Film: Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii
Presenter: Saregama
Director: Kituu Salooja
Music Director: Salim Sulaiman
Lyrics: Irfan Siddique
Cast: Rahul Bose, Zain Khan, Rajesh Khera, Kapil Dev, Meera Vasudevan, Nasir Hussain, Susheel Parasher, Amrindher Sodhi
Rating: 2/5
In 2002, John Schultz made Like Mike, a film about Mike (Lil Bow Wow), an orphan who scores big after discovering a pair of sports shoes with MJ’s initials on them. He believes it is magical and soon, this belief makes him an NBA Superstar and finds himself a new family.
Cut to 2007, Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii hits theatres. The story, you ask? Since cricket is what works best in this part of the globe, it’s only fair that it be leveraged. Karan (Zain Khan), an orphan, discovers Kapil Dev’s, 1983 World Cup cricket bat. The power of a thunderbolt fills it with magic, (or is it just his belief?) and one fine day, he is discovered by the Indian cricket team coach, who eventually enrols him in the team.
This new cricket sensation is made to live with Varun (Rahul Bose), the captain of the Indian cricket team. Before long, the boy wonder gets all he could ask for, including fame, adulation and more importantly, a family.
What is incomprehensible is why someone would seek inspiration in a film that did not do well in the first place. Like Mike was a film that hardly anyone ever saw. Even though certain additional characters have been put in, they are so inane that instead of helping the film, they spoil it.
There are many moments you want to take back with you, when you head home. But then why pay a hefty sum to take back only moments. While CKKMK could have adapted the tasteful parts from Like Mike, it doesn’t. The polished editing, the gloss and heartrending moments are all left for superficial and synthesised moments.
The biggest ‘boo’ the film gets is for the thoughtless dialogues. Inconsequential lines replace possible impact providing and thought rendering ones. This makes the film so light that you want to take none of it seriously, and thus even your participation in the film takes a backseat.
It’s like the film has been spared of the editing task. The editing is neither crisp nor have the scenes been leveled. Varied shots of the same scene are placed in sequence throughout the film. Even the camera work and cinematography is average. The colours seem dull and the textures that could have heightened every scene seem missing as well. It is almost never that you see a well framed shot.
All said and done, the film works on many levels. Since the add on characters are painful, those who rescue the film are the two strong protagonists. Khan and Bose’s characters are well thought out, and the certain twists that are added to their lives, makes for interesting viewing.
Furthermore, the gradual display of development in the relationship between Khan and Bose is adorable and well brought out. But it’s not for long that you enjoy that, as the forced music comes on to you and disrupts all of it by playing in the background.
Even as most of the characters created are one-dimensional, it is Khan’s character that blows your socks off. Khan does tremendously well in playing the part. Without being loud or going overboard with emotions, he gets the sentiment across. Bose bowled us with his performance in Pyaar Ke Side effects, sadly, that’s all we have to make do with. He is seen explaining his lines more often than enacting them, emphasising on each word. His movements seem restricted and so do his expressions. Khera, who essays the role of the Orphanage owner, besides sporting bad make up, delivers a performance driven by hamming. Joining him is Bhansali as Raghav, who goes overboard playing the stereotype bully. Actors like Parasher, Hussain and Vasudevan have been wasted in minor roles.
Offering nothing spectacular, CKKMK is all but just one of the average films that releases week after week. With nothing else new in cinemas this week, you might as well watch it.
