Kalank
“Kalank Is Indeed A Visual Spectacle That Lacks The Soul”
Banner: Fox Star Studio, Dharma Productions & Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment
Producer: Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala & Apoorva Mehta
Director: Abhishek Varman
Star Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Maadhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha, Kunal Khemu, Kiara Advani, Hiten Tejwani, Kirti Sanon, Pavail Gulat & Achint Kaur
Music: Pritam, Sanchit & Ankit Balhara
At one time, the multi-starrers were indeed in vogue but of late, such films barely come out of Bollywood. A few franchises like Golmaal & Housefull have kept this tradition alive. Even Dhamaal can be counted here & its recent installment Total Dhamaal was one of the biggest multi-starrers in a long time as Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor & Madhuri Dixit got added to the star cast. Kalank goes one step ahead as it stars 6 actors, all of whom are big & prominent names in their own right.
The scripted Scenario of Kalank is the story of lovers not destined to be together. The year is 1945. Satya Chaudhry (Sonakshi Sinha), wife of Dev Chaudhary (Aditya Roy Kapur) is diagnosed with cancer & she is told that she has just a year or maximum 2 years to live. Realizing that Dev Chaudhary will be shattered after her demise, she decides to find a 2ndwife for him. Her search takes her to Rajputana, Rajasthan where Roop (Alia Bhatt) resides. The families of Roop & Satya Chaudhary go back a long way. Roop at 1st rejects Satya Chaudhary’s offer but upon knowing her medical condition, she agrees. However, she has a condition, that Dev Chaudhary will have to marry her at 1st & only then she’ll move into the house of the Chaudhry’s. Satya Chaudhary, Dev Chaudhary & Dev Chaudhary’s father Balraj Chaudhary (Sanjay Dutt) agree. So Dev Chaudhary & Roop get married & Dev Chaudhary makes it clear to Roop that this will be a marriage of convenience only. After marriage, Roop moves to Husnabad near Lahore where the Chaudhary’s reside. At 1st Roop feels lonely but then she gets curious by the voice of Bahaar Begum (Madhuri Dixit). She decides to learn music under her tutelage. Satya Chaudhary & others at 1st are aghast on hearing this decision since Bahaar Begum runs a brothel & that too in the infamous part of the city called Heera Mandi. But Roop protests & then the Chaudhary’s give in. Bahaar Begum meanwhile is impressed by Roop & decides to teach her singing. At Heera Mandi, Roop bumps into the flirtatious Zafar (Varun Dhawan). Both of them get attracted to each other. Zafar is a blacksmith & works for Abdul (Kunal Kemmu) who has a communal mindset. He’s also against Dev Chaudhary’s newspaper named Daily Times that promotes the idea of 1 nation theory, rejects the notion of Partition & recommends industrialization even at the cost of job loss of the blacksmiths. Bahaar Begum senses that Roop is getting attracted to Zafar & she gets horrified. After all, she knows that Zafar has ulterior motives behind romancing Roop & it can lead to the disastrous consequences. What happens next forms the rest of the crux of the film.
Shibani Bathija’s story is poor & silly and totally rests on a wafer thin plot. Except for Roop & Zafar’s track, all other parts of the story are not well fleshed out & are full of loopholes. Abhishek Varman’s screenplay doesn’t do much to salvage the situation either. Instead of wrapping up the scenes quickly, he lets them go on & on. And again, he doesn’t do much to hide the glaring glitches. Hussain Dalal’s dialogues are quite good at places. But in some scenes, it’s too filmy & might even induce unintentional laughter.
Abhishek Varman’s direction is not at all up to the mark. He was quite in control in his directorial debut, 2 States which was released in the year 2014. But in case of Kalank, he makes a mess. Anyways he couldn’t have done much when the script itself is flawed. The only plusses are that the climax is engaging & he is able to handle the visual grandeur of the film very well.
Kalank has a surprising commencement since the trademark & the famous title card of Dharma Productions is not displayed in its usual style! The 3 production houses associated with the film are quickly mentioned & the film begins. Again, here the principle cast is depicted quite smartly, without showing their faces. This might make everyone believe that one is about to see a film laced with a superlative script & execution. In no time, it becomes evident that it’s not going to be the case. The biggest problem with the film is that most of the developments are not convincing. In the beginning itself, audience will be bewildered as to why Satya Chaudhary went to Rajputana of all the places to search for a bride. Roop in fact reminds Satya Chaudhary that her family had helped her own family at one point but no details are ever given. It is also quite laughable that Zafar had never seen the face of Dev Chaudhary ever despite the fact that he had so much poison against the Chaudhary’s & also that Dev Chaudhary is a prominent figure of the town. The entire track of the blacksmith’s revolting against the industrialization process & also for a separate nation also seems superficial. Why was Abdul so insecure about what gets published in Dev Chaudhary’s newspaper? Agreed that Dev Chaudhary’s daily newspaper must be having a wide readership. But it can’t be the only newspaper in circulation? He could have taken the help of other newspapers to spread his agenda. The film moreover is too long & some scenes could have been done away with. The bull fight sequence, for instance, serves no purpose & was just added to appeal to the masses. On the positive side, a few sequences are well directed. The intermission point, though predictable, makes for a nice watch. The sequence of Bahaar Begum, Balraj Chaudhary & Zafar in the 2nd half is quite dramatic. Also, the climax & the madness at the railway station will keep the viewers engrossed.
Pritam’s music could have been much better. “Ghar More Pardesiya” leaves impact followed by “Tabaah Ho Gaye”. The title track is relegated to the background. “First Class” is catchy & “Rajvaadi Odhni” is okay, but they come almost back to back. “Aira Gaira” is forcefully added. Sanchit Balhara & Ankit Balhara’s background score is dramatic & adds to the effect.
Binod Pradhan’s cinematography is captivating & has the big screen appeal. Amrita Mahal Nakai’s production design is surreal & though it might remind one of Sanjay Leela Bhansali films, it is praiseworthy. The Heera Mandi set & especially the brothel of Bahaar Begum is stunning. Manish Malhotra & Maxima Basu Golani’s costumes are appealing but don’t seem authentic in terms of the era & the economic condition of some characters. Sham Kaushal’s action is fine & not too violent. Remo Dsouza, Bosco-Caesar & Saroj Khan’s choreography is praise worthy. Fluiidmask Studios & NY VFXWaala’s VFX is good overall but quite bad at certain places, especially in the bull fight sequence. Shweta Venkat Mathew’s editing is very disappointing as the film is quite lengthy at 168 minutes.
Performance wise it is indeed Varun Dhawan & Alia Bhatt who save the film from becoming an ultimate disaster. Varun Dhawan is as always at his best & gives his 100% to the role. He also contributes to the laughter quotient. In the climax however, he is terrific. Alia Bhatt also puts her best foot forward & just like Varun Dhawan, even she is let down by the poor writing. She arguably has the maximum screen time out of all the 6 actors & makes great use of it. Aditya Roy Kapur seems monotonous but this is how his character is. His dialogue delivery is quite good & in the scene with Varun Dhawan, he does quite well. Sonakshi Sinha is sincere but her role will remind one of her act in the 2nd half of Lootera which was released in the year 2013. Madhuri Dixit looks stunning & gives a decent performance. Sanjay Dutt, credited as special appearance, is okay. Kunal Kemmu as Abdul plays the villainous role with panache. Achint Kaur as Saroj, Hiten Tejwani as Ahmed & Pavail Gulati as Aditya; the journalist interviewing Roop are fine. Kiara Advani is royally wasted. Kriti Sanon looks glamorous in the item song.
On the whole, Kalank is a visual spectacle that lacks soul & falters big time on account of its writing, length as well as music.
At the box office turnstiles, the film will suffer due to negative word of mouth publicity & therefore the collections will drop after the initial euphoria subsides. Period!!!!!
