Canalhas

Vishal Bhardwaj's films are generally masterfully crafted, whether it's the high production values, the narrative style, the superb acting or the beautiful music. Kaminey is no exception. Bhardwaj is an integral part of every such aspect in his film. He uses the best technical advances, he pays attention to the smallest of details, he extracts never-seen-before performances by his actors, and insists that he be the one who composes the film's music and score. His unique direction is aided by excellent cinematography, great editing and very well-written dialogues.

Kaminey is about two estranged twin brothers, both of whom are slightly (and funnily) limited. The one lisps, the other stammers. An incredibly twisted plot that reveals many little truths through flashbacks and confessions from time to time, it depicts a world of drugs, gangsters, murder and crime. The twin characters are very well written and defined. Charlie is a guy who lives life as if there was no tomorrow. He is cruel and carefree. Guddu is a simple guy who considers himself a duffer yet he has many plans for the future and has a relationship with a simple Marathi girl.

The acting is very good. Shahid Kapoor gives a fine performance, excellently displaying the differences of the two characters he plays. Additionally, he does what could have seemed to be very difficult (lisping, stammering) with noted ease and conviction. Priyanka Chopra in a much smaller part provides great support with her hysterical and hilariously loud Marathi girl. Without taking anything from the main lead, the one who completely blew me away, however, is Amol Gupte, who is simply outstanding in his natural and funny act as Bhope.

Kaminey is messy yet beautifully so, it is dark yet artistically so. It has hilarious comedy, emotional drama, and many great moments. It is not overdone, and one more noteworthy aspect about Vishal's films is that unlike many current filmmakers, he does not try to make them overly western and modern to make them more mass-appealing. He prefers to centre more on the rural India and show its uniqueness. Kaminey is one such film, and it presents the rural life, maybe not in a totally positive way, but certainly in a fairly realistic one. All in all, I recommend Kaminey. I wouldn't exaggerate by saying it's the best, but it is an impressive, visually stunning and entertaining picture.

Vishal Bharadwaj takes a break from Shakeshpeare and decides to give the Bollywood audience a break from candy-floss films (read that as K-Jo, YRF and their lookalikes!). He gives us a taster session of Tarantino & Guy Ritchie, famed for their distinct style of film-making. Unique (and loony) characters, tension-building scenes, unexpected turn of events, razor-sharp lines, strong background score - you name it "Kaminey" has all the ingredients. There is no "Once upon a time....." business here, the audience find themselves thrown into the middle of quagmire owing to which in the first few reels you find find yourself gasping to comprehend. Not being funny, but only the smart & intelligent stay with the proceedings.

Brilliant performances from all actors, including the host of new faces.

۩ Shahid Kapur:: Guddu & Charlie - not exactly "chalk-and-cheese" there, as you would normally expect in a storyline of identical twins. Let's say one is slightly more deceitful. Divide the stutter and lisp between them and Shahid gets a role of his lifetime which he delivers with utmost perfection.

۩ Priyanka Chopra:: Just about completing her home-run and needless to say her performance as the Maharashtrian girl is a feather in the cap.

۩ Amol Gupte:: Another Mahesh Manjrekar in the making.

۩ Deb Mukherjee:: Nice to see him after a long sabbatical, though short- role.

"Dhan Te Nan" is an obvious scene-stealer while the rest of the numbers would take sometime to catch up. Gulzar's lyrics as usual is mystical.

Crap was the word that first came to my mind when I watched "Pulp Fiction" but it took a couple of years of maturity to retrace my steps and appreciate the body of work. It goes without saying "Kaminey" deserves a second-time watch to get the gist and perhaps a few more to notice the grammar of fine film-making.

Well if you thought that the song Dhan Te Nan which you see on various TV channels is frantic,just wait till you see this pumped-up heavy duty movie. The film begins with a chase sequence near the local trains of Mumbai.And from then on the pace of the movie never drops as it hurtles towards an explosive climax where all bets are off about who'll make it and who will not. The basic story revolves around a "Guitar" to which many people are connected directly or indirectly.Its a story about the decisions which we make in our life and what impact they have on us and the people around us. The movie has a large number of characters but its the beauty of screenplay and the Director that they all become memorable ones and not just forgettable names. Chief among them is Mikhail(Chandan Roy Sanyal) as Charlie's best friend. Amol Gupte is menacing as the villain. Priyanka Chopra who is riding high these days once again shows that she is a very capable actress and not just a pretty girl. Shahid Kapoor has always been a good actor in the simpleton Guddu type roles,but here he literally burns the screen as the whacko race-bookie Charlie.The tremendous passion which he brings to screen really keeps the viewers riveted to this scintillating saga of twin brothers. And finally... THE MAN.VISHAL BHARADWAJ. He literally makes the film what it is with the best direction and music that i've seen in any Hindi movie in a long long time. Take a bow Mr. Vishal Bharadwaj.You have really made a movie which shows how the movies should really be made.

My Rating >> 10/10

We've seen so much of the RGV stuff about " Jai Maharashtra" and the style. plus, talk about 'judwa' movies .. There are things which might make you feel there's something familiar what Kaminey offers. NOT.

Well, attempting a dark comedy is difficult, especially about mafia (that too in the settings of maharashtra). The movie is a dark comedy, with an adventurous plot and an action setting. The movie almost achieves what it wants to. its brilliant in execution, with some freelance direction and good screenplay. the story revolves around parallel tracks of brothers wanting to live their own lives, but they're bound to collide. The storytelling warps in the movie where we witness a normal movie and then suddenly so much happens that you fee like rewinding back. The pace is varying and there is something to keep you edged on your seat. And the final scene comes similar to "lock, stock and 2 smoking barrels", in an Indian environment, really perfect, spotless direction.

The direction just in-phase with the contemporary age of experimental cinema. we see perfect lighting for the scenes and low shots in the movies. the songs are nice, too. the movie in whole is a great watch for people who have the taste of seeing action or adventure scripts. A nice movie, watch it.

Shahid's acting is good, limited in his roles but very methodical. priyanka tries a kareena of JWM (or the asin of Ghajini, for that matter) and plays it smoothly. However, editing the viewer with a lost feeling sometimes. There are certain potholes scattered throughout the movie, which could have either explained or avoided, at least. and yes, the movie seems a little predictable sometimes, but its maximum criticism it deserves. go on experimenting Bollywood ! o ya, n i really wonder why it got A certificate .. there is nothing A about it..

Thats what Monsieur Godard would call this film - a time pass; yet reasonably after Shekhar Kapur's comment on an esteemed daily Vishal Bhardwaj is being compared widely to Quentin Tarantino, a comparison, I feel is much forced rather than reasoned. With Kaminey Vishal Bhardwaj breaks his own elan & generates what we can call India's first perfect dark comedy. Amusingly, Vishal Bhardwaj once again displays his Shakespearean love. this time morsel of 'A Comedy of Errors', yet many may disagree. A fine work by a finer film-maker. Watch this movie without 'Maqbool' or 'Omakara' in your mind.

On a totally different note, the music of this film is exceptional, well versed by another genius in his own kind - Gulzar.

A must watch.