KURBAAN
A topical flashy jargon with an explosive orgy from the house of ‘feel good’ family romancers
by Vishal Verma

A Karan Johar Presentation of a UTV release (1700 screens worldwide). A Dharma productions pvt.ltd production.

Producers : Hiroo Yash Johar & Karan Johar
Writers : Karan Johar & Rensil D'Silva
Screenplay : Rensil D'Silva
Director : Rensil D'Silva (debut)
Genre : Romantic thriller
Target Audience : General

Starring

Saif Ali Khan...... Ehsaan Khan
Kareena Kapoor...... Avantika
Vivek Oberoi……… Riaz
Dia Mirza…………
Kirron Kher………Apa
Om Puri…………..Bhaijaan
Nauheed Cyrusi…….Salma

Technical Analysis

Keeping the ‘Dostana’ with ‘feel good’ bollywood romancer at rest for a while, Karan with the current hottest bollywood couple & an adman Renzil, take a flashy reality break with ‘Kurbaan’ which after all the hype about the couples sizzling moments on screen delivers some real sensitive fireballs that a routine terrorist movie can,t do.

Most of the curiosity generated gets answered, the timing of the much talked about sizzling scene between Saif & Kareena may be a question mark to many but nevertheless they are hot on screen. ‘Kurbaan’ is a kind of movie that consists of watching two people together on the screen & in such case you don,t think much about the plot.

What matters is the "chemistry," a term that once referred to a science but now refers to the heat we sense, or think we sense, between two movie stars. Saif & Kareena have it, or I think they have it, in ‘Kurbaan’ and because they do, the movie works. Topical movies on terrorism have been made in past, but ‘Kurbaan’ has its share of praise.

Still quite a distance from Manzoor Ahmed’s ‘Khuda Ke Liye’, in its realistic approach, & less crunchy masala for die hard bollywood regulars, ‘Kurbaan’ is more flashy & thinking type in the action thriller genre then those intense dramas which stands & deliver. The push & pull of commercial success & artistic fulfillment is evident as the newcomer Renzil bows down to commercial demands like taking so much time in trying to establish the romance between Saif & Kareena & taking its own sweet time in shifting to the thriller mode. The much talk about hot scene between the two couples should have been in the beginning during the romantic times & when it comes its not that convincingly established (though it comes out well).

Important flaws like the identity of Vivek Oberoi (does a brilliant job, he was always good as bad but now he excels in this mature performance) could have been easily kept as a secret for a twist. First time helmer Rensil  abetted by cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi gives the picture a polished look and handles action scenes with the support of Parvez Khan  competently that breathes life especially during the climax.

Editor: Asif Ali Shaikh’s sharp cutting & Anurag Kashyap & Niranjan Iyengar’s short sweet & to the point dialogue make the flick spare away from any speech, preach or taking any sides & that’s an achievement for any filmmaker who succeeds in probing the audience. Apart from the superlative performance by the main players, Om Puri, Kirron Kher, Dia Mirza, Nauheed Cyrusi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda chip in with valuable support & land credibility.

Musically also it delivers, the promising duo of Salim and Sulieman has done it once again. Lyrics of Prasoon Joshi are perfect for creating the required ambience with  Shukran Allah beign the pick of the lot.

The movie scores 3 out of 5

One for the courage by one of the leading bollywood banner to experiment & give their NRI based ‘feel good romancers a break

One for the technical brilliance & music

One for the performance

The movie losses points on being a bit lengthy & having less twist in the story

The Story

Avantika (Kareena) is a teacher in a university in Delhi. She has come back from New York where she teaches, because her father has suffered a heart attack. During this period, she meets a temporary Professor called Ehsaan Khan (Saif). Soon they begin seeing each other and love blossoms. A few months later, Avantika receives a call from her university in New York, asking her to come back for the Fall Semester. Avantika breaks the news to Ehsaan. He in turn, tells her he doesn't mind coming to the States with her, to find a job. But first they need to get married.

Soon after the marriage, they leave to start a new life in New York. They buy a house in an Indian neighbourhood and move in. Just as they are setting up home, their conservative Muslim neighbours, Hamid and Anjum, invite them over for dinner. The next morning, Salma (Nauheed Cyrusi), one of the women Avantika met the night before at the dinner, visits her under the pretext of gifting her sweets. When Avantika invites her in, Salma tells her that she is in grave danger. Nothing is what it seems. Salma pleads with Avantika to help her. What follows next, is a series of incidents that sucks Avantika into a vortex of danger and intrigue. As her life spirals out of control, Avantika realizes that she is a pawn in a huge game. And no one is to be trusted

Promotion

Strongly promoted, the film is being aggressively marketed with an extensive outdoor, TV and print campaign, ensuring maximum visibility. Of course the pairing of bollywood’s hottest couple will ensure decent legs for the initials, still UTV has kept no stone unturned. In an aggressive campaign UTV has roped in various media partners across 15 countries to telecast a special segment called ‘Date with Kurbaan’, showing Karan Johar interviewing his two stars in a ‘Koffee with Karan’ format.
Musically too its creating the buzz slowly

Business Analysis

Aggressively promoted, ‘Kurbaan’ delivers what it offers, the biggest hindi film release till date (1700 screns worldwide) will take a favourable opening & going by the growing popularity, flashy intense material & spectacular performance by the lead pair, Karan Johar’s first attempt on a topical subject should work in metros, multiplexes & overseas.

Other Credits
              
Executive Producer: Apoorva Mehta. Cassettes and CD's on Sony Music. Lyricist: Niranjan Iyengar & Irfan Siddique. Music Director: Salim Merchant & Sulaiman Merchant. Cinematography: Hemant Chaturvedi. Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant. Action: Parvez Khan. Editor: Asif Ali Shaikh. Sound: Nakul Kamte. Dialogue: Anurag Kashyap & Niranjan Iyengar. Costume: Aki Narula. Publicity Designs: Rahul Nanda & Himanshu Nanda. Media Promotions: Nilufer Qureshi (Hype). Reviewed at PVR, Juhu on November 19, 2009. Certified with an ‘A’ Certificate.

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