A movie that rides high on expectations often ends up disappointing. Soham Shah's directorial debut Kaal is an exception, but not entirely.
Having seen Kaal there remains no doubt that Soham has indeed imbibed certain cinematic values and directorial skills from his mentors Ram Gopal Varma and Karan Johar. Kaal has the realism and rawness of Varma's style and the flamboyance of Johar. But that is not to say that the movie is without its shortcoming.
What could have been a hard-hitting movie ends up as an above-average thriller because of certain oddities that are hard to justify. For instance, the two heroines are shown moving about the bushy forest in tiny skirts, while the heroes are all decked up in their cargos. Besides this, the dialogues in the film leave much to be desired from their writers.
And it was funny to see the name Corbett (National Park) hewn to Orbit (perhaps to signify the fact that if you get lost in it, you will go round and round without finding a way out). Considering that the film is a Johar co-production, Korbett would have been more appropriate.
Anyway, ain't no use in thrashing the maiden effort of a promising youngster. Getting to the positive sides, Kaal rests on four strong pillars - a novel story, good cinematography, thrilling background sounds/track and stylish presentation. Another laudable thing about the film is the authenticity of the scenes when the tigers are one on one with the characters of the story.
Soham unravels the story at calculated pace and introduces Ajay Devgan's character (a staff-wielding Kali Pratap) just before the halfway mark. The use of Sanskrit shlokas in the background adds extra intensity and mystique to Kali, the character enacted quite credibly by Devgan.
The unexpected twist in the tale in the second half comes like a bolt out of the blue. However, the viewers who are given to lesser fanciful imaginations would find the film's denouement unconvincing.
While John Abraham still has to arrive as an actor (he looks dashing. But hey! We want some good acting too), Vivek Oberoi catches attention with his believable portrayal of a flippant youngster who slowly transforms with the change of conditions.
Lara Dutta and Esha Deol are commendable but there is little meat for the two skinny babes in the story. They are there because a hero has to have a heroine.
In short, Kaal has the necessary ingredients for an edge-of-the-seat thriller - a murder mystery set in a jungle frequented by man-eating tigers. And there is a bonus track (featuring Shahrukh Khan and Malaika Arora) in the opening credits.
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