.
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it is very good share,thanks,and i like this blog
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