Banner: PVR Cinemas, AGPPA
Writer: Based on the book ‘Do And Die’ By Mananini Chatterjee.
Cinematagrophy: Kiran Deohans, Seetha Sandhiri
Editor: Dilip Deo
Music: Sohail Sen
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Vishakha Singh, Sikander Kher.
Grade: C- Ek Baar Chalta Hai :D
Well, to be honest, I went to the movie expecting something as big as Lagaan. After all, the theme was the same and so was the director. But then KHJJS is NOT even anywhere close to our entry to the Oscars.
The movie opens with a message about the unsung heroes of the Chittagong Uprising of 1930. The theater bore testimony to this fact, that we are not interested in their forgotten saga, with just 20 people to watch the first day first show. This Abhishek Bachchan- Deepika Padukone starrer patriotic thriller had a damp opening.
The story is about Surjya Sen, a school teacher, from Chittagong or Chottogram. A group of 64 revolutionaries, including young boys (some even 13 years old) and women attack the British. What follows is the chase by the British to find and punish them. And the rest is history.
KHJJS- The Weak Points
* The movie lacks the spirit of Lagaan or the freshness of Rang De Basanti, both follow the patriotic theme with a different touch.
* Abhishek Bachchan tries to do justice to the role of Surjya Sen but lacks the punch. Considering that he gave to us a power packed performance in Guru.
* Deepika Padukone (as Kalpana Dutta) with her starched Bengali saris and two braids, looks pretty but does not add anything to the movie.
* The slow pace of the movie kills the thrill. It doesn’t leave the audience at the edge of their seat in anticipation.
* The music by Sohail Sen fails to evoke the same emotion that songs like “Yeh jo des hain mera” (Swades), “Baar baar haan (Lagaan) or the evergreen “Aye Mere Watan ke Logon” have done.
* The backbone of a patriotic movie is its dialogue, and sadly, KHJJS does not have any speech that would make the viewers sit up and clap.
KHJJS- The Strong Points
* Let’s applaud the honest intentions of Ashutosh Gowarikar in letting us know about the freedom fighters whom we remember at our convenience.
* The highlight of the movie are the young teenagers. Their effortless acting will surely win your heart. They come up with the most innocent lines in the movie which carry a lot of weight.
* For a movie without any “S” factor, that is SRK, Salman, Sex and Sheila, needed for success KHJJS does engage you in its own sweet way. However, it does have another “S”, namely simplicity to get it going for almost 3 hours. I know that’s too long.
* You will be transported to the India in the 30s with the gramophone, the vintage cars and the dusty roads of a Bengal village. You will love the beauty of the locales. I guess Gowarikar did his research thoroughly.
* The bright side of making a movie on nationalism is that even if you go wrong, the patriotism of the audience keeps the movie alive. We hope that’s true for KHJJS too.
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