Kismat Movie Review
 

First things first… How does one describe KISMAT? Does it have a path-breaking story? Or ground-breaking technique? Nah! Nothing of that sort!

KISMAT relies on the same old formulaic stuff the cinegoer has witnessed since time immemorial. Of course, it's presented in a new avatar. Simply put, it's an apt case of old wine in new bottle!

The story revolves around an orphan, Tony [Bobby Deol]. To survive in the concrete jungle, Tony learns to live by his wit and courage. Right from petty theft to loan recovery, Tony does everything for a price.

After earning a handsome packet in a bout where he had to risk his life, Tony visits a musical show to relax. But he is woken up from his slumber by the singer on the stage, Sapna [Priyanka Chopra].

It's love at first sight for Tony. But making the dream come true seems impossible. Tony is a hoodlum, while Sapna is a rising star. In fact, Sapna's parents have already fixed up her marriage to a boy from an affluent family [Amit Behl].

A heartbroken Tony decides to match up in status and ask for Sapna's hand from her family.
 

Around this time, Tony gets an offer to coerce a government officer into signing some papers. The money seems good and the work looks easy. Tony goes straight to Dr. Gosain's office [Mohan Joshi] and threatens to kill his family if Gosain doesn't sign on the dotted line.

Tony is unaware that Dr. Gosain is Sapna's father and his signature would allow the corrupt businessman, Raj Mallya [Kabir Bedi], to release his spurious drugs in the market. These drugs would eventually kill hundreds of innocent and get Dr. Gosain convicted for life and his family ostracised from the society.

Tony realises that he has committed a blunder. Sapna's father is put behind bars and her mother [Smita Jaykar] commits suicide. Tony has to undo the harm…

There's no denying that the story of KISMAT is as old as the hills. In fact, it won't be wrong to state that while Bollywood is undergoing a major revolution, with diverse subjects being attempted, writers Robin Bhatt and Sutanu Gupta seem to be finding it difficult to shed off the cinema of 1980s/1990s.

KISMAT is anything but novel. The story abounds in clich? the sequence of events are outright predictable, so much so that the viewer can actually guess [predict?] what the next sequence would be like… there's a song coming up after every 20 minutes… the cars explode on highways like gas-balloons…

Despite the predictable nature, the film does have its moments. A few well crafted sequences do catch your attention, like the initial portions between Bobby and Priyanka and some vibrant stunts.

Though handicapped by a routine story, director Guddu Dhanoa makes an earnest effort to keep the show going. While the first half is quite interesting, he runs out of steam in the second half. For, the pace picks up and drops at an alarming regularity in this half.

While the pre-climax is interesting – when Kabir Bedi tortures Bobby – the end seems like a hurried job. Making the villain accept his misdeeds so easily is difficult to digest.

Anand Raaj Anand's music is an asset. And the picturisation of the songs only elevate the musical score. From the lot, 'Mahi Mahi Mahi' and 'Sajna Se Milne Jaana' can easily be singled out for their racy tunes. Priyanka's dances in these two numbers also deserve immense praise.

Sripad Natu's cinematography is upbeat. Action sequences are very well executed. In fact, a few stunts will gel well with the front-benchers especially.
 

After a hiatus of almost a year, Bobby Deol re-emerges with a likeable performance. He seems to be looking more comfortable in angry young man roles. One would've expect the heroine to look like a decorative item in a film like this, but Priyanka Chopra gets ample scope to display histrionics and she carries off her part with conviction.

The pack of villains – Kabir Bedi and Shahbaaz Khan – don't get much scope really. Kabir Bedi is suave as ever, conveying so much through his eyes. Shahbaaz Khan is okay. Ashish Vidyarthi is efficient. Mohan Joshi is adequate. Smita Jaykar is fair. Sanjay Narvekar [Bobby Deol's friend] is first-rate.

On the whole, KISMAT is a predictable fare that holds appeal for front-benchers mainly. For the gentry and the multiplex audiences, it has precious little to offer. However, its reasonable price should prove advantageous for its distributors.