KALANK - a film review

KALANK – a film review

If you are a movie addict and love the extravaganza of a genre that Prithviraj Kapoor, V. Shantharam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have popularized in Bollywood, you may, perhaps, like to take a peek at ‘Kalank”.

Kalank is an intense family drama portraying a love story spread across communal conflicts set in the backdrop of the 1940s. Directed by Abhishek Varman, it is co-produced by Dharma Productions, Fox Star Studios, as well as, Nadiadwala and Grandsons.

To its credit, the film has an ensemble cast with Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur.

Set in Lahore during the spell of British rule in the sub-continent, the movie opens with the documentation of the Partition by a journalist interviewing Alia Bhatt who reveals a tragic story of deception and rejection, of trust gained and lost, of communal conflicts that slay love to make room for a soulless compromise just to stay alive. The theme is said to have been conceptualized by Karan Johar and his father, Yash Johar, some years ago -- as a saga of love brewing at a time of hate and discord. It probably had great potential to be a success.

The film today, directed by Abhishek Varman and produced by Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala and Fox Star Studios, is evidently the widest Bollywood release of 2019 on 5300 screens worldwide. Yet, when you come out of the theatre, you come out with a sigh of relief.

Undoubtedly, a weak story-line with faulty execution, the film fails to hold your interest. The movie, not only too lengthy with an unsteady pace, grows monotonous with the passage of every second.

Flamboyant as an unrealistic period drama, the movie lingers through shaky conflicts and feeble character sketches. It keeps us wondering if India really was as it is portrayed, some 70 odd years ago! You really have to exercise a “willing suspension of disbelief” to appreciate the glaring flaws.

Interestingly, the movie shifts dramatically without warning, between the plains of Afghanistan and Ladakh where, in between, the sets of Hira Mandi, the ill-famed town near Lahore, is planted to transport you to an elaborate ‘Bhansali’ ambiance. It’s here in ‘Hira Mandi’ where the sky lights up at night and pageants of joyous occasions like Holi, Dusshera and Id are intertwined with equal zest to indicate harmony among the different communities. And yet, that’s where evil swells to lurk in suspicious corners.

If that’s not all, suddenly you are taken to the Spanish arena of a bull-fight in the midst of rocky terrain to find a fight between man and beast where the bull is invariably defeated by man’s physical prowess. But man doesn’t survive by strength alone. Love is kindled in a broken soul to be forgiven and released. And that is where the mystery lies.

I found characterization in the movie pathetically inadequate even though it is a multi-starrer with Alia Bhatt as the young feisty Roop, married wrongly to Dev Chaudhry (Aditya Roy Kapur), while Satya (Sonakshi Sinha), his wife awaits death. Trouble starts when young Zafar (Varun Dhawan) enters the screen with his philandering ways and dangerous ploys to seduce Roop for reasons of his own. Nevertheless, Alia and Varun carry the movie on their young shoulders successfully along with a sensitive portrayal by Aditya as the brooder. (no pun intended)

Both Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit fail to convince the viewers that there was some chemistry between the two some time back. They walk and talk like wooden puppets on a string -- each lost in his/her own past glory.

To me the script seemed loose and somewhere went threadbare in the end with each passing minute. The dialogues grew stilted and hollow. In spite of sparks in places, it degenerated into monotony with the repetition of the same lines.

However, I feel that its soulful music created by Preetam and lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, could be the main draw to the movie. Ghar More Pardesiya, sung by Shreya Ghosal, where Madhuri Dixit and Alia Bhatt share the same frame, is magical. This is also when the theme of Ramayana runs through the song and the pageant greets you to Hira Mandi.

The other thing that could mesmerize the viewers is the spectacular set of Hira Mandi created with extraordinary craftsmanship. Apparently bigger than the sets of Devdas, it took an army of 150 light-men, 300 extras and 500 skillful dancers to make this real. It is said that it took 3 months of intense dedication to build the set to make it look like a small town where Bahaar Begam reigned and Zafar palyed his wily games.

So if you are willing to have a look at the sets and pageants, you may wander into the cool comfort of the theatres to escape the summer heat outside. But don’t say, I didn’t warn you.

Dola Dutta Roy ©

April 21, 2019