Kaal [Unknown Binding]

Ajay Devgan (Primary Contributor), Lara Dutta (Primary Contributor), Esha Deol (Primary Contributor), John Abraham (Primary Contributor), Vivek Oberoi (Primary Contributor)

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• ASIN: B000MXRC5Q
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,889,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Crouching Tiger, Cringing Audience, July 6, 2007

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kaal

A quite resentful review:

I just hope KAAL's co-producer, Shah Rukh Khan, gets back the money he invested into this. KAAL, being a confused tale of predatory beasts and restless spirits, is not a good movie. It was released (or maybe paroled) in 2005 and, with a big name cast and distributed under the banner of the usually more reliable Dharma Productions, you'd assume it's got a good chance to be decent. But something went horribly wrong. And the blame most probably lies at the feet of first time director, Soham Shah, who also is responsible, but more like irresponsible, for the story and the screenplay.

The plot: Wildlife expert Krish Thapar (John Abraham) and his wife and photographer Riya (Esha Deol) are assigned by National Geographic to India's Orbit National Park to investigate the killings perpetrated by man-eating tigers in the past two months. Meanwhile, spoiled brat Dev (Vivek Oberoi), his superstitious girlfriend Ishika (Lara Dutta), and their two friends are out on a weekend getaway when their car inhales a black cat and breaks down. They hitch a ride with an unsavory character who then lures them to the Orbit National Park on the promise of excellent game hunting.

There, Dev and company soon bump into Krish and Riya, and the two parties form into one. Evidently, there are rules which you must heed in the Orbit National Park. Never go on foot. Never carry firearms. Stay off the core area. Don't drink from the well. Sensible rules, all of them, which then, of course, are summarily violated. Shortly after, people begin to vanish and/or die. Later, the group is saved from a tiger mauling by a mysterious, stick carrying stranger calling himself Kali Pratap Singh (Ajay Devgan). Kali later is hired as their guide when, in the aftermath of a terrible storm, the group becomes trapped in the tiger infested forest reserves. As they continue on their hazardous trek and as gruesome casualties continue to mount, it dawns on the shaken survivors that in the vast, dark expanse of the jungle might lurk an entity far more malevolent than mere man-eating tigers.

There are so many things off about KAAL that it's easier to first mention the very few things that are right. First, Ajay Devgan, with his hooded eyes and trademark intensity, is ideal for the role of the dubious Kali. He's solid here and menacing, at times. In fact, even a bit more intensity would've been warranted for the role. But, as it is, Devgan delivers a performance tinged with an ominous undercurrent which reduces the audience to an uncertain state. The only other things I remotely liked about KAAL are the musical numbers. The two songs in the film are wisely inserted at the very beginning ("Kaal Dhamaal," an item number featuring Shah Rukh Khan and the hot girl from MTV India) and in the closing credits ("Tauba Tauba"). There's also a bonus song "Nassa Nassa" which can be accessed in the Special Features section. There. So much for the positives.

KAAL is straight out drivel. The pacing is molasses; the set-up scenes just took forever long, and the payoffs are minimal. At 2 hours and 6 minutes, KAAL could've really benefited from having 30 to 40 minutes lopped off. As per the Bollywood custom of stealing crumbs from the tables of various movies, KAAL shows off scattershot bits pilfered from THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS, PREDATOR, THE SIXTH SENSE, and FINAL DESTINATION. And I'm sure there are other films, of which titles I can't recall. The third most vexing thing about this film is that it starts off as an adventure thriller and then segues into the horror genre, and does it so awkwardly. The second most vexing thing is the woeful acting across-the-board. The worst thing is, of course, the amateurish and laughable attempts to elicit screams of fright from the viewing audience. Please! Whatever sense of dread and foreboding that initially exists is irrevocably undermined with the movie's gung-ho indulgence in overfamiliar camera tricks and silly scare tactics. Get this: From the edge of the movie screen, a hand stealthily reaches out towards an unsuspecting character, only to have that very hand turn out to belong to that same character. I laughed my cheeks off with that one. And, by the way, here's a tip on surviving in a horror/slasher film: when given a ride by a creepy dude who keeps hailing the Lord of Death under his breath, it might be healthier to not take him up on any of his suggested alternate routes or destinations. Come to think of it, I don't know that I'd even get on a damn vehicle with a creepy driver. I'm just sayin'.

Other no-nos in this skunker:

1) Even though John Abraham's wildlife expert character is familiar with many animal species, I get the feeling he'd like nothing better to do all day than loll around in the grass in the embrace of a limp and disinterested (and possibly fake?) python. Even if, as soon as he gets a ring on his cell, he absent-mindedly drops the snake.

2) It's always pretty pathetic to see a mighty hunter with a firearm go one on one against a rabbit.

3) When your jeep gets a wheel stuck in a deep pothole, why not have everyone get off and help, instead of only two men pushing whilst the other four stay in the vehicle?

4) When Dev ominously says that "smoking kills" and looks really intense while saying it, one would expect some kind of payoff (there isn't). By the way, the wildlife expert should've known better than to smoke in the national park.

6) In the first half of the film, the focus is completely on the tigers (to the point where several scenes are shot from the beasts' point of view; apparently, tigers are well equipped with infra-red goggles), but then they're all but discarded in the second half as the focus shifts unequivocally to the horror aspects.

Did I say the acting sucks? Vivek Oberoi's performances are always touch and go, always bordering on ham. You just never know when he'll decide a pouty expression is merited. He's actually more okay than not in this one, but his character simply lacks texture and depth, as do all the characters here, actually. John Abraham is guilty not only of overflaunting his abs but of being ineffective, although, granted, his character isn't given much to do. He doesn't even dispense that much wildlife wisdom. The beautiful and nicely limbed Lara Dutta doesn't serve her film career at all with her B-movie acting here. She resorts to being caught in screaming fits and to incessantly mentioning how things are "very inauspicious." Of course, when the inauspicious stuff actually begins to happen, she stops saying it and just clings to the screaming. But, then, just to show her range, she implements the crying. Meanwhile, Esha Deol, mistress of the blank-faced stare, makes up for her lack of acting talents by working out a lot. Her body's hot. As I've said, only Ajay Devgan is decent here, but I'm sure even he wouldn't list this role as one of his better ones.

This dvd offers the compulsory "Making of" featurette which runs at almost 22 minutes and is predominantly in English. That way, you can hear the cast go on and on about how cool of a movie this is and how much fun they had in the filming of it. Suckers, all. I was willing to give two stars for this one because Dutta and Deol are smoking hot. But I'm taking away one star for the film having so many flaws it took me forever to compile them and then write this review. I dunno, I guess I'm a sucker, too.

1.0 out of 5 stars Exaggerated acting, awful plot, and lackluster effects, May 22, 2010

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Kaal

The previous reviewer has done an excellent job of reviewing this movie, so I'll keep it brief - this is not worth a purchase or even a rental. The acting by the leads such as John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, Esha Deol, and Lara Dutta are overly exaggerated and not at all credible. The only actor worth mentioning is Ajay Devgan who portrays a mysterious stranger who hints at what is truly skulking around in the wildlife park which forms the setting for this movie.

John Abraham as usual tries to coast by, not on talent, but on his abs and super-fit physique. His portrayal of a so-called wildlife expert is cringe-inducing, especially in one scene where he chases a python and manhandles it, then calmly shrugs it off as he takes a call! Esha Deol and Lara Dutta are nothing more than eye candy, and Vivek Oberoi too is wasted in this movie. Though Ajay Devgan plays his role with some measure of credibility, I wonder what possessed him to take on a role in this below average scare fest.

By now, after watching other trite Bollywood horror, such as Krishna Cottage,Darna Mana Hai,Darna Zaroori Hai, etc. I should have learned my lesson, but I think I'll give Raaz a try before calling it quits. Btw, "Bhoot" is actually quite a decent offering in the Bollywood horror genre.