Chal chal sadko pe hogi dhan tan...

Something I love doing with films is watching them after the hype surrounding them has died down. I some how feel like I have a more objective viewing. So, on 6th March 2010, almost a year after it was originally released, I finally watched it. Kaminey. It was meant to be a magical dream come true for me - not least of all because it is my favourite Indian director, Vishal Bhardwaj [henceforth knows as VB], taking on my most-beloved genre of cinema, the gritty crime caper. It did not disappoint.

There have been reams written about this film. They say any film on which everyone seems to have an opinion, whether hyper-complimentary or ascorbic, is worth watching. Like everyone else I, too, have something to say - it's not Bhardwaj's best...but it's still effing awesome!

There really is so much that I loved about this film. And since I tend to be a pretty verbose writer, I'm limiting myself to a few dozen words/point.

- I love films that open with an ambiguous chase. Yes, it's pretty standard in any crime caper worth its weight in box office collections, but to do it well still takes a certain amount of skill. The jerky camera action has to suggest a certain closeness to the goings on and yet still be positioned in a manner to ensure the audience is comfortable in its role as passive voyeurs. The mandatory freeze frames need to be perfectly timed and must coordinate to the t with the crisp expositionary voiceover. VB pulls it off. Wonderfully. And so, with the first scene getting a huge check mark in the "Win" category, I got ready for the ride.

- The lighting. I'm not particularly conversant in all the technical lingo, but I absolutely adored the way this film was shot. I'd say it was like VB shot the film, and then clicked the "Boost Colour" button in whatever editing programme he was using. It's fantastic. The reds are deep, the blues are sharp, and the close-ups capture every subtle line in the actors' faces, every rippling muscle in their (well-toned) bodies. I really admire directors/cinematographers who give importance to the tint, contrast and type of film they use and I think in Kaminey each sequence was treated as a unique entity that required very particular attention. It definitely pays off.

- The dialogue. VB is a master at writing gritty scripts in which even a seemingly inocuous statement is laced in an eerie murkiness - it is no different in Kaminey. Compared to your regular run-of-the-mill Hindi film, the dialogue is surprisingly limited. The plot is really drawn out through the physical action, which is why I think even when characters make declarations about the state of the world and mankind, it never comes across as being preachy or artificial. Of course it's a credit to the writing that every word out of the characters' mouths seems like something they would say - it's incredible to me how VB manages to understand so many different kinds of human beings and then creates plausible characters out of them. Which leads me to...

- The acting. OK, so there are no Irrfans, Ajays or (as much as it pains me to say this) Saifs in this film. I'm a huge Shahid Kapoor fan, thanks to Jab We Met, but I still think he struggles to lift his performance from really really good to epic (which is what most of the actors in VB's other films have done). Especially when he plays Charlie, I really did feel like he was trying too hard to be a brooding, dark anti-hero and therefore his performance rang a little false. Come to think of it, for some reason I felt this way about a lot of the supporting cast in this film. In any crime caper, there will be many subplots and it is inevitable that the audience will be exposed to fistfuls of characters. But I think what some of the minor characters struggled with was understanding that they were merely pitstops - to use a terrible analogy, their (over-)acting suggested that they believed that it was their role in changing the tires on the Ferrari that won Schumi the race. Having said all that, the acting was still about 50,000 times better than in any other Hindi film in recent memory.

- Priyanka Chopra. Yes, she deserves her own bullet point. I was blown away by her in this film. Finally a female character in a Hindi film I can relate to, not just as a woman, but as a human being. I think she was the best developed character in Kaminey and while I must give a truckload of credit to VB for creating such a powerful, realistic, fiery and loveable Sweety, much more credit must go to Piggy Chops for portraying her with such maturity and giving an overpowering warmth to the character. Truly a performance of a lifetime and the extent to which it has been underrated is appalling to me.

- Gaane-shaane. My dad and I actually had an argument about this actually. I think that every song was perfectly placed in the film...from "Fatak" setting the background for the opening credits to the very playful "Raat Ke Dhai Baje" during the wedding scene to the introspective "Kaminey" near the climax of the film (and yes of COURSE "Dhan Te Nan" which, even had it been the backdrop of a mother's funeral, I would've loved), I believe the songs complemented the script. My dad suggested it slowed down the film. Thoughts?

- Every lesson learned. This is a very personal comment/interpretation of the thematic content of the film. I've very recently been very drawn to films in which the underlying theme reveals that human beings, essentially, do not change very much. It's the reason why I loved the leads in Up In The Air and Crazy Heart (ooh that reminds me, must.do.Oscars.prediction.post.) - it takes a great deal of honesty to suggest that in the end, people's personalities remain pretty standard throughout their adult lives, pluses and minuses intact (give or take a few degrees of intensity). The idea that a tear-jerking diatribe or a life-altering situation will necessarily spark an introspection so intense that we fundamentally alter who we are as human beings is not true to reality, I believe. I love that in Kaminey our characters (who are ALL a bright shade of grey) do not drastically alter much, despite the world's efforts. I don't think this is a negative thing at all, by the way. I'm not suggesting that human beings are doomed to their fate as good or bad people. I don't think there is such a thing as objective goodness or badness when it comes to human beings (individual acts, of course, are a different matter altogether) - I think it suggests that as people we choose who we want to be and have the conviction to be true to that, no matter what life and other people throw at us. Whether it's being steadfastly committed to our dreams (as Charlie is) or whether it's being so loyal to our larger set of moral principles that we will betray a brother's dream to do what we believe is right (at least that's what I see Guddu having done) - we ultimately stay unwaveringly true to who we have carefully constructed ourselves to be.

Having said all that, I do have one serious issue with the film as well. The first time I've ever felt this way about a VB film actually. I'm still not entirely sure why he made this film. I don't think Kaminey does anything drastically different from other underworld/crime capers that have come before it (oh god, does anyone else remember that two year period when EVERY film coming out of Bombay seemed to be about gangs and/or policemen? Jeez!). Don't get me wrong, I don't think a director should ever have to justify why s/he's made a film after a so-called 'trend' has passed...I guess I just feel a little disappointed that Kaminey isn't as ground-breaking as I thought it would be. My knowledge of Hindi cinema doesn't allow me to definitively say that it's the first time a crime flick with multiple story lines has been done, and I don't think it is. It isn't at all a black comedy like Pulp Fiction (which is what people have told me it's based off of) or Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. Like some other aspects of the film, I think it falls into the precarious crack between great and stupendous, and this is only disappointing because VB usually manages to surpass stupendous without breaking a sweat.

Final thoughts: Hindi cinema needs more Kamineys (the movie, of course, we have more than enough corrupt, sleazy baaashturds in the Bombay film industry already) and Vishal Bhardwajs. We need more films with crisp dialogue, intricate plot lines, mature character development, thematic honesty and attention to detail. And while I do think it breaks ground with its quality, I don't think the film itself brings anything drastically new to the table. VB can do better, but even in his failings he still manages to impress and leave me fmiling, st-st-st-uttering and dhinkchak-ing to "Dhan Te Nan". So no fear, VB, our love story continues...

My Rating: 7.50/10 [Try and recall the scene in which Sweety rushes to the police station to save Guddu from the torturous interrogation session. The melodramatic shehnai in the background score was really awful. It would be funny if it were meant to be ironic...but it wasn't. That blunder actually knocked off 0.25 of a point off my final rating. Sorry, VB.]