Zzzzzz…. *1/2
Starring Himesh Reshammiya, Urmila Matoandkar, Shweta Kumar, and Danny Denzonpa
What it’s about:
When you remake a popular film, you should be prepared for the comparisons. Subhash Ghai's Karz wasn’t an original either (it was a copy of The Reincarnation of Peter Proud). But it stood apart because of its gripping story-line and Laxmikant Pyarelal’s chartbusting musical score. Karzzzz borrows the same idea, and they should’ve stopped at that. Instead, director Satish Kaushik lifts the screenplay from the original as well as the dialogues, which sadly, are total misfits in 2008. For those who missed the 'first copy,' the film is about Kamini (Urmila) who murders her husband Ravi Verma (Dino Morea) to usurp his wealth. Only Ravi gets a doosra janam as Monty (Himesh Reshammiya) and 25 years later, he comes back to seek revenge.
What's hot:
Producer Bhushan Kumar takes the film to a different level, in terms of its setting. Shot in South Africa and Kenya, Karzzz is lavish in its canvas. Some scenes between Kamini and Monty are well-penned, especially the one that leads to the intermission. The Ek Haseena Thi song is one of the better moments of the film. Among the performances, Dino Morea comes across as a relief. After being subjected to a zillion tight close-ups of Himesh’s face and Urmila’s back, he provides the much needed break.
What's not:
There were a lot of inconsistencies in Ghai’s Karz (especially in the second half). Kaushik could’ve rectified that and taken the remake to a new level. Sadly, he retains junk characters like the hero’s over-familiar friend (Bakhtiar Irani grating on the nerves), the irritating chacha (Danny as Kabira), the hyper-dramatic mother with Sumo wrestler arms (Rohini Hattangadi) and the father-cum-business manager (Raj Babbar hamming). Kaushik needed to adapt the screenplay; instead he simply lifts it. As a result, the scenes look outdated and the dialogues sound from a bygone era. The music disappoints. Himesh neither has the charisma nor the skill to hold a performance-based film on his shoulders. Watch 2 hours and 24 minutes of a single expression – that’s a Guinness record for sure. The actor just had two dramatic scenes (with Urmila, and his mother) and they expose his range as an actor. Newcomer Shweta Kumar makes no impact. Kaushik lets Urmila loose and she delivers her most awkward performance, with a funny accent to boot.
WHAT’S THAT:
Karzzzz will probably go down in history as a cult film (like Clerk) when it comes to the bloopers. Look out for Ravi Verma photograph, that’s almost as big as the plane kills him. Even 25 years later, Kamini looks the same (advertisment for Botox?). Monty's family arrives at the accident spot near the Kali mandir just so the mother can scream her lungs out at the goddess. Monty goes to Kenya to meet the girl he’s fallen for. He doesn't know her name or address, but he reaches the very garden she's standing in, to complete a song, leaping out of a chopper! The climax is the craziest – Monty is chasing Kamini's car but she hops on to a plane. Just when we think she’s trying to crash the plane into him, she pulls out a gun and starts shooting at him from mid-air, while steering the plane. If she wanted to shoot him, why did she get into the plane in the first place? Feroz Khan refused Sir Juda’s role, so they dressed Gulshan Grover like him?
What to do:
Pray that when you are reborn, people won’t be making films like these.
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