Fearless filmmaking isn’t an Indian trait. Correction, not a Bollywood trait at least. So, when Vishal Bharadwaj thinks out of the box and makes Kaminey, we sit up and say, “What the f***! This is great stuff.” In what seems like a herd-of-sheep syndrome, more and more stars are being given away to the film nationwide. Four – meaning excellent – is the average score. Better-than-excellent scores are also being handed out with magnanimity. What the f***!
Look, what I am ‘not’ trying to say is Kaminey is the typical balls-is-beautiful sort of Mallika Sherawat film. Nor am I suggesting that Vishal, in his quest for experimentation, has come up with a ‘chutnified’ Kabhi Alvida…’s parallel in a different genre. For, Vishal can do better than that at his worst. And, he does so…once more. Imagination and sincerity are two of the keywords driving Kaminey’s presentation: some loosely structured scenes that pop up from time to time, smart cinematography, decent enough music, fine plotting and performances being the hallmark of this not-too-long essay on the big screen.
Kaminey exposes the average Indian viewer to a certain kind of avant garde filmmaking he/she has never seen before. But, the problem: if you have seen a fair number of films which have tried to conduct similar experiments worldwide, you are left thinking: ‘The film is more than decent. But great? Ah, not very sure.’ I mean, I am supposed to love the overwhelmingly common perspective that this film is an answer to Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Honestly, I hate it! No matter what, in other words, Kaminey isn’t a patch on Lock, Stock….Vishal is very good, no doubt, but Guy Ritchie is something else. Period.
In Kaminey, the biggest strength is the plot. There are smart twists and turns, and the narrative moves ahead restlessly. Vishal has been known to be a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. So, there you are. Critics are telling us his latest reminds us of Tarantino as well. Sorry to say this, but really, when does Kaminey acquire the sort of power that Tarantino achieves almost effortlessly in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs? Vishal makes very good music, but does he come anywhere near the way Tarantino uses music in Reservoir Dogs in particular? What about those innumerable gems in Kill Bill which only a man who has mastered his style can come up with? Nobody is asking that. Understandable. In times of hype, such things seldom matter.
The stylistic format that Vishal has opted for makes for good viewing. But, it is unfair to ignore that fact that many filmmakers have journeyed a lot more – and given much better – results while exploring the same cinematic zone. You know what? There is this guy named Johnnie To from Hong Kong. His name isn’t cropping up, the obvious reason being To isn’t Tarantino in terms of sheer popularity and reach. Having said that, he makes fine movies. And, it will be great if some admirers of Kaminey sit back and watch what To has been able to achieve in some films in which he has To-ed a similar line. Indeed, there are quite a few of them out there who have been there, done that. So, while it is important that we applaud Vishal’s sincerity, there is no reason for us to assert that Kaminey is Tarantino at its best. Or, Marilyn Monroe at her most divine. Both make no sense.
