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Director: Rensil D’ Silva
Rating:***
A newly-married couple relocates from New Delhi to New York, and discovers there is more to their academically-inclined life—driving off from their suburban home every morning to teach, and coming back in the evening with groceries--- than meets the eye. In the house across lives a closed group of people, and everything starts to unravel rapidly when one of them, a desperate young woman in a ‘hijaab’, shows up at their doorstep, scared for her life.
As Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) and Ehsaan (Saif Ali Khan) get sucked into a never-ending spiral of fear and intrigue and terror, ‘Kurbaan’ stays on-track in its resolve to tell a story of substance. Written sharply by producer Karan Johar, and directed intelligently by first-timer Rensil D’Silva, the film enunciates, with admirable clarity, contemporary conundrums: of beliefs and religious identity and differing points of view, of being Muslim and wondering where the term ‘moderate’ fits in, of being human and feeling hurt and living by the sword. Or bombs, as the case might be.
I went to see ‘Kurbaan’ with some trepidation, not knowing how these elements, done to death in a certain kind of ‘realistic’ Hollywood film, and used, badly, in this year’s ‘New York’, would pan out. I’m happy to report that it raises the near-defunct issue-based cinema in Bollywood to the next level. There is no unnecessary song-and-dance, or stiltedness and preaching.
The lines are free-flowing and natural, minus rhetoric, and the characters are believable: you could meet people like Avantika, Ehsaan and investigative journalist Riyaaz (Vivek Oberoi), off screen.
It’s not as if the director has refused to make concessions to the starry status of his lead couple, with Kareena displaying a daringly naked back, and Saif showcasing a bare brawny torso, the bloody rivulets just so. Or that D’Silva doesn’t fall into the self-indulgent trap all debutants do, to keep it too long: the second half drags, and the last half-hour telegraphs its punches. But you overlook these because, at its core, ‘Kurbaan’ has power and resonance.
It is also that rare Hindi film which has a real pair of lovers. Saif and Kareena flirt and kiss and cuddle and have a hard time keeping their hands off each other. Both play well together, but it is Khan who grabs you much more: when he is on, you see the character, not the actor. There is also a welcome lived-in rhythm that D’Silva manages to set up for them, even if there is an abruptness in the transitions, from happy to angry to despairing.
‘Kurbaan’ raises thorny questions, and prepares us for tough answers. It is an important, relevant film.
(shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com)
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I would like to respond to some comments about muslims, why do hindus have to compare each and every story about muslims from muslim point of view with right wing chawanist hinduism, come on come up with genuine justifacation for your hate and burning unborn, preganant women and newly borns during riots. There is no state authority protecting them, to me, taking some action is a kind of defense everyone is entitled to And yes, reviewer is right, there is no moderate or extermisim in Islam. It's a true and right religion, everything else is more or less fabrifaction of fallible humans to fullfil their mind's fantasy or ambitions.
In the name of reality nobody should encourage terrorism.In this film USA is trying to project as villain of everything.But there is a lot of GOOD things which is possible only USA (As actor IRFAN said in NEWYORK).Yah, manufactured reality is not acceptable.
Some best pieces of work are the ones which propells the audience to think and chew them afterwards.Thats why we know mozart or for dat matter piccasso.And so I really rate this film high because it attemted what you call have your own interpretation please!!! So it was different and to some extent grounbreaking take.Better than some English movies like Under Siege or our own New York for that matter. I would definitely like this piece of work as a suggestive piece and somewhere it has tried to show a bold truth in a fictional setting.Just somethings look out of sync was the FBI which appeared like bunch of desi police guys unable to track sleeper cells inspite of dental id or so ...I mean something out of rationale.Otherwise tightly put up.The winner and the surprise package of the show being Vivek Oberoi.He was real tight.A good movie in the end.Somewhere you would return home reeling.
Bollywood is owned by the muslims just as hollywood is owned by the jews. Bollywood movies and the fantasy land they project are such a shame to this country. Mixing islamic things in a hindu themed movie is what we have to put up with.
Subra and IE why does any film with a Muslim hero or Muslim topic get reviews. Stop this nonsense!! Stop sympathysing with terrorist. I wonder what the review would be if a movie legitimizing Hindu right wing ideas was made!
use another platform for extremist debates. what moderator is doing ? by the way the pro-hindus have always been pro-usa, why ? not even pro-euro.
I wish someone tell, on my behalf, to the producer and director of the film that the correct word is QURBAN and not KURBAN. It's a shame for son of the Nawab of Patoudi that he can't distinguish between Kurban and Qurban. There is no word in any dictionary of Urdu or Hindi that mentions KURBAN. Kapoor family is known for their polished Urdu pronunciation and I don't have to remind them that they belong to Pritihiviraj Kapoor aka Moughl-e-Azam dynasty. Nasl-e-Pithiviraj ke jah-o-jalal ki qasam Kareena Khatoon aapki KURBANI aour QURBANI men farq se nawaqfiyat naqabil-e-moafi jurm hai! I wish the film to succeed but it reflects how our well known and well established production houses are insensitive to language and pronunciations. Once again I request that if any reader has any contact with any concerned individual of KURBANI please point them out about this glaring omission.
What matters is how they pronounce. The days of the likes of Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, and Kishore Kumar (Bangla speaking), Lata and Asha (Konkanis), Sehgal and Rafi (Punjabis) , and many of the South India (don't have to mention Urdu speaking Mukesh and Talat) giving perfect Urdu pronunciation are gone. (Have you heard gum instead of ghum in Chak De India title song?)So is the case with actors as well.
Kurban is much hyped but the movie is damp squib.Unfortunately bollywood seems to be sympathising with al-queda.The agruments epoused by saif ali khan in support of terrorism are illusionary and are far from reaality.The steamy scenes seemed to get through sensor by courtesy of Sharmila tagore.Hindi film idustry should try to bring out real face of terrorism rather than manufactured perspective