The ageless Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia share uneasy chemistry. Here’s a couple whose awkwardness quickly establishes they have seen more downs than ups in their marriage perhaps
Cast: Pankaj Kapur, Dimple Kapadia, Aparshkti Khurana, Nauheed Cyrusi, Samir Soni
Director: Saurabh Shukla
Language: Hindi
Saurabh Shukla is easily one of the most delightful actors of Hindi cinema. Even when the filmmakers throw him into a rigmarole of unpredictable circumstances and overwhelming conflicts (Satya and Hey Ram), he always manages to make his characters likable. There is much more to him than the grumpiness of Jolly LLB and the legacy of Kallu Mama. The man also happens to be a writer and a director. And he has directed a new film, which is now streaming on ZEE5 called Jab Khuli Kitaab. Once you watch how the story unfolds, and ultimately concludes, you will realize there could not have been a better title than this. And there could not have been better actors than the ones chosen.
The ageless
Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia share uneasy chemistry. Here’s a couple whose awkwardness quickly establishes they have seen more downs than ups in their marriage perhaps. Kapadia’s shaky body language reveals a secret that shatters the essence of their prolonged liaison. And the ever effervescent Kapur stays bruised and yet restrained with his hurt. This is just one part of the story. The other side of the coin belongs to
Aparshakti Khurana. He plays a distressed divorce lawyer. When Khurana and Kapur meet, the narrative makes no hurry to bring the house down. The conversations play out with humor but not slapstick humor or screeching hilarity.
The old man wants a divorce from his old lady. The ground is infidelity. A clandestine relationship that has shook him to the core. But unfortunately, he is not aware of the fact that there is one more secret, waiting to be unfolded. Life never stops surprising him. And there is no other actor other than
Pankaj Kapur who could have essayed the character’s turmoil with more elan. Khurana it is not as hyperactive here as he has been in some of his most successful films. He has to look lost, but not lunatic. And it was surprising and refreshing to see Nauheed Cyrusi after what feels like ages. Was Jai Ho (2014) her last celluloid appearance?
And as far as
Dimple Kapadia is concerned, Shukla, in an interview with Firstpost, revealed how she has been a heroine who swooned the masses with her mainstream, commercial potboilers and also bravely walked the unconventional turf of Hindi cinema. Jab Khuli Kitaab shows how this diva whose smoldering and scorching persona could set the screen ablaze, has now come to grips with her aging rather insouciantly. Shukla’s film, which is presented by Applause Entertainment, isn’t a film for all. It’s not as ornamental as Baghban (Samir Soni is the common link) but does flirt with the idea of parental conflict and surreptitious maneuvers. When the world is busy chattering about the averted clash between Toxic and Dhurandhar, comes a sweet and balmy film that attempts to calm the cacophony down. By presenting the story of two people whose lives take a cacophonous turn. Irony nicely done!
Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)
Jab Khuli Kitaab is now streaming on Zee5
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