Kai Po Che, set in 2000, is a story about the three
musketeers of Gujarat – Ishaan Bhatt (Sushant Singh Rajput), Omi Shastri (Amit
Sadh) and Govind (Raj Kumar) – inseparable childhood friends, who like
Alexander Dumas’ characters, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis live by the “All for
one, one for all” motto of the literary classic. Only Kai Po Che’s director,
Abhishek Kapoor, describes their camaraderie as “Brothers for life”.
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Ishaan is the quitter who didn’t make it to the national
cricket team, becomes a wastrel, and gets admonished by his father in public.
Omi is the pujari’s son, always on the right path and Govind does not only
dream big, but works towards making it happen by tutoring kids and doing odd
jobs to make an extra buck. They form a Sabarmati Sports Club, with the aid of
Omi’s politico uncle, who gives them the land and shop for the same.
Govind looks at selling sporting goods and Ishaan trains
young kids for big league cricket. Ishaan discovers a young talent, Ali, who
knocks off sixes on the pitch like he was born to do so. He takes him under his
wing and trains him with great fervour and passion. This part of the film
explores the club’s training activities with great insight for the uninitiated
into the world of cricket and its mid-offs and cover drives, along with the
frailties of human nature and the complexities of everyday living, dreams and
desires notwithstanding.
Image courtesy: Facebook
Image courtesy: Facebook
It is refreshing to see the friendship of three young men on
celluloid, without a woman stepping into the equation to cause an imbalance in
the predictable film format. It is also devoid of dramatic dialogue, which
makes them sound closer to real life conversations. But they have their own
song and dance routines, with their lean frames jigging to the tracks,
celebrating their new shop, life or an India cricket win. The boys were the
‘item numbers” here, no special item girls needed! The film is not entirely
devoid of women – there is a girl, Vidya (Amrita Puri), Ishaan’s younger
sister, who is tutored in Mathematics by Govind, and they have their own little
love story playing out in the midst of it all.
The cinematography by Anay Goswamy caresses every corner and
crevice of the location, as it does the expressions and angst of the actors,
and the contours of their lithe frames. The sound design by Baylon Fonseca is
fantastic and adds the requisite depth to the drama.
The story then envelops its main protagonists into the dark
recesses of emotional despair where an invincible force of nature turns their
simple existence and complex dreams into a pile of debris and dead bodies on 26
January, 2001. Insurmountable troubles abound, with the political climate taking
a communal turn, resulting in riots and even more gore and death.
How Ishaan, Omi and Govind’s friendship survives these
troubled times is what the story explores from here on. The human spirit
triumphs above all in the story, in a manner most endearing and constitutes the
last quarter of the film. I loved that bit the most. It reiterates something I
strongly believe in – that being a good human being is the toughest religion of
all.
Raj Kumar’s performance as the business minded, diligent
Govind is the best in the film and my favourite. Well played! Amrita Puri as
Vidya is adorable in her portrayal as a love struck student. From television to
the big screen, both Amit Sadh and Sushant Singh Rajput, have made a fabulous
transition with great performances. Through the duration of the film, you feel
you are watching but a film, and are not as drawn into the lives of these
characters in the story as the maker might have intended you to be.
Kai Po Che, a screen adaptation of the book, The 3 Mistakes
of My Life, written by Chetan Bhagat, is a good film, but not a great film.
An honest temple priest takes on more than he can handle
when he bears witness to
a murder and gives evidence in a court of law against
a powerful landlord in his village. The landlord bribes his way to freedom and
engineers a ploy to ruin the priests reputation and his status among his peers
in the village. Ashamed of his tarnished reputation the priest commits
suicide,and leaves his wife and young children to face the atrocities of the
evil landlord. The son flees the village and travels to Mumbai to make a life,
but returns years later to avenge the shame caused to his family.
An honest temple priest takes on more than he can handle
when he bears witness to
