Karzzzz – God Save us All

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When you take up a film like Karz to remake it, you need to be really confident in your abilities to reproduce the film given the original’s success. Now if there is anyone who carries an extra pack of confidence in his jeans then it’s Himesh Reshammiya so when we heard that he was planning to make Subhash Ghai’s Karz we hoped that it would deliver at least half the goods.

But sadly it doesn’t. Not even close.

The film begins with Ravi Verma (Dino Morea) winning back his family estate in a case against Sir Judaa (Gulshan Grover). To celebrate he goes back home to his girlfriend Kamini (Urmila Matondkar) who is waiting for him on a ship and the two decide to get married the next day. Thereafter it's time for him to introduce his ‘surprise’ to his mother and no it’s not winning back the estate but the missus that we are talking about here. Verma then decides to fly Kamini in his plane to meet his family but mid flight the fuel tank gets into trouble. Ravi tells Kamini that they have no choice but to jump and she in her wannabe vamp style tells him that there is just one parachute and she is taking that and he should simply get ready to die. And off she jumps! The plans crashes and that is the end of Ravi Verma the millionaire and as his lawfully wedded wife everything now belongs to her.

Fast forward twenty five years and we come face to face with rockstar Monty (Himesh Reshammiya). Famous the world over for his performances and music, Monty is a lonely man as his adopted parents are only with him because of his money. One day during a performance when he plays a particular tune, he is hit with certain visions. He sees a man and a woman celebrating and their plane crashing. But completely confused, he has no idea what is happening. His friend Dayal (Bakhtiyaar) is a doctor and makes him undergo a series of tests. Another neurosurgeon in the hospital with whom Monty’s case is being discussed says that this is surely a case of re-birth. (So the next time you and I have visions and we can’t really place them, its re-incarnation ladies and gentlemen!)

And the solution for it? To take a holiday to Kenya where Monty can meet Tina (Shwetha Kumar). Now who is Tina, you ask? Tina is a young girl still in college whom Monty bumps into a party but before he can speak to her she leaves. But the lovers re-unite in Kenya and the madly in love Monty and Tina decide they want to get married. Tina says Monty needs to get permission from her guardian Princess Kamini who is none other than the late Ravi Verma’s wife Kamini. And as soon as Princess Kamini and Monty come face to face sparks fly and the next thing we know Monty is wooing her to extract his revenge for having killed him in the last birth.

Having convinced princess Kamini about himself, Monty then decides that they should get married just before his concert. And as a gift to her he performs their entire love story before the entire world thereby unveiling the real Kamini.

Ok… if you are still reading this I am sure you are holding your head in your hands like many of us did in the theatres. And I know many ofyou will say ‘Well if it is a remake of Karz then they need to stick to original plot to a large extent.’

The problem isn’t in the story line – well not all of it – but also in the acting and the over all packaging of the flick.

Himesh Reshammiya insists on jumping while delivering dialogues. The fact that the rest of his face won’t convey anything doesn’t seem to have mattered to the director Satish Kaushik and the final one and half scene where the baddies are standing at raising-you-hand-slapping-him distance, HR thinks it’s necessary for him to jump up and kick them! Sure I’ve heard of creative freedom but this is at an all time high (or low actually).

Now let’s come to Urmila Matondkar. While she may have tried to pull off the rich scheming Kamini decently, she still leaves you wanting. The need to wear long flowing gowns that are so tight that she can’t walk is beyond me. And one of the scenes where the red lipstick is all I can see has put me off red lipstick for ever. (However, the women can just watch all her scenes to get some nice jewelry designs!)

Shwetha Kumar needs to go back home and tell her dad, Indra Kumar, off. For a man who has been in the industry for as many as years as he has, how could he allow his daughter to be in a film where she appears more like a side kick rather than supporting actress is beyond comprehension? And one more tip darling, colour you hair when making a debut – a half black and half brown look never works… not even for Kareena!

But the most mind numbing performance in this film is by Danny Denzongpa. Why would an actor of his stature and experience agree to do this role where all he does is rattle off dialogues from films through the years, is a total let down for his Bollywood fans.

However, it’s not all bad for Karzzzz. The one star that I will give it is for its locales and cinematography. That deserves some mention as it has been done well.

But that’s all that is good about this film!

Overall I would skip this film and watch the old Karz once more!

Harshita Kohli, Hill Road Media