Kalank

Director- Abhishek Varman

Writer- Abhishek Varman,Hussain Dalal

Cast- Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapoor,Kunal Khemu, Achint Kaur, Hiten Tejwani

It’s a very rare chance when I am able to catch up on a movie so late.With such negative reviews pouring in, I was super curious.

And let me tell you curiosity did not kill the cat ! The movie was a good one time watch even though it had many shortcomings.

Kalank is a romance drama set in pre partition times. It tells us a tale of some complicated relationships and people entangled with each other in forbidden love or unconventional relationships.

The movie is visually beautiful. The costumes are a pleasure to watch and the sets are opulent. But both these aspects are boon as well as bane. Some of sets looked so beautiful and perfect that they seemed artificial. And the costumes did not match up with that era’s social scenario.

Each of the cast has done pretty well in terms of performances and they add up as reason to watch .

Alia and Varun, as Roop and Zafar,looked wonderful together and both added the apt degree of intensity to their characters.

Madhuri is always a pleasure to watch . She looked great as poised Bahar Begum.

Sanjay Dutt was good in the small role as brooding and quiet Balraj Choudhary.

Aditya Roy looked superb in the intense and grim character of Dev.

Ever beautiful Sonakshi was able to do justice to Satya’s character and portray her pain and love.

This complicated love story even had a message to convey.. of acceptance over forbiddance, of love over hatred.

The story was quite unconventional. If only maker Abhishek Varman had worked hard on the detailing, it would have turned out wonderful.

Portrayal of a period drama required some study and accuracy in terms of little nuances like costumes, make up, societal norms , music , looks etc . But the maker opted for the other way round concentrating on the candy floss picture perfect looks. And the movie was overtly lengthy at 2 hrs 50 min.

Those of you who are still contemplating it, and since there might be no major release this weekend, you may consider this one.The movie is high on melodrama,music and magnificence.

If u can cope with its length and some loopholes, its not too bad as a one time watch.

Score 6 on 10