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Monday, April 4, 2016

Ki & Ka

The movie begins with a very restrained start…no frills…no dhamaka. For me, this set the tone of the movie... hoping it is more realistic.
Ki & Ka are Kiya and Kabir (Kareena and Arjun).
The movie has broached an interesting topic, viz. the role reversal. In households where both work, do we even have those strict lines anymore? To balance their professional and personal lives, men and women do share household chores. But yes, this movie goes a step further where you have a stay-at-home husband and an ambitious wife who yearns to climb the corporate ladder, and fast.
For an Indian actor, Arjun Kapoor displays courage by accepting this very unconventional role. Kareena Kapoor, at 36, looks great...no more of the size 0 nonsense… and has carried the role of an ambitious Marketing Manager with an élan.
Arjun Kapoor, reflective of his real life, plays the son of a rich but estranged father and misses his deceased mom. He surprises Kareena when he confesses that he wishes to be like his mom. He believes that a woman is no less an artist as she juggles to keep the house running. How I wish Balki, the director, had delved more into this concept exploring the different facets of home-making. Also that Arjun could display more of the skills that come from an IIM graduate. An educated home-maker makes a whole world of difference to a home. The actual house-keeping that Arjun is so passionate about is not explored as much as it should be. It also is convenient that they choose not to have kids. Would be interesting to watch, if they had.
In the second half of the movie, we get to see that Arjun doesn’t have a problem playing a unconventional stay-at-home husband, but Kareena does. She introduces her husband as an artist who is at home writing a book.
Eventually,when Arjun gets interviewed, gets invited to TED talks, endorses household products, and becomes popular, Kareena is unable to take it. Arjun supports and revels in her success but she isn’t able to handle his, as she expects him to be at home and take care of it. She hits back, blaming Arjun with anything and everything that goes wrong in her life and their relationship.
The build-up in the first half is impressive but the second half seems to go off on a tangent. There seem to be two things happening in the same movie: the man-woman role reversal and the ‘Abhimaan’ kind of scenario where one partner is intolerant of the other’s success.
Swaroop Sampat as Kareena’s mother impresses with a very honest performance. Her dialog towards the end of the movie ties up all loose ends and brings a closure of sorts to the debate.
The movie is surely a one-time watch and doesn’t fail in entertaining you. The lead pair has done its best to sustain the interest.
A 3/5 rating from me.