It seems Bollywood has learnt its way to deal Indian
families in films the way it should be. Chaotic, dramatic, relatable and real! With
Shakun Batra’s KAPOOR & SONS (SINCE 1921), even Dharma
Productions have come a long way. Forget Karan Johar’s all
elite, genteel and heavenly prosperous families melting & merging patently
into the equally overwhelming interiors inspired by latest interior design magazines!
The characters here, in Shakun’s world, don’t really chew their
words before spitting them out. On the contrary, they are loose out in the open
to grind each other’s peace unabashedly. Backed up by good writing and even
better direction skills, KAPOOR & SONS (SINCE 1921) marks the arrival of a totally
fascinating and utterly dysfunctional ‘on-screen’ family you would love to see
more of it.
In a picture-perfect locality of Coonoor, a
90-year old grandfather [Rishi Kapoor in his prosthetic best],
out of boredom, is practicing his forthcoming event of death. The rest of the
family hardly pays any attention to his gimmicks, until one severe heart attack
takes its course of action sincerely. The grandsons are flying down from
abroad. The family reunites but there’s nothing what it looks from the outside.
Everyone in the family has something to hide, lie and complain about. The husband
[Rajat Kapoor] has financial crisis eating his head. The wife [Ratna
Pathak] suspects him of adultery. The elder son [Fawad Khan]
is a successful novelist carrying unbearable mass of being his parent’s perfect
son. The younger one [Siddharth Malhotra] accuses them for not
being equally warm to him. And then, there is an inevitable chaos of
inter-personal issues in the family that declines to settle down.
Shakun Batra scores most of his marks in the
first half only where he introduces the all messed-up characters in the family
one by one in a particular scene. Shakun gives us many delightful
moments in the rest of the film but this one single scene never loses its
impact on you. He hits the right note almost every time there is a conflict in
waiting to take over the drama. Unfortunately, the comic elements don’t make
you feel as satisfying. Shakun tries roughly everything from some ‘below
the belt’ gags performed comfortably by the actors to some
harmless yet discouraging ‘potty’ jokes. The plot dealing with real
human behavior especially in the relationship of the brothers keeps you hooked till
the very end. Siddharth playing the younger one sees Fawad- the
elder one as his competition but the moments in which they share their warmth in
the relationship are enough to celebrate. The writing constantly works against
falling into the pit of predictability, despite some melodramatic approach
towards the climax.
Alia Bhatt brings with her a certain kind of energy,
innocence, humor and vivacity in spirit of the film. She excels in her
introduction scene while playing almost herself and in one emotional sequence which
is a complete letdown by comfortable writing but has Alia as a winner. Rishi
Kapoor’s shameless, blatant and brash grandfather act is one of the most
enjoyable. Ratna Pathak and Rajat Kapoor are a
worthy addition to the cast providing a solid support throughout the film. Siddharth
and Fawad both look incredibly charming on screen but Fawad
steals the show with his strong hold in the moments where he has to express and
expose his soul.
At the end, KAPOOR & SONS (SINCE 1921) is a
family saga very distinct and dissimilar from Karan Johar’s
typical design of Indian families. It’s not perfect. It’s not ideal but it’s
real and relatable in its guts and will. I wish Shakun had finished it
in same zeal and madness he had taken the start. Even then, it’s like one of
those joint family photographs where not everyone is at his best but still, you
would like to keep it with you. [3.5/5]
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