Vishal Bhardwaj's films are generally masterfully crafted, whether it's the high production values, the narrative style, the superb acting or the beautiful music. Kaminey is no exception. Bhardwaj is an integral part of every such aspect in his film. He uses the best technical advances, he pays attention to the smallest of details, he extracts never-seen-before performances by his actors, and insists that he be the one who composes the film's music and score. His unique direction is aided by excellent cinematography, great editing and very well-written dialogues.
Kaminey is about two estranged twin brothers, both of whom are slightly (and funnily) limited. The one lisps, the other stammers. An incredibly twisted plot that reveals many little truths through flashbacks and confessions from time to time, it depicts a world of drugs, gangsters, murder and crime. The twin characters are very well written and defined. Charlie is a guy who lives life as if there was no tomorrow. He is cruel and carefree. Guddu is a simple guy who considers himself a duffer yet he has many plans for the future and has a relationship with a simple Marathi girl.
The acting is very good. Shahid Kapoor gives a fine performance, excellently displaying the differences of the two characters he plays. Additionally, he does what could have seemed to be very difficult (lisping, stammering) with noted ease and conviction. Priyanka Chopra in a much smaller part provides great support with her hysterical and hilariously loud Marathi girl. Without taking anything from the main lead, the one who completely blew me away, however, is Amol Gupte, who is simply outstanding in his natural and funny act as Bhope.
Kaminey is messy yet beautifully so, it is dark yet artistically so. It has hilarious comedy, emotional drama, and many great moments. It is not overdone, and one more noteworthy aspect about Vishal's films is that unlike many current filmmakers, he does not try to make them overly western and modern to make them more mass-appealing. He prefers to centre more on the rural India and show its uniqueness. Kaminey is one such film, and it presents the rural life, maybe not in a totally positive way, but certainly in a fairly realistic one. All in all, I recommend Kaminey. I wouldn't exaggerate by saying it's the best, but it is an impressive, visually stunning and entertaining picture.
