Kidnap (2008)

Undescribable Perfection

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This movie was so totally entertaining and enjoyable film scenes of the film a brilliant storyline great movie and enjoyable storyline great movie scenes with brilliant scenes of comedy movie comedy sequel and entertaining and comedy sequel and comedy thriller and entertaining film and comedy sequel and entertaining film and comedy movie was so good I loved them all good songs until they jsjeudneyeneh Imran was superb Sanjay dutt was impressive other were good my rating 7/10

If not for Minissha Lamba's ample bosom, there'd really be nothing worth watching in director Sanjay Gadhvi's Kidnap, a tired ole' thriller about bad boy Imran Khan who kidnaps Minissha, and puts her richie-rich dad Sanjay Dutt through a series of twisted challenges as revenge for an old grouse. As far as thrillers go, Kidnap is a pretty lame one, considering not once during the film's two-hours-plus running time do you feel your pulse racing. The challenges Imran puts Sanjay Dutt through are silly and juvenile, and they lack that edge-of-the-seat tension that is so essential in a film like this to keep the pace brisk. Ashamed as I am to admit it, here's one time I wished they had whacked a few good ideas from a smart Hollywood film. Instead, Gadhvi and his writer seem to have chosen to whack the plot of an obscure Pierce Brosnan-starrer "Shattered" from which they've derived the premise of Kidnap. The least you expect from a thriller are a few fantastic sequences that will make your jaw drop for their sheer inventiveness. In Kidnap, there's precisely one good scene -- it's that breathless chase sequence between Imran and Sanjay which is the film's finest stroke. Much of the film's problem lies in its sloppy narrative which is repeatedly punctured by unnecessary songs and unintentionally hilarious dialogue that digresses from the film's thriller theme. Too much time is spent establishing and then repairing Sanjay Dutt's estranged relationship with his ex-wife, played by Vidya Malavade. Vidya's character, in fact, is the weakest link in Kidnap, serving no real purpose in the plot, instead slowing down the narrative every time she shows up on screen. It doesn't help that the poor lady can't act to save her life, she can't even deliver a simple line of dialogue comfortably. The worst disease a thriller can suffer from is predictability, and Kidnap falls bang into that trap. You know exactly what's going to happen when Imran takes Minissha out to the beach when she begs to be allowed to bathe -- although you probably can't predict the erotic dance she breaks into once there. You know exactly what's going to happen when Minissha has an opportunity to escape when Imran's injured himself. And you know exactly how the climatic challenge Imran puts Sanjay up to will turn out. You see what I mean, there's virtually nothing good about this film. Which brings me back to Minissha's cleavage. If clothes were invented to cover one's body then Minissha's costumes in Kidnap reveal more than they hide. Her entire wardrobe in this film looks like it was stitched out of the bits and pieces of cloth you find lying around in a tailor's room, the bits that didn't get used when he was stitching a real dress. Not that there's anything wrong in showing a little skin, but the problem here is that you're convinced Gadhvi went the whole hog because he knew the film had nothing but Minissha's curves to keep the audience glued to their seats. Of the two male protagonists, Sanjay Dutt looks completely disinterested in what he's doing; and Imran Khan appears earnest acting out his scenes but seems to be taking his character and the film a little too seriously. The final, most deadly flaw in Kidnap is the bizarre back-story about why Imran wants revenge from Sanjay. It's not only an unconvincing motivation but it's also a fundamentally wrong plot point especially when you consider Sanjay's 'crime' against Imran seems perfectly justified given the circumstances. The film doesn't succeed in seizing your attention.Here's a film that could have been so much more but settles for such little.

For all the criticism this movie got, probably you can appreciate this movie better if you watch it just after the torturous ‘Drona’, another release of the same date. Courtesy Sanjay Gadhvi of Dhoom fame, this time we get to see negative shades of Imran after his chocolate boy looks in Jaane Tu. For another first, Minissha Lamba has opted to play a ‘me too’ skimpy look this time after having played a benign decent girl for too long.A Juvenile prisoner Kabir (Imran) turns into a kidnapper of Sonia (Lamba) who we are made to believe is just 17 with someone just marginally elder, vidya Malwade playing her mother. Well, there is little to wonder when her grandma is shown to sport jet black hair. One fateful day after an argument with her mother, Sonia wakes up in the Kidnapper’s apartment with Imran desperately trying to look menacing, which he doesn’t seem like! Kabir’s target is not money, but to play mind-games with Sonia’s father Vikrant Raina, the world’s richest Indian but alone at the mercy of the Kidnapper now. To get to his daughter, he solves clues by housebreaks, jailbreaks and finally a murder. For a film maker of Dhoom standard, the action sequences are not worthy of a thriller. Adding to the melee is that the film slows down on pace completely after the interval break! What do you say of this character of Kabir who is meant to be a kidnapper but cares for her with much more attention than her stern mother ever did. He does dishes, takes her to beaches; she is shown well groomed just after being kidnapped. Not just that, the protagonist also helps her father realize his folly and gets her parents get back together! Any girl in her place should enjoy all this and the fact that the kidnapper was handsome! Most flawed here is the script! Imagine a scene where Dutt is shown traveling South Mumbai to Panvel in 20 minutes flat! Despite the blunders, Imran still shines in the lead. Still, if this were Imran's debut movie instead of Jaane Tu, his Bollywood career may have begun in the red. Sanjay Dutt is his usual self and Rahul Dev was convincing in his role. Songs are passable and the background music doesn’t help much either.

What can a father, who is filthy rich, do if his daughter, who he hasn't seen for eight years and then one day he finds out that she's been kidnapped? Simple! Try and find out where she's been held and by who and try and find out the ransom amount and pay. But no, its not that simple as it involves someone who is out take revenge.Imran Khan has definitely grown up from his first movie and to match his character, he has done workout in the Gym and has shown it. He is the saving grace for this film and has matured. The same cannot be said for "Munnabhai," Sanjay Dutt – no doubt in my mind that he is a good actor but he could have performed better. He has played the role of a father before in "Pitaah," but playing the role of a teenager's father could have taken it to stronger position but never the less, not a bad attempt. Rahul Dev, in the meantime, has done a good job of his role in helping the helpless father.Actresses nowadays can stoop to any length in a film, including exposing and unfortunately for Minnisha Lambha, she has turned to exposing a bit, which I thought was unnecessary. But I can't say the same for Vidya Malvade as she has definitely performed well as a mother. Lastly, there was nothing much for Reema Lagoo, who I felt was wasted when her role as a grandmother could have been improved.This is not the same Sanjay Gadhvi, who has now separated from Yashraj Films, who previously directed hit movies such as "Dhoom" and "Dhoom2." The script was weak in many parts and this is perhaps the reason why he was not able to do better. The script could have been improvised and this would have made the film a bit better. Something to watch out for is the chasing scenes between the father and Kabir as they are very well filmed. I have been informed that for one scene, Imran Khan actually tried to perform a dangerous stunt himself only to receive a call from his uncle Aamir after Munnabhai gave him a call and informed him.Conclusion: This is a watchable movie but it could have been better.