kapoor & sons
Cast : Fawad Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Rishi Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah
Rated: 7.5/10
There is nothing mundane about this family drama from Karan Johar’s kitty. In fact, it has his stamp written all over it from the word go. One had thought that Bollywood had almost forgotten to make such kind of films. So kudos to KJo for giving us a movie that has all the necessary ingredients to make its mark at the box office.
lately, things appear to be going in favour of KJo first with Bahubali and now with Kapoor & Sons. And why not. The man had to contend with the flop of his magnum opus Bombay Velvet.
Talking about Kapoor & Sons; it has everything spice, drama, some great numbers ladki kar gayi chul and set against a backdrop that is extremely picturesque. The fact that it portrays the everyday problems (read money) of a middle class family means that there is an instant connect with the audience. Add to it two estranged brothers and the stage is set for some drama and there is plenty of it.
Director Shakun Batra should be given an A-plus for having managed to make a movie where shouting and fighting are common into an entertainer from the word go and keep up the tempo till the very end albeit with plenty of twists and turns, with a few tears to be shed towards the end of the movie.
What really works here is not the storyline but the brilliant casting. There is Ratna Pathak Shah. From playing the ranisa in Khoobsurat to a middle class house wife, she has proved her versatility. Rajat Kapoor has also managed to hold his ground as has Alia Bhatt, who plays a bubbly girl with a sad story to tell of her own. Then there is Sidharth Malhotra. Though there is very little chemistry between him and Alia, his acting improves as the movie progresses. Then, of course, there is Fawad Khan. He is definitely a keeper. After making his debut in Bollywood with Khoobsurat, he plays the role of a man who doesn’t like girls with aplomb.
But the showstopper of this film is Rishi Kapoor who plays a 90-year-old. Though he may not have a lot of screen space, his presence is loud and clear in places where he is not in the frame; that is the quality of his performance in this one. He is witty, practices how to play dead at regular intervals much to the annoyance of his daughter-in-law (Ratna Pathak), loves Ram Teri Ganga Maili because of that one scene of Mandakini under the waterfall, loves to watch ‘rangeen films’ and antogonise the nurse.
This is one movie that comes with a tag a great entertainer.