Ki & Ka (2016)

Just perfect...

Fresh and Exciting

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

'Ki and Ka' is 'Abhimaan' inverse. But it's the inversion that makes it the movie it is. Breaking social mores was, is, and will never be easy. Breaking those that deal with gender roles is perhaps the most difficult. No wonder the film grossed modestly despite bankable stars and major release. R. Bal'Ki' deserves a big hand for attempting it. I shall skip commenting on its artistic merit just for this reason. Suffices saying that Kareena Kapoor does justice to the role and Arjun is by now creating a niche as a lazy looking actor that can hold the audience, but not impress.

Getting acquainted with Indian films has opened up a whole new cinematic world for me. One of the things I like most about them is how they address serious social issues in a lighthearted way. This story of a young couple attempting a groundbreaking gender-role reversal is no exception. It is courageous and questioning without being heavy-handed. It also has everything you would want in a rom-com: an attractive, appealing couple; a variety of lovely sets and locations; parents who complicate matters, intentionally or otherwise; amusing subplots. The plot is refreshingly clever and unpredictable. There is even a cameo from a major Indian celebrity, playing himself! Ladies, you will love this movie. Gentlemen, if you are brave and open-minded enough to watch it with your significant other, you may love it too. Delightful and thought-provoking.

I count amongst some of my best friends, house husbands. Or let's put it in a slightly more nuanced way, men who like to stay home, take charge of the household, be the primary caregiver for parents and children. They know that they come in for more than their share of good- humoured ribbing as well as nasty jibes, and they have learnt to take it in their stride because they are supremely comfortable doing what they do. Oh, and before I forget, their wives go to work, excel at their demanding jobs, and get in the lolly.With 'Ki and Ka', Bollywood has got to the point of being able to place a man willing to be home, knuckle down to dull domestic chores, and wave the flag for ambitious women and progressive men. So hurrah for Ka and Ki and Balki? Yes, but only up to point. The film is fun when it is setting up the roles. But the execution, as it goes along, gets rocky. Much of it stays episodic, and starts reinforcing the very stereotypes it set out to negate. And so much of the writing is so explicatory that you begin wondering if the filmmakers really take their viewers for People Who Do Not Understand Anything Unless It Is Underlined Thrice Over.Kia (Kareena Kapoor) and Kabir (Arjun Kapoor) get past their meet-cute in a tearing hurry, and jump into an exchange of garlands and glands. All is hunky-dory to begin with : Ka rolls out of bed, picks up after his office-going wife and mum-in-law (Swaroop Sampat ; good to see her back on screen), lays out steaming hot 'khana' ; Ki cracks open her Mac, and delivers smart campaign ideas to her advertising agency colleagues (great excuse for lots of product placements, yo), and goes up the corporate ladder.She is into marketing; he is busy home-making, and they are happy playing footsie. And then jealousy rears its ugly head, and the lines Ka and Ki had set up for themselves start to blur. Who will go out? Who will have a public face and high profile? Who will stay in and cook fresh? Will a Ka be happy to be called 'nikamma'? The film evades that problematic one neatly by a too-convenient plot twist, involving Ka's disapproving papa (a permanently sneering Rajit, who is never given the chance to smile through the film) who thunders on about ' 'mards' and, haha, cautionary 'chhaddi checks'.

Approximately 9 days after Ki and Ka released I finally watched the film ,well better late then never right ( I was ill so give me a break). Ki and Ka is made by the famously schizophrenic director R Balki, who on one side has made gems like Paa, and Cheeni Kum, and he is the same man who made last years disastrous Shamitabh. Balki always comes up with unique and out of the box ideas for all his films and Ki and Ka is not any different .Ki and Ka is a film about squashing gender stereotypes, a film where there is a house husband, and a working businesswoman wife, I was impressed with the basic idea, but I had my expectations in check, especially after watching the just okay trailer. However the film is not nearly as bad as Shamitabh, but its not as good as a Paa either, this film hits a middle ground and ends up being a watchable good effort. I will now go into a more of in depth analysis of Ki and Ka.Story wise Kia aims to become a successful business woman and also wishes other women to work instead of managing the house-hold and just becoming the support system of her husband. On her flight to Delhi from Chandigarh, she meets Kabir . The two get along very nicely and start meeting quite often. Kia discovers Kabir wants to be a house "wife" like his mother and does not want to get caught in the race of progress by becoming of business man. Kia also learns that Kabir is the son of a highly successful building constructor but does not want to inherit his immense wealth.Kia and Kabir gradually fall in love and decide to marry where Kabir would handle the household stuff while Kia would be the bread earner. They convince their parents for this marriage and get married in a court. What happens next forms the crux plot.Acting wise Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor have a crackling chemistry on screen, and look very compatible on screen. Arjun Kapoor gives what is one of his career best acts in Ki and Ka. Its a very unconventional role, and he handles it with maturity and is restrained on screen. Its funny to watch him on screen in such a different avatar then usual. Kareena Kapoor is at her ever dependable best, and she owns her de glam business woman role. Both of there play on gender stereotype ideas on screen is hilarious.Ki and Ka works for two reasons, one as mentioned above the great chemistry of the leads, who look like a real couple on screen, there acting is extremely believable. The second reason is that films core idea is very fresh, and the need of the moment in India especially. In a time were rape, and abuse against women is at its all time in India a film like Ki and Ka is very important to challenge the male patriarchal thinking in India.Don't get me wrong Ki and Ka is not a preachy film, but its still a feel good film/ romcom but it talks about a important issue, and its a start even if the tone of the film is not serious but light (and a steer in the right direction). Now where the film falters is in the stories predictability and very clichéd story arc. You know there is going to be a happy ending right from the first frame, and all the conflicts in the film are those we see in any romantic comedy drama etc. On top of that the film has some not so great production values, as the whole film is shot on sets. And the dialogues of the film and the play on gender stereotyping at times is hilarious, but some dialogues are cringe worthy. The way how first Kia becomes ultra successful and then does Kabir is very unbelievable and not necessary to show in the film (in my opinion).However what makes the film enjoyable throughout despite any flaws is the films light feel good tone, that keeps a smile on your face at all times. I really enjoyed the whole train idea, how the train brings food etc, it was nice catch in the script (You will understand what I mean when you watch the film). The music , and especially the high heels song was enjoyable. The film had a tight edit, and was told at a nice breezy 2hrs.Overall while Ki and Ka is not a must watch film, its a nice predictable feel good watch, and its fresh core idea make for some good laughs on screen. Just don't go into the theatres excepting a film that will change gender norms,because the film is far from that. But its a start.3.25/5* Grade: 67% C+