Kidnap

This is the film which i expected to be good while watching the promos. Imran Khan looked good in the promos...So i was expecting a stylish thriller but it turned out to be a Damp Squib. This film can be a good lessons to actors like Imran Khan and other actors who sign movies in the love for their roles narrated in the film and forget about the script. This is a really awful predictable thriller.

Coming to performances, everyone is mediocre except Imran Khan who shines as the kidnapper, although he tends to go weak in his acting several times especially When He confronts Sanjay Dutt in the end, You feel the actor needs acting lessons. Minisha Lamba is an actress who has given respectable performances in her past movies. But here she is terrible. She opted for cleavage and skin show and got nothing from it. Vidya Malavade is OK but you feel like laughing when you come to know she is playing Minisha's mother. Sanjay Dutt is passable. His age is overpowering him,

The thing which always knocks my head, I would like to ask the scriptwriter, they never wanted a romantic angle in this movie right? then why they made the kidnapper having a heart of gold and showing a young lady who is showing so much cleavage and doesn't romance. Does it make any sense? A romantic angle could have saved this movie.

On the Whole, Don't waste your time for this one...this is one more example of a good idea turned horribly wrong.

This movie from start was ill-conceived. It was too simplistic with no twists and will fail to grab your attention for long.In short, this plot had more holes than swiss cheese. The casting was done by a clueless director. The dialogues were weird and didn't do anything to alleviate the miserable plot. Imran Khan did not look the part of a juvenile delinquent or a boy from an orphanage. He looked more like a spoilt brat trying to get his parents attention by creating a nuisance. He concentrated more on looking cool than actually playing the part. Sanjay Dutt's acting was OK but with a spare tire around his midriff he didn't seem to have too much problems matching step for step in the foot chase with Imran.Vidya Malvade looked too glamorous for a mother, whose child has been kidnapped. She didn't once sob uncontrollably or breakdown. I guess that would have messed up her hair and makeup. This wasn't a role for her. Inspite of being kidnapped, Minisha Lamba didn't seem to have any problems coming up with Victora Secret's sexy lingerie,designer clothes or bathing in picturesque settings. Almost makes you want to be kidnapped. Like the Summary Title says " Total waste of Time and Money"

Maybe I just didn't know what to expect but the genre of this film could just as easily be musical as it is crime or thriller. If your not ready for the victim to spontaneously break into song and dance ala cheesy Indian music video skip this one. Still I was mildly entertained. As the title suggests the story is about a kidnapping but you just can't take it seriously.Many of the characters and locations look like Miami Vice if it had been shot in India on a low budget. I'm probably not reviewing this fairly as it needs a unique genre. I was also the only Non Indian in the audience. OK so their was a kidnapping. And the kidnapper takes the parents to go on a wild goose chase.All you need to know is Indian music video crossed with low budget Miami Vice.

What can a father, who is filthy rich, do if his daughter, who he hasn't seen for eight years and then one day he finds out that she's been kidnapped? Simple! Try and find out where she's been held and by who and try and find out the ransom amount and pay. But no, its not that simple as it involves someone who is out take revenge.

Imran Khan has definitely grown up from his first movie and to match his character, he has done workout in the Gym and has shown it. He is the saving grace for this film and has matured. The same cannot be said for "Munnabhai," Sanjay Dutt – no doubt in my mind that he is a good actor but he could have performed better. He has played the role of a father before in "Pitaah," but playing the role of a teenager's father could have taken it to stronger position but never the less, not a bad attempt. Rahul Dev, in the meantime, has done a good job of his role in helping the helpless father.

Actresses nowadays can stoop to any length in a film, including exposing and unfortunately for Minnisha Lambha, she has turned to exposing a bit, which I thought was unnecessary. But I can't say the same for Vidya Malvade as she has definitely performed well as a mother. Lastly, there was nothing much for Reema Lagoo, who I felt was wasted when her role as a grandmother could have been improved.

This is not the same Sanjay Gadhvi, who has now separated from Yashraj Films, who previously directed hit movies such as "Dhoom" and "Dhoom2." The script was weak in many parts and this is perhaps the reason why he was not able to do better. The script could have been improvised and this would have made the film a bit better. Something to watch out for is the chasing scenes between the father and Kabir as they are very well filmed. I have been informed that for one scene, Imran Khan actually tried to perform a dangerous stunt himself only to receive a call from his uncle Aamir after Munnabhai gave him a call and informed him.

Conclusion: This is a watchable movie but it could have been better.

RELEASED IN 2008 and directed by Sanjay Gadhvi, "Kidnap" chronicles events in India when the daughter (Minissha Lamba) of a rich tycoon (Sanjay Dutt) is kidnapped by a man driven by vengeance (Imran Khan). Vidya Malvade is on hand as the beautiful mother and ex-wife of the mogul.

This was only my third Bollywood movie so maybe I'm not the best person to appraise these movies, but I find them interesting for cultural reasons and generally entertaining.

The animated credits sequence is overlong and is curiously followed by a pop music video led by Minissha Lamba before the actual movie starts at the 8.5 minute mark. There are a couple of other music videos thrown in later. The language mixes Hindi with some English here and there, which is interesting (I gather this is how they actually speak over there).

The story and some of the dramatics seem too contrived and sometimes too quaint. The prison break sequence, for instance, is akin to a goofy Spaghetti Western from back in the day. Nevertheless, this is a unique crime thriller in that it bends over backward to entertain, literally throwing in kinetic song & dance routines. Lamba is curvy, the aging Dutt is resolute analogous to Bruce Willis with a small spare tire and the young Khan is unrealistically formidable, but likable. There's a dynamic rooftop chase in the second half and I liked the moral of the story, which is unmistakably driven home. But the movie is overlong at close to 2.5 hours.

WRITERS: Shibani Bathija and six others.

GRADE: C/C-