When you decide to remake an old classic, especially with Himesh Reshammiya as your lead actor, you create more than just hype before the release of your movie. There’s a sense of curiosity. Himesh’s first release, Aap Ka Suroor, may be have been a hit at the box office but to say the movie didn’t do well with critics would be an understatement. So how is his second outing, and is this movie a genuine tribute to it’s predecessor or is it just another way to attract the masses and get into their pockets? Well, luckily for you, you don’t have to take the risk to find out.
The story of Karz is pretty well known to everyone, but to those who are unaware here it is in a nutshell. Guy marries girl. Girl kills guy. Guys mother can’t take it. Blames God. Guy is reborn in the body of Himesh Reshammiya who has flashes of the guys life and before you know it … it’s revenge time. Simple enough, and since this is a remake I won’t dwell on the story any further, but I guess it would be safe to say that a story like this has all the ingredients of a great Hindi movie. There’s drama, a love story, family values, revenge, etc. What it all depends on now is how the director and his cast handle the responsibility of carrying such high expectations.
First things first, you give to credit where it’s due. Himesh Reshammiya (Monty) is a big improvement of what we saw in his debut. You can definitely see that he has made the effort in this movie, and though some scenes don’t come out well, his effort does not go unnoticed. The thing is though; he’s still not good enough to carry a movie on his own, especially if that movie is a remake of an old classic. Sadly, there’s no scene that truly stands out in terms of acting. The only ones that do stand out are the slightly awkward ones. So while he has definitely made the effort and has improved, as a stand-alone performance it’s still not up to the mark, which is what matters in the end.
Debutant Shweta Kumar (Tina) is very, very bland. There are hardly any expressions on her face, and when they are there they seem forced. There is absolutely no chemistry whatsoever between her and Monty. There’s this scene where Monty explains himself to Tina and her guardian and after he pours his heart out Tina comes up to him and say’s “I’m sorry I doubted you” and walks off.
While I’m mentioning the negatives, I might as well get the biggest one off my chest. What has happened to Gulshan Grover (Juda) in this movie? Seriously? What was his character all about? Why did they have to give him a robotic arm that plays tunes as he taps it, which only his clichéd bodyguards could understand? What was the need for that? My memory’s a little hazy, but didn’t the original “villain” tap on tables to communicate? THIS is the modern day twist Satish Kaushik, or whoever had the final say, decided to give his character? Come to think of it, he’s almost a reason to watch the movie. It’s that comical. Very hard to take him seriously as a villain when he’s punching out tunes to his bodyguards with a smile on his face. Raj Babbar’s character, the “maker” of Monty, is also a put-off. His presence during the climax of this movie was COMPLETELY unnecessary and was there just so the whole cast could be present.
The positives? Urmila Matondkar (playing Kamini) was a wise choice for the role. She was spot on with her portrayal of a shrewd and calculating villainess who could do anything for financial comfort, even if that meant taking the life of the person she loved and keeping his family hidden from the rest of the world. The movie could have done without the clichéd evil laughs towards the end, but you can’t blame Urmila for that. Danny Denzongpa, playing Kabir Chacha (Tina’s guardian) was also a pleasure to watch. Though his role was a little meaningless (reciting lines from old Bollywood movies throughout), he was still able to make the most of the script and bring in all the emotions that he could. Dino Morea (playing Ravi Verma) was a pleasure to watch, even though he had very limited screen time. Rohini Hattangadi (Ravi’s mother) did a decent job, but unfortunately her character was plagued with 1980’s dialogues that could have definitely used some more very slight tweaking.
Acting-talk aside, this movie is shot beautifully. The cinematography deserves an extra mention, especially during certain shots of Kenya. The opening sequence in particular is very well done. The special effects, however, could have used a bit more work and there was an occasion where they were not required at all but, alas, Monty had to act like a proper filmi-hero towards the end. Why the director decided to have him jump in the air as if he had springs in his shoes and kick his enemies, Mortal Kombat style, when they are standing right in front of him I’ll never know. I truly feel that unnecessary “special effects” such as this one can only harm your movie. Surely, in this day and age, they won’t blow the audience away, so why even bother going ahead with them?
And, of course, you can’t review a movie starring Himesh Reshammiya without talking about the songs. To say that they were a bit more than necessary, keeping the fact that it’s a Himesh movie in mind, would be an understatement. At times you felt that you were watching a bunch of music videos with a little story connecting them. While the songs are shot well, some of them are placed rather forcibly, which truly does break the flow of the movie. “Ek Haseena Thi” deserves a special mention, though. Not only is the tune used very well throughout the movie, the song itself is played out very well.
All in all, Karzzzz is a movie that Himesh fans should not miss. For them this movie will be pure bliss. Not a Himesh fan? Well, I’d suggest you catch the original Karz instead, even if you’ve already seen it. While Himesh does the best he could, he still isn’t ready to carry a movie on his own, and since this movie revolves around him it becomes very hard to applaud it. However, if you compare it to his previous outing then, yes, it is impressive, but that’s not how movies are judged, are they? They need to be judged as individual pieces of work. So, yeah, watch this if you’re a Himesh fan or if you want to laugh at Juda’s robotic arm and his form of communication. Otherwise … skip it.
Took your advice and watched the old one. It was very impressive. I usually find the 80s movies either corny or too melodramatic but I really liked this one. I don't think I can stomach Himesh's take on the charcter of "Monty" after watching Rishi Kapoor's performance.
When you decide to remake an old classic, especially with Himesh Reshammiya as your lead actor, you create more than just hype before the release of your movie. There’s a sense of curiosity. Himesh’s first release, Aap Ka Suroor, may be have been a hit at the box office but to say the movie didn’t do well with critics would be an understatement. So how is his second outing, and is this movie a genuine tribute to it’s predecessor or is it just another way to attract the masses and get into their pockets? Well, luckily for you, you don’t have to take the risk to find out.
Debutant Shweta Kumar (Tina) is very, very bland. There are hardly any expressions on her face, and when they are there they seem forced. There is absolutely no chemistry whatsoever between her and Monty. There’s this scene where Monty explains himself to Tina and her guardian and after he pours his heart out Tina comes up to him and say’s “I’m sorry I doubted you” and walks off.
The positives? Urmila Matondkar (playing Kamini) was a wise choice for the role. She was spot on with her portrayal of a shrewd and calculating villainess who could do anything for financial comfort, even if that meant taking the life of the person she loved and keeping his family hidden from the rest of the world. The movie could have done without the clichéd evil laughs towards the end, but you can’t blame Urmila for that. Danny Denzongpa, playing Kabir Chacha (Tina’s guardian) was also a pleasure to watch. Though his role was a little meaningless (reciting lines from old Bollywood movies throughout), he was still able to make the most of the script and bring in all the emotions that he could. Dino Morea (playing Ravi Verma) was a pleasure to watch, even though he had very limited screen time. Rohini Hattangadi (Ravi’s mother) did a decent job, but unfortunately her character was plagued with 1980’s dialogues that could have definitely used some more very slight tweaking.
And, of course, you can’t review a movie starring Himesh Reshammiya without talking about the songs. To say that they were a bit more than necessary, keeping the fact that it’s a Himesh movie in mind, would be an understatement. At times you felt that you were watching a bunch of music videos with a little story connecting them. While the songs are shot well, some of them are placed rather forcibly, which truly does break the flow of the movie. “Ek Haseena Thi” deserves a special mention, though. Not only is the tune used very well throughout the movie, the song itself is played out very well.
even though i hvn't seen da old karz
i liked this 1