Kismat Konnection

Finally, after many months, I climbed on a bus and went to see a movie in its first release weekend. A number of things drew me to see it: Jab We Met was a good movie, so I wanted to see if Shahid was continuing his momentum. Wanted to see how Shahid and Vidya worked together. And was drawn by stories I read about Juhi's role.

Well, Juhi was just great. Boman Irani had a cameo role and was appealing. Om Puri did his role flawlessly. Shahid and Vidya do make a dandy couple, maybe not QUITE Shahid and Amrita, but very good.

My problems were really with the screenplay. It was very uneven to me. In a few moments I thought it very good. But in a lot of moments I thought it was not well written. They were trying for zany comedy and didn't quite make it.

So its hard to give it a rating. I felt the cast tried very hard to make an inferior screenplay great. But I just didn't come away feeling the way I did after other recent movies like Jab We Met. So 6/10.

Clichéd. Very clichéd.

Those expecting a romantic extravaganza akin to Shahid's Jab We Met will be very disappointed. Nothing about the movie clicks. The comedy is non-existent. The storyline is predictable and the portrayal is mediocre.

The beginning of the movie although not very promising was at least decent. The first half is light-hearted and raised expectations. But the second half is lengthy and stretches on, much to the impatience and frustration of the viewers. Even the twists and turns were stereotypical and had nothing new to offer. The songs were good and refreshing. The acting was OK. The chemistry between Shahid and Vidya was not very good. All in all it is not a movie worth wasting your time and money on.

A lousy effort.

Lady luck is the personification of luck in the form of a lady bringing good or bad fortune for a person (mostly a male as it's the males who think this way). Males look upon the females they love or like as lucky for them and it's just a wild thought that their association brings good luck to them. Well, such phenomena may not exist but several people believe in its existence. And as they say, man's thoughts only reveal themselves to him in tangible form, such things do happen also (may be out of pure coincidence or due to the famous Law of Attraction). Kismat Connection (2008) tells such a story only.

Set in Toronto, the story of Kismat Connection (the connection of luck) is the story of two young architects - Raj (Shahid Kapoor) and Hiten (Vishal Malhotra). They are talented and sincere but their luck does not favour them and they are struggling hard to get work. While continuously approaching Mr. Gill (Om Puri), a director of a construction firm - Batra and Gill in their bid to get a contract, they stumble upon Priya (Vidya Baalan) who runs a community centre meant for the modestly earning people. Soon Raj starts feeling that Priya is his lucky charm. Love blossoms in his heart for Priya and he expects better days for him when two significant developments take place.

Raj comes to know that Priya is engaged to Karan Behl and they are going to tie the sacred knot soon. On the other hand, the coveted contract sought after by Raj and Hiten turns out to be the one which will result in the demolition of the community centre Priya is associated with. After a good dose of comedy in the first half and a good dose of sentiments in the second half, the movie ends in the Bollywoodish 'All's well that ends well' style.

The director of this movie is Aziz Mirza and it is the signature movie of this director who had earlier directed movies like Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) and Yes Boss (1997) having a similar tone. The movie is entertaining, no doubt. And the theory of lucky charm may not be a scientific one but it may appeal to a sizable chunk of Indian audience (including myself). It's a weak movie all the same with the director trying to pack too many things in the climax when the hero delivers his emotional speech and gets what he wants.

The first half of the movie which focuses on comedy is more interesting and makes the viewer sit through it. However the later part follows the tried and tested formula-studded path and starts boring. Well-identified scenes appear first to bring the members of the lead pair closer, then to separate them and then to reunite them, rendering a feeling that the filmmaker has nothing new to offer. The later reels have a clear hangover of Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) also when the issue of the dismantling of the community centre for the sake of the project of the mall creates a twist in the story. However everything remains quite predictable and the audience knows the end beforehand.

It's difficult to understand why the filmmaker has set the story in Canada whereas the same could have been narrated with an Indian backdrop in a much better way especially when all the characters of the story are Indian only. Setting the story on a foreign land has diluted its impact for the Indian audience because it becomes difficult to relate to it on account of this very reason.

Vidya Baalan has replicated her Lage Raho Munna Bhai act because she has got a similar role and similar script as well. However while she was perfect for Sanjay Dutt who's much older to her, she is quite a mismatch for Shahid who is younger to her. She appears to be her aunt from all the angles and their on screen chemistry is quite unappealing. Shahid Kapoor, Vishal Malhotra, Om Puri, Boman Irani and others including Juhi Chawla in a cameo have done their respective parts well. More than the chemistry between Shahid and Vidya, it's the chemistry between Vidya and her peculiar friend Boman which impresses the audience.

Technically this movie is good and the beautiful locations of Canada have been captured very well by the cinematographer. The movie is lengthy and should have been made crispier through proper scripting and editing. Pritam's music is good.

I recommend Kismat Connection as a decent entertaining watch to the regular movie buffs. Well, whether you consider someone special as your lucky charm or not, is up to you but you can enjoy this movie which is more or less a fun movie.

If you're a Torontonian, then there is a high possibility that you will not like the film. Yes the movie is shot in Toronto so that should be interesting enough right? But that's where you are wrong. The film is shot all over Toronto, parts of Niagara, India, and a city or two I'm sure. Firstly, any single person in Toronto does not live in a two story house by him or herself. And if you are going to design a house, why not even get a glimpse of what a house in Toronto looks like. The staircase was so Indian, the lamps were Indian, and the fact that you showed a one story house from outside and two stories inside was SO Indian! Moreover Adelaide street where Mr. Shahid Kapoor lived does not have houses. It is highly commercial and totally packed with no rooms for houses. Secondly, Vidya Balan is sitting at Sheldon Lookout and her waving friend sits across the lake to her. This is not possible because the rocks she's sitting on face a huge lake, and the sky line of Toronto. And if someone Is sitting on the other side, unless you have bionic eyes, you cannot see them. Lastly, the two love birds go for a walk in Toronto, at Harbour front, then walking around King Street, then Bay street, but when the song is nearly ending, they are actually at Niagara falls which is two hours away from Toronto! But the audience is made to believe its all still Toronto! If you are going to use an outside location, at least get its geography right. Toronto is flooded with Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshi's and Srilankan's all of whom are big on Bollywood. But this much error in presentation of a movie by such a well known director is just sad. The movie is okay. If you have time to spare watch Jab We Met again. This one is a pass by.

This was a much better movie then expected.

Raj Malhotra, who was once the most popular person in his college. when he was also top in almost everything, finds himself unable to get any jobs, any projects or any clients as an architect. In fact his Kismat is bad until he meets a Gypsy woman who begins to predict things for him and that he needs a lucky charm to change his life.

Inspired by the Hollywood movie "Just My Luck," it stars Shahid Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Vishal Malhotra, Juhi Chawla, Om Puri, Himani Shivpuri and Boman Irani. The voice over is by Shahrukh Khan and is directed by the director of movies such as "Chalte Chalte, "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hidustani" and "Raju Bangaya Gentleman," Aziz Mirza.

This is definitely one of the better movies for Shahid Kapoor and one is able to see some sort of chemistry between him and Vidya Balan, who also looks quite gorgeous. It is also one of the better movies that I have seen this year, considering the amount of flops that have been taking place. There are also some moments that are at times funny and Aziz Mirza has done a good job of this and has managed to bring out the best from both his main actors - Shahid and Vidya in terms of expressions.

Conclusion: Although the story is predictable, this is one movie that can be watched with family members and children. Worth watching.