Director: Shaad Ali
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra and Govinda
Sometimes great performances make a forgettable movie memorable. Sometimes they don't. That’s the story of Shaad Ali’s Kill/Dil. Had it been a marginally better movie than what it turned out to be, we’d have remembered it for Ranveer Singh’s panache, Govinda’s incredible talent, Ali Zafar’s indelible charisma and Parineeti Chopra’s affable persona. Usually just one decent performance is enough to save a film. Remarkable then, that four, top notch displays still go to waste in a film that ironically shoots itself in the foot. Not once. Not twice. But for a whole two hours straight.
There are bullet holes a plenty in the execution and treatment of this film. The story though is a nice old school tale of love versus vice. Like in Gunday, two guys are brought up in the midst of crime. Only this time they have a godfather in the musically inclined underworld king pin Bhaiyaji (Govinda). But when one of our heroes meets a girl and falls in love, things as expected, get a bit complicated. There are two aspects to the story where KillDil really musters up some grit. The first is Ranveer Singh’s character’s conflict where he’s pretending to be good for Parineeti’s love and faking a killer’s life for father figure Govinda. The other true moment of intense drama happens when Govinda plots a masterful political game to get Ranveer back to a life of crime. Those themes in a film trying to be a modern day Sholay would’ve worked wonders. But the movie drops its western influence and action-adventure setting in the second half. Suddenly you have a tale of two killers becoming a clichéd love story. Even then, uniformity in the treatment of the film could’ve pulled things through.
Even Gulzar’s poetic lyrics in songs like Sajde and Bawra seem to stick out. This is a film that begins in a serious homage mode to spaghetti and curry westerns and then veers into themes of conflicted romance and changing for your loved one. There’s such great music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It’s perfectly complementing Gulzar’s words. But none of it fits into the film. Because the movie is too busy trying to be a melange of Sholay, Ram Balram, Muqqadar Ka Sikandar and so many more Hindi classics.
And it doesn’t get anywhere because the characters have been written with utter disregard for consistency. Here you have Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra and Govinda acting out of their skins. With a better script, these performances would’ve instantly shot into the hall of fame. Neither of the two leads, Ranveer or Ali get anything to work with from their roles. It’s a feat that they manage to create the impact they do, in such fickle roles. Govinda playing a bad guy is a mouth-watering treat for any writer. But here you have, a more than fancy introduction, but then he does missing for the longest time. And then conveniently he’s brought back in when the writer and director need to work with some conflict. And they didn’t even spend time on writing out Parineeti’s character. So while she’s definitely upping the glamour quotient, the film hasn’t allowed her to make use of her strength. Here’s a great actress, limited to a one-dimensional role of being the love interest.
There are bullet holes a plenty in the execution and treatment of this film. The story though is a nice old school tale of love versus vice. Like in Gunday, two guys are brought up in the midst of crime. Only this time they have a godfather in the musically inclined underworld king pin Bhaiyaji (Govinda). But when one of our heroes meets a girl and falls in love, things as expected, get a bit complicated. There are two aspects to the story where KillDil really musters up some grit. The first is Ranveer Singh’s character’s conflict where he’s pretending to be good for Parineeti’s love and faking a killer’s life for father figure Govinda. The other true moment of intense drama happens when Govinda plots a masterful political game to get Ranveer back to a life of crime. Those themes in a film trying to be a modern day Sholay would’ve worked wonders. But the movie drops its western influence and action-adventure setting in the second half. Suddenly you have a tale of two killers becoming a clichéd love story. Even then, uniformity in the treatment of the film could’ve pulled things through.
Even Gulzar’s poetic lyrics in songs like Sajde and Bawra seem to stick out. This is a film that begins in a serious homage mode to spaghetti and curry westerns and then veers into themes of conflicted romance and changing for your loved one. There’s such great music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It’s perfectly complementing Gulzar’s words. But none of it fits into the film. Because the movie is too busy trying to be a melange of Sholay, Ram Balram, Muqqadar Ka Sikandar and so many more Hindi classics.
And it doesn’t get anywhere because the characters have been written with utter disregard for consistency. Here you have Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra and Govinda acting out of their skins. With a better script, these performances would’ve instantly shot into the hall of fame. Neither of the two leads, Ranveer or Ali get anything to work with from their roles. It’s a feat that they manage to create the impact they do, in such fickle roles. Govinda playing a bad guy is a mouth-watering treat for any writer. But here you have, a more than fancy introduction, but then he does missing for the longest time. And then conveniently he’s brought back in when the writer and director need to work with some conflict. And they didn’t even spend time on writing out Parineeti’s character. So while she’s definitely upping the glamour quotient, the film hasn’t allowed her to make use of her strength. Here’s a great actress, limited to a one-dimensional role of being the love interest.
End of the day, this is a classic case of could-have-been. KillDil had the potential. Sadly, the director could find singularity in his vision. It’ll be a surprise if anyone remembers this movie in the days to come.
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