Movie Review : Kal - Yesterday and Tomorrow

Director: Ruchi Narain
Producer: Sudhir Mishra
Cast: Chitrangda, Shiney Ahuja, Smriti Mishra, Sarika, Boman Irani, Ram Kapoor, Malaika Shenoy, Murad Ali
Music: Shantanu Moitra, Sneha Khanwlkar
Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire
Cinematography: Prakash Kutty

Rating: 1.5/5

I love watching movies that are different from the regular fair dished by Bollywood and 2005 has been a delight for me. Small budgeted movies like Hazaaron Khwaaishein Aisi, Ramji Londonwalay, Sau Jhooth Ek Sach, Dansh, Iqbal, Page 3 etc are beings made and enjoyed by Multiplex going audience like me.

I had a sense of de-ja vu for ‘Kal - Yesterday and Tomorrow’. I liked the promos, theme, the title-song, look and feel of the movie. Producer Sudhir Mishra has made some of the better films of Bollywood like - Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Dharavi and Chameli. Though ‘Kal - Yesterday and Tomorrow’ is directed by Ruchi Narain, his protege I was pretty gung-ho for catching the movie. I thought I would love the movie - but I was wrong.

Storyline: ‘Kal - Yesterday and Tomorrow’ is about relationships, friendships, change, the city and memories. It traces the lives of a group of five college friends the twists and turns they take as they make their way through the world. And do not necessarily end up living ‘happily ever after’.

There are moments of fun, drama, humor, friendship and celebration. Bhavna (Chitrangada) and Tarun (Roshan) were in love, were expected to get married one day, but then…Tarun left Bhavna for her best friend, Maya (Smriti). And Bhavna was left alone.

When the film starts, one year has already passed after all this. One day, Tarun shows up at her house and ends up staying there for the night. The next morning Bhavna goes to work and gets to hear that Maya has been murdered. Now she unwittingly becomes Tarun’s alibi… but wonders if she is being used, the film traces Bhavna’s search to uncover the truth… of what happened between the victim and the prime suspect, both her friends and discovers many of the clues that lie in her past.

Critique: The movie turns into a murder mystery, but Narain refuses to let go of troubled emotional tearjerker origins. The screenplay should have been tout and fast paced, but she lazily keeps her focus on character development - which is mostly repetitive.

A lot is left unsaid in the movie and viewers intelligence. The ‘pact’ that the two families arrive is left unexplained till the end. The reason, which Maya gives before committing suicide is hard to believe! It’s hard to fathom a reason that why any man would leave Chitrangda for another woman, no matter how rich she may be! The corpse isn’t autopsied, witness and suspects keeping partying day and night. Everything hinges on a speculative testimony. We miss a semblance of structural serenity in these scrambled lives.

What actually carries the movie forward is the performances by lead actors. Shiney Ahuja is spot-on. His timing is perfect. Chitrangda looks fine and has a good screen presence. Smriti Mishra stands out as a sore thumb. The man who steals the show is Boman Irani. Give the man a little space and he gives a match-winning performance. Saurabh Shukla and Murad Ali are capable.
Given it was her first outing as director, Ruchi Narain has potential. Technically the movie is pretty good but she lets us down, and terribly at that, by a sloppy screenplay.

Botoom Line: ‘Kal - Yesterday and Tomorrow’ is avoidable fair which would go un-noticed at he box-office.

Pros: The fresh, hip, urban look and the hot new pair
Cons: Haywire narration and screenplay

From: DCECINEMAS