Revisiting a definitive - 1

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I think that cinema in India has been produced by dime a dozen and there are a handful that needs to be looked as a definitive movie that sums up a large number of sub-contextual elements. The other day I happened to read a piece of news about Amit Sadh and his experience with Kai Po Che. The workshops they did before the movie went on floors and the time Abhishek Kapoor (the director) spent on thrashing out the characters and how they all miss Sushant now. This got me thinking that why not start a new series on my blogpost about revisiting a definitive movie from any era and then review it from my own perspective. Kai Po Che made perfect sense. 

At the onset the movie clearly stands out for being an honest effort from a lot of people, and since it happened to be a debut for several of the leads, the honesty in the performance showed. There have been reams written on how Sushant's (Ishaan) character virtually steals the show. Yes, there are no two words about it. In his debut avatar Sushant not only managed to grab screen time but also his energy and the restlessness of the character reflected so well in the performance. Every cue and every scene was so well rehearsed and it shows in his performance. Its a pity that we have lost such a talent too soon.  

Yet there are some who needs special mention too. There is Rajkumar Rao and his single minded focus to set up the sports store. The movie goes back in flashback to narrate and then it eventually comes back to the present times. Between both the timelines Rajkumar's character (Govind) never really drops that interesting element to his part. The time when earthquake hits the city, the time when he is out for a first date, the time when he spends with this friends and even when watching a cricket match; Rajkumar's character never drops for a moment. Now that is the honesty in the performance.

Amit Sadh's character (Omi) is the more stoic one with the least number of lines. Now Sadh is usually not the one known for range in his acting. But, in Kai Po Che he pulls it off so well is purely for the back end workshops which worked wonders for the cast. And when they actually hit the floor it never seemed they were acting. Sadh put in a lot of effort in his role and it showed abundantly. 

It is opportune to talk of Amrita Puri's character (Vidya) and Asif Basra (Naseer Hashmi) who are important part of the plot. It is quite sad that as we talk of Asif Basra's character and just a few days back he was found hanging from his house in Dharmashala. What a loss for Hindi cinema! Both Amrita and Asif had critical roles and they played it so well. The beauty of the brother and sister relationship came out so well between Amrita and Sushant. 

Kai Po Che also stands out for a wonderful and subtle message that it throws back to the society. And particularly at a time like now it is indeed an important film. Hate has no language and revenge is never the answer to everything. The relationship that the three friends enjoy and their chemistry was palpable all through the film. Pity, religion, societal norms and everything in between often tears them down. That is where the film scores so well and maybe Chetan Bhagat or the screenplay is to be thanked is best left to the audience to decide. 

The other level where Kai Po Che works is the vision of Abhishek Kapoor the Director. He planned it so well all through out and the film must have given a lot of satisfaction as the final outcome. The detailing is thorough and there are smaller moments in the film which as a sum of whole ties up extremely well. 

Kai Po Che in short is a beautiful film and needs to be re-watched in a difficult time that we all are facing. It is about hope, it is about faith, it is about trust, it is about relationship and never losing faith in the relations and finally, seeing through the finer things of life and not get into the morbidity of it. 

It's on Netflix. Go watch.              

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