Kaalakaandi Review

This marks the debut of Akshat Verma, but wait he’s not new. Almost 7 years ago, a movie that got noticed for its sheer madness and publicly advertised cuss words. On top of it, the viral song Bhaag DK Bose needs a place in Bollywood’s history pages. Akshat was the writer of the film and now he yields the megaphone with Kaalakandi starring Saif as the protagonist. You can see some familiar faces from Dlehi Belly in Kaalakandi as well, especially Vijay Raaz and Kunal Roy Kapoor. Kaalakandi is a marathi word that roughly means a situation where things go terribly messy.

This dark comedy is set in Mumbai and in a night. Saif plays a simple manRileen, who has not touched anything bad in his life, but ends up getting a stomach cancer. When it is diagnosed, the doctor advises him to have the time of his life as the cancer is in the last stages. He is obviously disheartened and gets a free advice from his friend that, he should try out a drug and get high, so that he can have just “enjoy” the moments of his life. The drug is called acid and he takes it. Obviously, the situations that follow are quirky and can take things from anywhere to anywhere. Additionally, there are three parallel tracks going in their own mode. One of them is the due of Deepak Dobriyal and Vijay Raaz who belong to the underworld, but as chelas. They aim high and want to be the bosses. One other track is of a couple who is on a verge of a break-up. One another track is Rileen’s friendwho’s a to-be-wed and who’s stuck in his own mess. How all the seemingly unrelated tracks progress and later converge is Kaalakandi.

Saif undoubtedly is one of the best parts of the film. His comic timing is the best in the industry among all the stars and superstars. Yes, even Akshay would come second to Saif. So, when put in a dark comedy, you will see only a hilarious stuff from Saif. Of course, the movie is also supported by some extremely talented people like Vijay Raaz and Mr. Dobriyal. Kunal Roy Kapoor is probably the worst thing that happened to this film. The female actors have done well.

Akshat Verma comes up with a hilarious film. The film as a standalone is funny, but lot of resemblances to Delhi Belly. There’s an underworld, there is sex, there is a silly comedy, people screwing up everywhere. Of course, the number of cuss words are probably same or more in number. It also indicates that Akshat could not think of something else than these common elements. However, leaving the comparisons aside, the movie has lot of funny moments. The screenplay is a bit eccentric, where you are never really allowed to get deep into a story, it keeps juggling which is sometimes annoying, as the switch happens at the wrong moments. The background music goes well with the film.

All in all, a dark comedy which is bizzare and quirky.