Kai po che!

Before watching "Kai Po Che!":

Me: Hey! Let's watch Kai Po Che.. A movie about Friendship, Forgiveness, Passion and..

Bro: wait.. yet another movie on 'friendship'! Another 3 idiots! Another Zindagi na milegi dobara... Come on! Don't you get tired of watching movies about same old stuff.. Can't we watch 'Die Hard'..? Yippee ki yay!

Me: No.. 'Die Hard' got bad reviews.. And seriously? Choosing 'Die Hard' over 'Kai Po Che' is the dumbest thing that must have ever come to your mind. Nopiee ki nay!

Bro: OK then.. let's go.. But we will watch Die hard after we are done with Kai Po Che.. OK?

Me: OK. Cool.

The film:

The film title Kai Po Che is originally a Gujarati phrase that means "I have cut the kite" which refers to a kite competition where one of the competitors uses his kite to cut off another competitors kite and yells "Kai Po Che!"

Adapted from "The 3 Mistakes of my Life"(Chetan Bhagat) and Directed by Abhishek Kapoor (Rock On!!) this is a character driven film about friendship, forgiveness, passion, love.. all in the backdrop of some real events. The story mainly revolves around three friends, Ishaan played by Sushant Singh Rajput, Govind played by Raj Kumar Yadav and Omi played by Amit Sadh, who set out to open a sports training academy.

The Good:

A film about friendship is not a new thing in Bollywood. We have already witnessed "3 Idiots", "Rock On", "ZNMD", "Dil Chahta Hai". "Kai Po Che" looks similar at first but peel off the layers and it's much more.

Adapted from a book titled "3 mistakes of my Life" this film is a tightly scripted and crisply edited drama that never bogs down or dumbs down for its audience and instead resorts to subtlety.

Playing with themes like dreams and aspirations, friendship standing test of time, a commentary of our education system is not an easy task and the director does an incredible job of weaving everything together.

Cinematographer Anay Goswamy has made look Gujrat so beautiful that I feel like taking a vacation and running off to that place for the Kite festival. Also, music given by "Amit Trivedi" is refreshing especially the song "Manjha".

But it's the characters that drive this film and the three leads are a revelation here. Rajkumar Yadav, Amit Sadh and Sushant Singh Rajput not only have a good screen presence but they can actually ACT! (Sorry about me shouting and all.. but can't control my emotions right now) The actors have such great chemistry that it reminded me of my college days. These guys are not actors in this film. They ARE Govind Patel, Omkar Shastri and Ishaan Bhatt. And this is where this film hits it out of the park.

A capitalist money minded friend. A political friend. An emotional/day dreamer friend. These are people whom we have met somewhere at some point in our lives. These are people whom we can relate to and care about.

The Bad: Not applicable.

Final verdict: Cricket, Love, Friendship, Passion, Politics.. It's all what India is about and it's something that any sane minded Indian wouldn't and shouldn't miss.

After watching "Kai Po Che!":

Bro: Damn you… (sniff)

Me: What! You didn't like it? (sniff)

Bro: My eyes are watery. It's so embarrassing! F***ing friendship movies… (sniff)

Me: Oh come on now! Since when did you start crying for a film (sniff)

Bro: Oh and why is there a bubble under your nose?

Me: I.. I got cold. (sniff..) OK.. So next Die Hard.. I'll go buy the tickets and then..

Bro: F*** Die Hard. Let's watch this again. (sniff)

Kai Po Che is on screen adaption of Chetan Bhagat's '3 mistakes of my life'....and i have to admit that despite having read the novel, this movie leaves the same impact as if reading the book....or perhaps even more than that...

The direction has been amazingly superb along with the screenplay.....the background score is simply outstanding and influences the entire movie...but its the actors who steal the show completely...Almost all the parts in the book have been covered except the Australian one and wasn't needed either..The simplicity of the script is what makes it superfluous...The combination of real life incidents with the lives of the main characters is portrayed perfectly...The most astounding feature of this story is how different aspects of society - cricket, politics and religion intervene to some conclusions...

The cast is new, but director Abhishek Kapoor manages to pull out something really extraordinary from them...Debutant Sushant Singh Rajput is the show-stealer with an award-winning performance , nicely supported by others...Raj Kumar Yadav plays his role to perfection...

This movie is classic tale of friendship,cricket,politics and its impact on the lives of 3 friends...The movie is flawless in its every part barring the climax which is far too sudden. The climax is totally different from the novel and better than the novel as well...Thumbs up for KAI PO CHE and its brilliant cast and direction...

'Kai Po Che' chronicles the life of 3 friends in Gujarat(India) & how their dreams, passion, friendship and brotherhood undergo various upheavals thereby changing the dynamics of their relationship in the face of natural disaster, religious strife's & politics of Gujarat. The lead actors in the film are new & young but has given a terrific performance.

Kai Po Che's script is more like a chapter of book rather than a story in whole but nevertheless the director is successful in showcasing chetan bhagat's book in a fluid manner. At no point the film becomes monotonous nor the script is dragging but it keeps you interested the whole time wanting for more. Audiences will surely recall '3 idiots' when the film begins.

This movie exceeded my expectations.Kai Po Che! does not redefines Indian cinema and brings nothing new to the table but still it ranks among the best films made in recent times just because it gets the essentials right.The acting by all lead stars and the supporting cast is excellent,editing is good ,direction is commendable and so is the story(much much better than the novel). Speaking of acting Sushant Singh deserves all the praise but one has to agree his role was the most likable of the three.Amit and Raj's role was challenging as well which they have played with due diligence.Even the support cast of Omi's "mama" and Vidya were brilliant and did justice to their role.But the real beauty of this movie lies in its simplicity.I never felt a scene overdone in the movie.The fight scenes (among the friend and riots)specially don't look pacified as in most of the Hindi movies for censor certificates.There is enough use of abuse in the movie but it never looks overdone and out of context.At the end of the day Kai Po Che! makes you feel nostalgic ,gives you heartwarming moments and heart breaking moments as well but then you realize that good cinema does not necessarily needs to be ground breaking,you can make a good movie just by following simple rule of good story,good acting and good direction.

Kai Po Che- Magnificent direction and excellent performance by each one of the cast member, you will find it hard to get a loophole there. The film is based on 'The Three Mistakes of My Life', more than the story it is the execution that sets this film apart. On account of direction this movie has set some high standards, it's a through and through professional job; priorities, preferences, perspectives and lives of people are so beautifully gelled that it is a treat to the senses. Music has been used to touch this movie just enough to keep it untouched, yet it has provided the desired effect- may be a notch less you can say This is mostly a single paced film, that in no way means that it is on a lower level; actually whole film has been set up on a higher platform. It is not an outright feel-good thing like DCH or RDB, and it is intense even in it's lightest of moments. The climax is short, fitting and crisp - a message has been delivered without going in disputed territories So, don't go in with any presumptions and watch it for some exceptional stuff but at the same time there is no guarantee for everyone's satisfaction