‘Kaabil’ movie review: This intense romantic thriller has its heart at the right place

Directed by: Sanjay Gupta
Produced by: Rakesh Roshan
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy, Rohit Roy
Duration: 2 hours 19 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 4/5

‘The sea always filled her with longing, though for what she was never sure’, German author Cornelia Funke had once written. Waiting to be loved is probably the closest feeling to that intense sense of longing. You crave to be complete, you crave for your void to be filled with glee, and you crave for their sight to brighten up your day. But how about the ones with nothing but darkness in their eyes? ‘Kaabil’ has the answer. As I sit and write ‘Kaabil’ movie review, I wonder if our love can ever be blind enough.

Rohan Bhatnagar (Hrithik Roshan), a visually impaired dubbing artiste, falls in love with Supriya (Yami Gautam); another blind but independent woman. The two eventually get married. Just when the home has become a home in true sense and the two have found solace in each other, life shatters them. The strong has always done this infraction upon the weak. Rohan and Supriya fall prey to a group of influential men who take advantage of Supriya’s blindness and tragedy strikes, which results in a series of worse consequences. Rohan, a man with immense belief on his own abilities, sets out on a revenge mission. To know how it unfolds, watch ‘Kaabil’!

The film is an unique blend of romance, tragedy and thrill. The first half is filled with love in its most tender and innocent shape. How two individuals otherwise deprived of vision lighten up each other’s lives is a heart-melting affair. The second half gets darker as it’s more about Rohan outgrowing his capabilities and taking due revenge on the ones who killed his happiness in bud. Both are effectual in their own ways.

After ‘Guzaarish’, Hrithik Roshan has surely delivered his best performance in ‘Kaabil’. However, the fact that he is an extremely versatile performer comes as nothing new. The real surprise we take home from the film is Yami Gautam. Wonderfully, she paints love, joy, grief, helplessness and what not? After debuting with ‘Vicky Donor’, she has been underutilised all this while. May this open many bigger doors for her. Ronit and Rohit Roy as antagonists do justice to their shares. Suresh Menon in a non-comic character is a welcome change. Girish Kulkarni, who broke through major fame in Bollywood by playing national wrestling coach in ‘Dangal’, appears in another critical, negative character and doesn’t disappoint us. We liked Narendra Jha too.

While romance remains the most familiar object in Bollywood, filmmakers rarely try to explore it from the perspective of the specially or differently able ones. This reminds us of Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan’s ‘Koshish’, a soothing story where two deaf and mute souls fall in love with each other. For someone who can’t speak, or can’t see or can’t hear, falling in love must be a different feeling altogether. Who knows, may be far more intense than ours? Sanjay Gupta must be braved not only for attempting to make ‘Kaabil’ but also for pulling it well through the end.

However, move beyond the story, and ‘Kaabil’ will present you a far bitter truth. It’ll draw a very uncomfortable, shrewd reality wherein the ones in greater need of support are the ones often thrown on the edge, laughed at. It’ll show you a world in desperate need of more compassion, more kindness.

Also read: Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam-starrer ‘Kaabil’ is already a winner!

We did find a little glicth and contuinity breaks at times. However, they can be pardoned, keeping in mind how the film had us hooked.

Rajesh Roshan is back with his music after ‘Krrish 3’, this time with more to give us. The songs are rather high on emotions. Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography is situational and Akiv Ali’s editing is neat. Ahmed Khan’s choreography, especially in ‘Mon Amour’, will melt your heart.

Before we end, cheers to Sham Kaushal for designing the action sequences so efficiently. Hrithik’s character fights no less than a man with vision, and fights credibly enough. It is not a cakewalk to bring about the same amount of credibility; Kaushal has done that.

This weekend, go witness one of the most intense love stories of recent times.

WATCH TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nubDFeiUAsI